Photo – Ukrainian communities refuse to mow grass amid abnormal heat shutterstock

Ukrainian communities refuse to mow grass amid abnormal heat

Anna Velyka

One of the reasons is the positive experience of foreign communities

In Kyiv and Rivne, they decided to limit the mowing of lawns and vegetation in the local areas during hot periods.

This was announced by the head of the Department of Environmental Protection and Adaptation to Climate Change of the Kyiv City State Administration Oleksandr Voznyi and the Ecoclub organization.

Communities are changing approaches to the improvement of urban areas, adapting to climate change and weather conditions in the summer.

"Due to the abnormal heat in the city, at the level of the Department of Environmental Protection, it was decided to temporarily abandon grass mowing in ALL the balance areas of our KP UZN. And this is most of the parks and squares of the capital, a large number of other green areas, "said Alexander Vozny.

On behalf of his Department, he called on management companies to refrain from mowing in the local areas. The official stressed that the rejection of mowing in the heat has several advantages:

  • will protect workers from heat stroke;
  • will protect lawns from damage, because mowing during high temperatures is a high stress for vegetation;
  • will provide a cooler soil temperature;
  • will retain moisture in the ground.

Also, Oleksandr Vozniy said that in the near future, a survey will be available in the "Kyiv Digital" application regarding the increase of plots without mowing.

In Rivne, the city authorities and eco-activists discussed measures that they can implement now, so that the citizens can more easily survive periods of heat waves. Together, they agreed that the rules for the care of the grass cover in the community should be updated and the number of mowings should be limited during the hot season.

It is noted that in 2022 the Rivne community spent UAH 4.1 million on lawn mowing. According to calculations, these costs can be cut at least in half, and the saved funds can be invested in the development of sustainable greening of the community, which will help residents to survive heat waves more easily.

At the beginning of May, EcoPolitic reported on the plans of the Kyiv authorities plant decorative meadows in order to give up regular mowing of the grass. And already in the middle of June, we talked about what The Kyiv Council rejected it a petition with the proposal of Kyiv residents to stop mowing lawns "below zero". It's a bit inconsistent, isn't it?

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