What is an Urban Meadow?
An urban meadow is a grassland dominated by native perennial wild plants and managed to enhance the biodiversity in the city.
Our goal is to create at least 45 urban meadow areas totalling at least 15 hectares by 2027.
How Did Riga’s Urban Meadows Originate?
At a time when natural grasslands and other habitats are in rapid decline, cities are playing an increasingly important role in conserving biodiversity by becoming places of refuge for wild plants and animals.
The author and promoter of the idea of the urban meadows in Riga is Rūta Sniedze-Kretalova, botanist at the Latvian Fund for Nature (LFN). The first urban meadow areas were created in 2021 with the support of Riga City Council and project GrassLIFE implemented by LFN. Since then, urban meadows in Riga have been created in project urbanLIFEcircles by the LFN in cooperation with Riga City Council and local citizen communities. Local citizen communities suggest areas of grassland owned and regularly managed by the municipality that they would like to turn into urban meadows instead of their usual lawns. Every year in autumn, local residents take part in urban meadow creation events and help monitor these areas, reporting their observations to LFN.
Currently, the urban meadow network includes 42 sites covering a total of 13.7 ha. Urban meadows have been established in Jugla, Mežaparks, Purvciems, Ķengarags, Grīziņkalns, Āgenskalns and many other places in Riga.
A map of urban meadow areas in Riga can be found here.
Why Create Urban Meadows?
- Wild plants
Urban meadows are planted with native meadow plants, which are essential for restoring and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Plants attract and feed many other living organisms – soil microorganisms, fungi, earthworms, bacteria, invertebrates, birds, mammals, etc. The greater the diversity of plants, the more life there is in urban meadows!
- Pollinators
The more plants in urban meadows, the more pollinators! They also work in urban gardens, pollinating crops and increasing the fruit yield in our gardens.
- Healthy soil
Plant diversity, which attracts a wide variety of soil microorganisms, is the basis for healthy soil.
- Cleaner air, rain and flood water intake and treatment
Plants filter the air by taking in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and fixing it in plants, roots and soil. The soil and root system of meadows act like a sponge, capturing and purifying rainwater.
- Temperature control
Heat islands – places where temperatures are consistently higher than outside cities – are a growing problem in cities. Green spaces, including urban meadows, and the presence of plants cool and make the environment more pleasant.
- Education
Urban meadows provide an opportunity to learn about ecological processes, as well as the plants and animals they support. It’s a fascinating way to connect with nature!
- Lower site management costs
Urban meadows should only be mown once or twice a season, saving site management costs.
How Do We Create Urban Meadows?
- Site Assesement:Following recommendations from the municipality and the public, we survey potential sites to assess their current condition and suitability for an urban meadow;
- Management Planning: We prepare a management plan for each area, providing recommendations for mowing and caring for the area to make it a place rich in plants. At the same time, we contact Riga Forests Ltd and other relevant institutions to implement the management
- Ongoing Assessment: We continuously assess the success of urban meadows – identifying and inventory plants and studying the ecological, landscape and social contribution of the ecosystem;
- Community Involvement: Together with volunteers, we provide seeds of native wild plants, establish and maintain the urban meadows;
- Urban Meadow Creation Events: Every autumn, we expand our urban meadow network by organising urban meadow creation events with various associations and volunteers. We usually approach the neighborhood association according to the location of the site, but everyone is welcome to participate!
How Are Urban Meadow Creation Events Organised?
- Urban meadow creation events are a collective process where we rake the soil and sow wildflower seeds;
- These events take place every year in October and November, which is the best time for sowing wild flower seeds, as it is the end of the active vegetation and many plants need cold conditions for seed germination. Also, various seed-eating insects become less active during this period, which means less seed loss;
- Each urban meadow event lasts approximately about a couple of hours. During this time, participants level the soil with rakes, remove turf, and sow wild plant seeds.
How Are Urban Meadows Evolving?
As ecosystems, meadows evolve slowly and gradually. After sowing seeds, only a few plants germinate in the first year. Most perennial plants develop a root system in the first year of their life, which they use to absorb nutrients and water. This is why we may not see flowers in the first year, as only the rosettes of leaves are formed. In the second or third year of life, meadow plants are mature enough to start flowering and producing seeds. However, not all plants follow this pattern; for example, orchids bloom only several years after germination
The development of urban meadows is influenced by the history of the specific area. If the site has low fertility soils and special topography or moisture conditions, the meadows develop well and the diversity of plant species increases rapidly. Such meadows can be found at the foot of Dreiliņkalns, on the Jugla promenade, near Imantas Market, on Liedes Street, on Jūrmalas Avenue near the Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia and elsewhere.
However, if the soil is too fertile and the site has been mown frequently in previous years, existing plants such as sickle Medick (Medicago falcata), perennial Rye-grass (Lolium perenne) and red Clover (Trifolium pratense) are strong and prevent the seeded plants from developing successfully. However, even if plant diversity is slower to develop, these areas are important for pollinators, provide food and shelter for animals, and provide valuable ecosystem services.
The Most Typical Urban Meadow Plants in Riga
Wild carrot Daucus carota
Wild carrot thrives in most urban meadow areas. The garden carrot has been bred from this species, encouraging the development of a succulent root part. The wild carrot also has a strong, fragrant root, but is too woody to be edible. The wild carrot flowers gradually and its flowers, pollen and nectar are very popular with insects. If you look closely, you can sometimes see a darker coloured spot in the wild carrot flower that looks like a small insect. It is an evolutionary trick! This is how the plant attracts insects, saying: “See, it is so nice here and someone is already feasting!”
Oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare
The oxeye daisy is also popularly known as the daisy. Did you know that this is the national plant of Latvia? The pipe is also one of the most typical Midsummer herbs. The densest stands of oxeye daisy in the Latvian landscape can be found in the oldest fallow land, but it has also become very well established in urban meadows.
Yellow Chamomile Anthemis tinctoria
The yellow chamomile is visually very similar to the oxeye daisy, but yellow throughout. The yellow chamomile are now more commonly seen in dry, gravelly meadows and roadsides, and the urban environment is not so different from the species’ natural habitat.
Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus sp.
Rattleweed are also known as meadow makers. Unlike most other meadow plants, rattleweed are annual and fast growing plants. They flower and set seed in their first year. The rattling of the seeds in their knobs told our ancestors that the time for harvesting the meadows was at hand.
Brown Knapweed Centaurea jacea
The flower of this gorgeous flowering plant resembles a cornflower, which is not surprising as the two are close relatives! However, brown knapweed are typical meadow plants, while cornflower is a field weed. If you look closely, you will see that there are four different species of knapweed in the urban meadows – each with a slightly different flower and leaf shape.
Common Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Common yarrow can be found in all urban meadows, despite the fact that it is not specially sown. The common yarrow is a highly plastic species that can also withstand adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, soil disturbance and heating. The plant reproduces successfully by rhizomes. Although common yarrow is a common species, it helps the soil to recover from pollution and is a good medicinal plant.
