Brampton – With the City of Brampton’s spring grass cutting in parks and boulevards underway and flowers in bloom, including yellow dandelions, the City has begun weed control activities and introducing a new tool for residents.
Grass Maintenance Tracker Tool launching May 2024
Follow along with Brampton Parks Maintenance crews and the care for Brampton’s lawns and green spaces. The new Grass Maintenance Tracker Tool allows residents to see live updates of the parks and boulevards that have been mowed. Using this tool, residents can check grass maintenance progress throughout the season. Residents will be able to access the tool by visiting Brampton.ca/parks. Stay tuned for more updates.
New this year, to help keep Brampton’s parks in the best shape possible, Brampton’s City Council approved a 22 per cent grass maintenance budget increase. Grass within Brampton parks and along boulevards will be cut 14 times from May to October. This is an additional two cuts in comparison to last season. Learn more about park maintenance and all the beautiful parks Brampton has to offer at Brampton.ca/parks.
Weed and invasive plant control is underway
To support local biodiversity and create a thriving environment for all, City crews have begun managing weed growth in City parks, along roads, at sports fields, within parklands and at locations where invasive species, such as hogweed and poison ivy, grow. The City is also dedicating staff to conduct enhanced dandelion and weed maintenance within local parks.
Longer grass and weeds support wildlife and pollinators such as butterflies, bees and hummingbirds who are essential to the production of 75 per cent of the staple crop plants that feed humans and 90 per cent of all flowering plants in the world.
As a Bee City, we all have a part to play in keeping Brampton a clean and green community while supporting pollinator habitat. Residents are encouraged to consider leaving dandelions to grow. If you prefer to manage them, there are natural ways you can:
- Mow at three inches.
- Mow regularly to remove the flower heads before they go to seed, therefore preventing seeds from spreading. Alternatively, pick off the yellow heads by hand.
- Mulch tree and shrub beds to prevent growth and seeds from establishing.
- Use a weeding tool to pull out the plant and the root by hand.
How dandelions benefit Brampton’s diverse ecosystem
- Dandelions are an early-blooming flower and are some of the first food of the season for pollinators, especially bees. Supporting pollinators is important, as they play a vital role in our lives by ensuring food security through crop pollination.
- Dandelions are part of a diverse ecosystem and provide food throughout the seasons to support the local wildlife population. Dandelion leaves are eaten by rabbits and squirrels and the seeds are eaten by birds.
- Dandelions help improve soil health by providing vital nutrients and increasing aeration as their strong roots spread deep and break up hard soil.