Urban grasslands

Mowing will continue to be undertaken in the remaining parts of the reserves, outside the designated biodiversity ‘Urban grassland mowing zones’. Any reduction in mowing workloads will free up time to undertake other important maintenance tasks, such as careful weed control to protect native vegetation. Changes in maintenance will be monitored and reviewed as part of annual site planning work.  

Seeing long grass can take some time to get used to when it has been mowed short for a long time. At certain times of year, particularly after spring flowering has finished, some people may consider these areas to look a little messy. However, tidy landscapes don’t provide many benefits for native wildlife, including birds and butterflies. After all, nature isn’t neat and tidy.

We will continue to maintain the edges of these areas, including mowing grass around paths and fire breaks.  

We will monitor these areas by collecting information on maintenance needs. Staff will monitor sites to measure differences in temperature and observe changes in the variety and number of plant and animal species.

We encourage the community to help monitor wildlife by getting involved in one of many free citizen science programs. For example, iNaturalist invites you to take a photo of a wild plant or animal, upload it to the app to identify what you have seen. The app connects with experts and other citizen scientists to help provide valuable scientific data. For more information visit your app store or www.inaturalist.org

We will review the sites every year to help inform decisions on expanding this practice to other areas.  

This is a small-scale program and is not likely to increase any hay fever symptoms. People suffering from allergies should continue to manage their symptoms as advised by their doctor. 

Each site will be different and we expect species variety to increase over time as native plants are supported to grow and spread naturally because they will be allowed to set seed. While most of the plants will consist of native grasses and wildflowers, some of the sites that are located in formal reserves, will also feature non-native species which can also provide habitat for native wildlife.  

We share this land with snakes and other wildlife. Snakes are an important part of the natural ecosystem. They have adapted well to urban areas where they like to eat native and introduced species such as rats and mice or frogs and other reptiles.

Snake bites are very uncommon because all snakes see us as a threat and want to avoid confrontation with people, however, they may try to defend themselves if they feel threatened.

Take care when walking through areas of long grass during spring and summer. This is when snakes are likely to be active. Stick to paths at those times and leash your dog. We will maintain mown areas around all ‘Urban grassland’ sites to improve visibility for snakes.

For more information about snakes in urban areas please visit Department for Environment and Water  

We have selected areas where there were already some native grasses growing on a reserve. By letting them grow and set seed, we are supporting them to spread naturally. 

We have conducted a risk assessment process and continue to ensure adequate fuel breaks are maintained to protect houses and the community.

The edges of parks and urban grasslands will continue to be mowed with adequate fuel breaks maintained. Many native grasses grow over summer, which means they stay green at the base and pose a much lower fire risk than weedy grasses. We will also continue to monitor fuel loads and weather conditions and will undertake some carefully timed slashing to allow native grasses time to set seed.  

Here are some online resources and links to see what is happening elsewhere:

• Mowing urban lawns less intensely increases biodiversity, saves money and reduces pests (Science Daily)
• Hamilton New Zealand – Data shows how no-mow trial in Hamilton parks helped biodiversity
• Meri-Bek Biodiversity Mowing trial – Victoria