New Civil scythe group for the Nature Network
Realized:
2022
performed by:
Naturnetz Mittelland
A centuries-old craft for sustainable land management
The Nature Network attaches great importance to the ecological management of nature reserves. For this reason, a civil service scythe group was founded at the Mittelland location this year.
Scythe mowing is not only an old craft that is worth passing on, but also the most gentle form of management for meadows and the environment. Mowing with a scythe can specifically promote biodiversity on the land. The fauna is protected and individual plants such as orchids or biennial herb islands can be mown down. Foreign objects such as aluminum cans and glass bottles are also detected early and can be removed. The scythe can also be used to mow very steep or heavily waterlogged passages where the scythe mower reaches its limits and the brush cutter would have to be used.
The scythe group was used in various projects this year, both on orders that have been recurring for years and on new projects.
For example, the lean meadow near the Haslern vineyard in Weiningen, which was planted in autumn 2021, could be mown with a scythe. Before the renovation, this area could still be mown with a scythe mower. Due to the wooden slope protection, this is no longer possible. The "Drusberg" area in the Wehrenbachtobel Zurich, which is leased from the nature network, was also mown with a scythe for the first time this year. Due to the very narrow access road, the scythe mower previously had to be laboriously dismantled and carried down. This is now a thing of the past.
In order to protect flora and fauna, different mowing methods (scythe mowing, scythe mower, brush cutter) were combined on some projects. For example, to promote dragonflies and endangered caddisflies at the "Zielhang Rehalp" slope meadow in the Wehrenbachtobel Zurich, the existing ditches and heavily waterlogged areas were mowed with a scythe. Another example of the sensible combination of different mowing methods is the Dunkelhölzli nature reserve in Altstetten. In this area, some areas are inaccessible to the scythe mower due to the topography or groups of trees. Thanks to the scythe, the use of brush cutters could be significantly reduced compared to the previous year (2021: 22h, 2022: 8h).