Vilnius, June 16 (ELTA). After the Vilnius City Municipality decided not to mow meadows where it is not necessary, the Minister of Environmental Protection Simonas Gentvilas is happy with this decision of the city management. According to him, Vilnius' choice to mow meadows after they have already bloomed is an example for other municipalities.
"I would like to praise Vilnius municipality, because we have just compiled a ranking of municipalities on World Environment Day and Vilnius municipality is doing the best with environmental protection. At the same time, we also evaluated the good sustainable practice of biodiversity, when the city meadows are mowed not during the flowering period, but after flowering", - during the Government Hour The Seimas said S. Gentvilas, responding to conservator Vytautas Juozapaitis's deliberations, that when the grass was not mowed in Vilnius, a lot of ticks appeared in it.
"Is this really what we are aiming for, or is it a consequence of the green economy or the exchange rate," asked V. Juozapaitis.
S. Gentvilas also assured that "we can learn from the Vilnius practice".
"In a city where asphalt takes up more and more space, Vilnius mowing practices are exemplary. We really appreciate that," emphasized the minister.
"As for ticks, I encourage you to get vaccinated," he added.
ELTA reminds that this spring Vilnius city municipality adopted new lawn care rules, according to which natural meadows and self-healing plants will prevail in the city, mowing is abandoned where it is not necessary. According to the municipality, "natural oases of nature will be created in many parts of the city, helping to live more comfortably and sustainably." A similar policy is said to be applied by many other European cities.
A short, regularly mowed lawn will be maintained only where it is necessary: in multi-apartment environments, in squares, squares, parks and in the main and actively used public spaces.
Meadows, native trees and bushes will be able to grow freely on the slopes of bypasses, on the dividing lanes of most streets, and on traffic rings. These and similar areas will be mowed, if necessary, several times a year or not at all. Only invasive plants that can overshadow our normal vegetation will be removed from urban areas left to nature.
The new lawn maintenance rules provide for mowing throughout the city along footpaths, street edges and in places that may obstruct the visibility of drivers. 1,5-2 m will be left next to the roadway. wide swaths. They will be mowed so that taller grass does not turn into the street and does not disturb pedestrians or cyclists. The remaining areas will be left to nature.
On highways, in green areas between traffic lanes, pedestrian or bicycle paths, mowing will be done only from the edge. In actively used public spaces, for example at White bridge, in missionary gardens, mowing is planned when the grass is taller than 10 centimeters. Barbican Hill will not be mowed this year after the positive experience of last year.
The new meadow maintenance rules provide that some meadows, streets and the slopes of the Neris, depending on the weather conditions and the speed of grass growth, can be mowed already after June 24.
Observations from the last two years show that June is often extremely hot and dry, so it is likely that the first mowing of the meadows will not take place until after August 15.
Lukas Juozapaitis (ELTA)
