The Municipality of Budapest and FŐKERT share the goal of increasing the natural habitats of flora and fauna in Budapest. In their park maintenance practices, they have already introduced several elements of nature-friendly, near-natural green space management. In the spring of 2021, they took a new step towards more ecological maintenance with a new programme: an extensive grassland management programme was introduced, which has created more than 28 hectares of insect-friendly green spaces in the capital's parks and green strips.
By rethinking and redesigning the management of urban green spaces in an ecological way, they can do a lot to preserve biodiversity and have a good chance of attracting species back into the urban environment. The solution is actually not too complicated: instead of the intensive mowing of lawns 5-7 times a year, parks are designated with patches where wild flowers have time to develop, flower, mature, seed and spread, while maintaining 1-3 mowing. Wildflowers and less disturbed green spaces provide habitat and feeding areas for insect species, which also provide food for birds. Higher grassland retains more dew and water, which has a positive effect on soil water balance, so it is less likely to dry out in times of drought.
