Turku Student Village Foundation (TYS) is transforming some lawn areas near its housing locations into meadows. The meadows were established near Haliskylä, Ikituuri, Kuunsilta and Nummenranta housing locations. The goal is to support biodiversity and offer habitats for pollinators.
“The idea for these meadows came from our tenants. It’s always nice when we get to fulfill their wishes,” says Toni Pohjavirta, TYS’s maintenance engineer.
The meadow locations were planned together with Infraroad Oy. The meadows will be established in areas selected by landscaping professionals, while taking the living comfort of tenants into account. The locations of the meadows can be seen in the map images at the end of this article.
Information signs have been put up for passers-by.
Meadows are not built in a day
Tenants should not expect to see meadow flowers in bloom this summer, as establishing a meadow takes time and patience. When a lawn is turned into a meadow, the first year is mainly for finding out what plants rise from the ground naturally. The plants pushing through give an indication of the area’s soil type and nutrient levels.
“When we get to know the area better, it becomes easier to choose what type of plants we should plant,” says landscaping director Anu Hiiterä from Infraroad Oy.
The meadows will be cut down with a trimmer at the latest during early autumn 2024. The cut plant parts are left on the ground to dry so that they can drop their seeds. After the plant parts are dry, they are raked away. Supplementary seeds will be planted as necessary during autumn or spring 2025.
“However, every area is different,” Hiiterä adds.
In the Ikituuri meadow, for example, new seeds will already be sown later this year, while in Haliskylä, a method called screefing will be used. In this method some patches of lawn will be peeled away and new species of plants are then planted in these patches. The aim is that the plants will slowly spread across the whole meadow area.
Lush meadows are small paradises for pollinators
Flower meadows are pleasing to look at, but they are even more valuable for pollinator insects and different endangered species. According to the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, about a fourth of endangered species in Finland are meadow-dwelling species.
Thus, you should keep your distance when admiring meadows – walking in the meadow or picking the plants may harm the species in the area. Because of this, signs will be installed near the meadows to share information about them to the passers-by and the area’s residents.
Join us in watching the meadows grow!
Meadow areas on the map:
