Explanation of Mowing Policy

Why do we mow?

We have to mow, but where possible, we only do this once a year. This gives flowers more chance to grow and spread. And they attract more insects, which increases the biodiversity of flora and fauna. When we mow, the cuttings are removed immediately. This ensures that the grass becomes 'lean' and receives less nutrition. It sounds strange, but that is exactly what ensures that more diversity of plants can grow! If grass is not mowed, small trees and shrubs will have the chance to grow. Also beautiful, but not what we are aiming for in those places. Also for traffic safety, the grass on verges must not grow too high. Otherwise, the view is obstructed and it is more difficult to swerve if necessary.

When do we mow?

We mow the verges at the end of spring, beginning of June. We do this deliberately because the spring flowers have bloomed and dropped their seeds. The insects that hibernate between the herb-rich grass also have a chance to wake up. The eggs and larvae have time to develop into adult insects. By mowing after May, a second growth of herb-rich grass can occur, so that flowers can also be seen at the end of the summer. The faded flowers and herbs then remain in the winter. This gives the seeds the chance to sink into the soil and we have even more floral splendor the following year! In the autumn, we mow the verges for a ^second time, but then only 1 meter from the roadway. We do this in connection with traffic safety.

On grass fields and strips in residential areas, the city centre and Ekkersrijt we start mowing at the end of March. We manage these intensively. This means that we mow frequently. This is not good for biodiversity, but it is suitable for sports and games. That is also one of the valuable functions that green can have!

What else are we going to do?

In the future, we want to see whether we can create more variation at the time of mowing in grass areas that are next to each other, for example. If we mow fields partly in the spring and partly in the fall, the species diversity will increase further. In addition, we receive many tips from residents who point out places where they would rather see a flower-rich grassland than a 'boring' grass field or shrub area. We will then see what the possibilities are. In various places, we have removed shrubs and sown a herb-rich grass mixture. We will continue to look at where we can create herb-rich grass in the municipality. In this way, we make Son en Breugel even greener and more beautiful!