This summer, the city of Tallinn significantly reduced the mowing of green areas in order to contribute to the development of biodiversity and to reduce the heat island effect in urban space. However, in September-October, all green areas will be mowed, so that during autumn, cleaning up fallen tree leaves will be easier.

“The city has gradually reduced mowing, and this year, during a drought period, we stopped it completely,” said Deputy Mayor Vladimir Svet. “In the second half of the summer, we partially restored mowing in places where it helped fight invasive species. It is important that mowing is organised with a scientific basis and contributes to biodiversity, but still does not come at the expense of the safety of people and domestic animals.”

New contracts for the maintenance of green spaces have been in effect since 1 December 2022, which prescribe less intensive mowing of greenery compared to before. Thus, with the new contracts, the intensity of mowing has been reduced compared to last summer. Reducing the amount of mowing is set as a goal for the next year as well.

“We have received different types of feedback to our minimal mowing,” explained Svet. “Many people like the plants that have started to grow in the urban space, but there are also other opinions. We are currently conducting a survey in the city centre to find out more precisely which green areas people use and how and what their expectations are for mowing specific green areas. If it turns out to be effective, we will also study the opinions of residents of other districts. Input from the survey will help us understand people’s expectations even better and organise mowing next season as well.”

The survey will take place on the Maptionnaire website until September 12 and can be found here. As part of the survey, you will be asked to mark the green areas you use in the city centre on the map and answer questions about them.

All public green areas in Tallinn will still be mowed during autumn. This helps to better organise both the cleaning of fallen tree leaves and, in the future, snow removal from green areas.

Additionally, this year, Tallinn has planted 14 flowering meadows across the city in order to enrich the urban environment, increase biodiversity and mitigate the urban heat island effect. In total, 3.5 hectares of meadows with native plant life were planted.