New machinery recently purchased by the council
means that cuttings from more areas of grassland can be collected and baled up
to form hay bales.
Removing grass cuttings reduces nutrient levels
in the soil, allowing a much wider range of plant species to grow, which in
turn can support an increased range of pollinators.
Baled grass can then be used to form grass
piles which can provide important habitats for invertebrates and other
wildlife, or it can be used to create compost.
Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr
Peter Bradbury said: "We already look after 33.5 hectares of pollinator
friendly and informal grasslands. Investing in this new machinery means that at
some of the sites we are able to make life even easier for nature and maximise
our positive impact on biodiversity - but there's still more work to do.
"Plans are being developed to purchase
further machinery that will allow us to roll out this cut and lift approach to
more sites. We also intend to add more sites to our one-cut regime ahead of the
next mowing season, and later this year we will also be publishing our One
Planet Strategy, which will address the multiple challenges posed by climate
change and the loss of biodiversity."
Sites at Forest Farm, Pontcanna Fields and
Heath Park have already benefitted from this new approach.
Further machinery purchases will be possible
due to funding received from the Welsh Government's Local Places for Nature
Funding.