City meadow sites

A selection of city park lawns will be changed towards meadows.

In the meadow sites, we changed the management of the area to favor meadows and sowed meadow plants to accelerate development. By growing meadows, we can increase the number of species and improve the living conditions of pollinating insects.

Meadows bind nutrients and carbon and also act as filters for stormwater, making the water that ends up in the lake cleaner.

Mowing is done when the seeds of the plants begin to ripen between July and September.

Initially, the meadow species in the sites are few, but after the measures, their number will increase within a couple of years. Meadow plants that also occur in nearby areas have been sown in the meadow, such as daisies, bellflowers, crocuses, primroses, red clover, meadow hops, wild clover, fireweed, yellow clover and St. John's wort. The vegetation in the area develops according to the nutrient content and moisture of the soil. Meadow plants prefer low-nutrient environments. In dry places, meadow species such as bellflower become more common, and in moist soils, species from fresh meadows, such as red clover, become more common.

In the future, the meadow sites being developed will form a chain where pollinating insects can move from one site to another.

The meadow develops gradually. In the early stages, flowering plants compete for dominance. At first, annuals and biennials dominate (e.g., bellflower, fireweed), later, red clover and daisies dominate. Gradually, the meadow's appearance stabilizes and slower-developing meadow plants, such as bellflower, cranesbill, and various beeches, begin to bloom.

Each resident can do a lot for their area and environment, for example by participating in litter, invasive species and mowing campaigns. From an environmental perspective, it is also beneficial to establish a meadow strip on your own plot or to treat stormwater generated on the plot in a natural way at its source.

It is hoped that the meadow's floral splendor will bring joy and experiences to the residents of the area. As the meadow becomes established in the future, it will also be possible to collect small quantities of flowers or plant seeds from the area to take home.

Meadow sign (pdf) 

A forest-like environment

Silk Park

Meadow plants are strongest at the edge of the park forest and are spreading more widely. In the autumn of 2024, gaps were plowed into the grassland surface and meadow plants were sown, thus adding more meadow plants and important missing species to the new meadow. A wider variety of plants, in turn, benefits a larger number of butterflies and other pollinating insects. 

The area marked in yellow is already managed using the fallow meadow management method.

Red shows areas where the management interval could be reduced and converted into meadows.

1. Toivolansaari
2. Lehmustie park lane
3. Plot below Omatupa
4. Riihipuisto
5. Kölipuistikko
6. Päiväniitty
7. Raholan puistikko
8. Takilanpuistikko
9. Matin puistikko
10. Hankapuistikko
11. Kortteenkatu plot
12. Palopuisto
13. Hakapuisto
14. Viitapuisto
15. Park strip along Vanha Tampereentie road
    Along Tampere Road
16. Myllymäenkatu field edge
17. Viulumiehenväylä plots
18. Tiilipuisto
19. Kuhilaspuisto
20. Isotalonkatu park strips

Meadow sites (pdf)

Green and sports area manager
Iiro Uusitalo
044 730 1268
iiro.uusitalo@ikaalinen.fi