Colourful meadow - mowing concept at Hubland campus
„Es duften die Blumen und blühen so bunt,
Und jede Blüth' ist ein rosiger Mund!"
("The flowers smell sweet and bloom so colorfully,
And every blossom is a rosy mouth! ")
Excerpt from “Schmetterlingslied” (Butterfly Song) by Heinrich Seidel (1842 - 1906)
A colourful flowering meadow not only has aesthetic value, but is also a habitat and food source for a variety of insects and other animals.
The increasing scarcity of such “colourful meadows” in our intensively farmed landscape is a major driver of the massive loss of insects and other invertebrates. This also affects our bird life, for example if they depend on this food source. As a consequence their populations are also collapsing in a chain reaction. And ultimately, it also affects the livelihoods of us humans. Without pollinators and beneficial insects of all kinds, sustainable agriculture, for example, would be unthinkable.
In some cases, biodiversity in cities is now greater than in rural areas. This makes it all the more important to move away from the aesthetics of neatly mowed lawns in cities and to create habitats, preserve diversity, and promote biodiversity through appropriate seed mixtures and reduced mowing.
We want to make this possible on the extensive green spaces of the University of Hubland and have designed a mowing concept that aims to break up the uniform green and, through reduced mowing, allow the sometimes quite species-rich meadows to flourish.
So far, our mowing concept can only be applied to selected areas and to a limited extent, as otherwise conflicts with upcoming and future construction projects would arise. But we are always up to date and hope to be able to gradually expand our “colourful meadows.”
The map shows the areas where the mowing concept is being implemented.
Contact: Nadja Simons
