Meadows and agricultural fields

The maintenance of meadows and agricultural fields is steered by policies for the care of natural areas. These policies have been prepared by the Urban Space and Landscape planning services in cooperation with resident associations and other stakeholder groups. The department’s plans and guidelines for natural area maintenance comply with the policies.

Despite the city’s urban character, the City of Helsinki is one of the biggest farmers in the Uusimaa Region, with 420 hectares of cultivated land inside the city borders. Helsinki-owned fields in other municipalities are leased to private farmers.

The Haltiala farm and fields are part of Finland’s nationally significant cultural heritage. The fields are managed and cultivated by traditional methods.

Agricultural fields in the city are managed and cultivated by City staff using traditional methods. The fields are used to cultivate domestic grains, sun flowers, honey bee flowers and peas. Residents can pick flowers and peas for their own use.

Many former cultivated fields and pastures enveloped by development in the city are maintained as meadows for recreational uses.

Meadows are mowed either once or twice during a summer. The majority of uncultivated fields are mowed only once, and the cut hey and grass are left on the ground. Some meadows are used for grazing by farm animals.

Fields, pastures and meadows offer people open and attractive environments for year-round outdoor recreation. Systematic cultivation and maintenance of them ensures that Helsinki residents maintain connections to rural Finland.

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06.12.2019 18:38