For a few years now, several cities in Finland have left areas of public land unattended. Several parks have had are-sized areas dotted around untouched, and some formerly mown roadsides have been left to grow wild. This Summer, I’ve noticed that many areas of formerly kept grass between directions on 4-lane roads, or between roads and walkways have been mown so, that patches where natural flowers are concentrated have been left standing. There are also branch piles built in some areas for animals and insects, and they’ve brought random decomposing logs from different places in nearby forests for the same purpose. on the edges - and within - urban forests. People are also encouraged to do the same on their yards.
This has been an interesting development, to say the least. It’s apparently a policy on part of the cities. The raw amount of insects and small rodents and other critters of their ilk, at least, has increased noticeably near where I live. Not sure about variety.
Aaaand I know it saves on upkeep costs. But this is a much better way to do it, than what we did 20 years ago, when I worked on the city greenery unit. We just got orders to cut the grass so short, it died in the sun and then just left it there and focused on “more important” areas.
I’m interested to know if cities elsewhere have same kinds of initiatives.
9 Likes
Here in the State of Oklahoma, United States, there is an initiative to leave the roadside grass unmown during the time wildflowers are in bloom, and setting seed. Some areas have even been resown with wildflowers. The sowing of seeds is funded through the sale of special automobile license plates. The amount of mowing in public areas has been reduced.
5 Likes
Yes, we have similar initiatives in Calgary (Western Canada), with bee hotels (logs left in sandy areas for solitary nesting bees), unmowed areas, wildlife corridors, etc.
There is a push for biodiversity in cities in developed countries.
Lots of common ground between urban beekeeping, climate stuff, and iNatting. I could say more, but I will leave it at that.
3 Likes
Cambridge (UK) has some great biodiversity initiatives. A lot happens when the city employs a biodiversity officer and gives them a budget and power to make things happen. They’ve designated new local nature reserves, transformed areas that were previously mown grass into ponds and scrub, and even in the heavily used parks, left areas with the grass uncut for wild flowers to grow.
https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/a-biodiverse-city
4 Likes
One thing that I want to organize eventually, is to have sheep graze the vast green spaces (e.g. highway shoulders) here in Calgary. In Asia, you could fit a city of 30,000 people in one roadside green space in Calgary.
Then, in the fall, we have a free citywide BBQ for the residents, where we eat the sheep.
Same thing with food waste and an urban pig farm.
There are logistical reasons why it’s cheaper and easier to use lawn mowing machines, rather than using sheep and goats to control vegetation. But we can work towards public initiatives for urban nature, one day at a time!
2 Likes
And in Maine, I, uh, throw seeds out the car window.
Using grazing animals as biological “lawnmowers” is in regular use in many municipalities over here. Depending on the goals, they can be sheep or cows. So far I haven’t seen others. In my old home town, a park with wide grassy fields is maintained by sheep, then here where I live now, they have cows in an area they want to have with taller grass.
Also, there are a few large islands in the local archipelago, where quite unique biomes were collapsing. There had been pastures on them for hundreds, if not a thousand years, until people had moved away after the wars. These islands had hosted several species that have disappeared from the mainland a long time ago, and were almost lost completely from Finland, some completely extinct. The universities with several other organizations have managed to turn things around by re-introducing cows and sheep to the pastures to, for example, prevent forest from taking over everything.
2 Likes
Bee hotels you mentioned reminded me of an old fisherman thing they tested out again in recent years. They sank old Christmas trees into the bottom of a fjard in a larger lake complex (Saimaa) lake that had been becoming quite barren. Over three years, they sank a total of 1500 spruces into an area of about 2,5-3 square kilometers. After that, they took new samples, and noticed the amount of organisms on the lake bed had increased by tens-fold compared to the orginal situation, and the species variety had increased by five-fold. Also, the fish population had started to recover (to the joy of the fishermen as well) and amounts of free carbon and phosphates had started to reduce.
2 Likes
Did anyone make surveys to see if different management changed flora nd/or fauna composition?
1 Like
It was this organization. And the main person was Kari-Matti Vuori ( link to his profile on the syke-site). If you want to know more, I’m pretty sure he’s the one to be contacted.
In England, in parts, yes, I suspect primarily as a cost-saving measure so it’s a double win.
In Spain, no, they’re busy cutting the grass right now, slowly turning meadows into dust bowls. I understand in some parts it is to reduce fire risk, which could also be managed with firebreaks and public awareness, but in town, that 5m2 of grass on the corner or the 1m wide roadside verge is not going to burn down any houses, rather it will only look ‘untidy’.
2 Likes
Dust bowl is a more unpleasant ‘untidy’ than meadows of wildflowers.
Project is for 2024 but No Mow is now policy for Cape Town’s verges and greenbelts - where there is motivation to let the wildflowers set seed for next year.
2 Likes