In the starting green season, Vilnius will adhere to advanced and sustainable city lawn and meadow mowing provisions, which are also linked to the city's green policy - while caring for the environment, the aim will be to restore natural meadows in city spaces, to preserve the ecosystem of such meadows, to find a balance between ensuring order and preserving naturally growing grasses.
Attention will continue to be paid to prevent the appearance of "bare" areas in urban greenery - mowing will be done only when it is really necessary and only where it is necessary - thinking about both the maintenance of biodiversity and the protection of green areas in case of drought. As experts claim, biodiversity means that each plant and animal has its own narrow niche and rubs shoulders with other neighbors, so none of them dominates, and at the same time, it does not become a factor that sometimes annoys people. Vilnius already received praise last year that natural lawns give life to the city. The flowers are visited by various insects, in the meadows there are hiding places for representatives of the small fauna, the flowers mature the seeds and scatter them to bloom next year.
Mowing works in Vilnius will be planned taking into account the location and use of public green spaces: where there is no direct human contact with the meadow, mowing will be done once or twice per season (depending on whether it will be a rainy or dry summer and how the grass will grow), and in areas where more people and their pets walk or especially where people like to spend their free time, the meadows will be mowed more often and according to the exacting technical specifications - keeping the lawn neat and tidy.
Areas of meadows with infrequent or sustainable mowing will remain on the slopes near the streets, primarily near highways, as well as in dividing traffic lanes and traffic rings.
Taking care of biodiversity, as in the last season, the wind will be allowed to blow the blooming slopes of the Neris embankment. Only this year - in order to achieve a neat and urban image, the roadsides will be mowed by passing and making a 1-2 meter wide swath, so that taller grass does not turn into the roadway and does not disturb pedestrians or cyclists.
Median lanes of streets with a total width of less than 5 meters will be mowed over the entire area. In the future, according to possibilities and choosing priority places, they are planned to be planted with trees and bushes - thus drowning the streets in greenery and in the long run completely abandoning mowing. However, quality will require time and patience to implement these plans.
Some grasslands will be mowed less often
On the public map of the city of Vilnius, mowed areas are marked, predicting where the grass must be short and where blooming meadows can be left.
As last year, it will be possible to admire the flowering slopes of Tauros mountain, Geležinis Vilkos street, Neris waterfront. In addition, natural growth will be left in the middle of traffic circles and areas at cloverleaf intersections.
This year, the people of Vilnius probably also noticed the areas of transport hubs (A. Goštauto St. Pedagogic Ring) or public square meadows (Jonas Jablonskis Square, greenery near the Cathedral Square, Bernardinų Soda, Petro Cvirkos Square) blooming with daffodils, daffodils, and crocuses. After flowering, they will look untidy for a few weeks, but it is necessary to leave the above-ground part of bulbous plants to turn yellow and wither naturally - then their bulbs will mature so that they can wait out the next winter and a year later they will delight again with colorful flowers from the beginning of April.
"Evaluating from an ecological point of view, during a dry period, the herbage slows down the vital processes in order to survive the unfavorable period and ripen the seeds, and at the same time, with its stems, it covers the surface of the earth from direct sunlight, thus protecting the soil from overheating and further loss of moisture." From an aesthetic point of view, unmown lawns in an urbanized environment give a sense of life due to the movement of the wind and the play of the sun's reflections. Such areas, alternating with mowed areas, would form the feeling of a much cleaner, cozier city, the urban environment would become more vibrant, and not "sterilized" to the point of hopeless baldness," said the president of the Lithuanian Nature Society, Dr. Ričardas Skorupskas, whose insights two years ago Vilnius city municipalities specialists were encouraged to change the periodicity of mowing meadows and lawns. The scientist emphasized that in order to get a really good result, it is necessary to create a planned, ecologically and aesthetically based process.
Regulation - to the nearest centimeter
In the technical specification, which is used by the supervisors of the green areas of the Vilnius City Municipality - the companies "Mano aplinka", "Stebulė" and "VSA Vilnius", everything is arranged in centimeters.
The dividing lines of the streets and the greenery belonging to the street are mowed when the grass reaches a height of no more than 10 cm. The height of the grass after mowing should not exceed 5 cm.
Street dividing lanes: in lanes wider than 25 m, mowing is carried out in a "wavy" manner, leaving the middle of the lane unmowed (the mowing width of these lanes must be coordinated with the municipality); in lanes narrower than 25 m, mow in a straight line 2 m from both sides, leaving the middle of the lane unmowed. Strips narrower than 10 m are mowed over the entire area.
The first mowing of partially mowed dividing lanes is carried out after June 24. (if it is a dry summer, this mowing is omitted). The second mowing is after September 1.
Squares, squares and traffic rings are mowed when the grass reaches a height of no more than 10 cm. The height of the grass after mowing must not exceed 5 cm.
In those transport rings, where more frequent mowing is carried out and there are greenery (trees and bushes), a 2-meter non-mowing area is left around them.
The slopes of the streets, the slopes of the Neris river are mowed after June 24. (if it is a dry summer, this mowing is omitted). The second mowing is after September 1. Slope mowers (robots) are used for mowing slopes, where possible.
Lawns and slopes in yards are mowed when the grass reaches a height of no more than 10 cm. The height of the grass after mowing must not exceed 5 cm.
Undeveloped areas are mowed as needed, but at least 2 times per season - after June 24. for the first time and after September 1 - second time. The deadline may change depending on weather conditions. The service provider must perform mowing of undeveloped areas, while chopping the grass or raking and removing the mowed grass within 3 working days.
Areas of meadows with infrequent or sustainable mowing will remain on slopes near streets, highways, as well as in traffic lanes and traffic rings. In order to achieve a neat and urban image, the roadsides will be mowed by passing and making a 1-2 meter wide swath, so that taller grass does not turn into the roadway and does not disturb pedestrians or cyclists.
