On May 18–22 of this year, experts from the Eurosite network representing various European countries – Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Hungary, and the United Kingdom – paid an experience exchange visit to the Latvian Fund for Nature to learn about the experience of restoring and managing natural grasslands in Latvia.
Eurosite is a network of European nature conservation organizations and natural area managers that voluntarily unites public authorities, non-governmental organizations, private companies, and experts with the aim of promoting nature conservation and restoration across Europe.
The guests were delighted by:
- the restored wood-meadows near the Gauja River at the “Vekši” and “Bekas” nature-friendly farms in the Valka municipality;
- the continuously flooded meadows in the Sita and Pededze Floodplain nature reserve in the Gulbene municipality, managed by SIA “Sita Nature Park”;
- the restored extensive wet grassland complex on Grīva Island in the Madona municipality, managed by SIA “Tīravoti”;
- as well as the vast grasslands and pastures at “Kalna Rubeņi” in the Madona municipality.
Some of the visitors had visited certain farms several years ago and praised the owners for the clear and visible improvements in both habitat quality and the landscape.
At the Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES), the visit participants learned about the production of grassland habitat seeds and plant cultivation, noting that the institute’s seed sorting equipment is more advanced than what they had seen in Germany or Denmark.
Eurosite guests visiting the GrassLIFE2 partner farm “Kalna Rubeņi”. Photo: LFN archive.
Visiting the nature-friendly farmer Jurijs Prokofjevs from SIA “Sita Nature Park”, who is one of the largest owners of natural grassland areas in Latvia, the guests viewed a mobile grass pellet production unit. The unit uses habitat grass that cannot be used for fodder as a raw material for pellets. Combined with added microorganism cultures, this approach shows a promising application as bedding material, soil fertilizer, or container plant substrate as a peat alternative.
The Eurosite guests emphasized that they were pleasantly surprised by the passion of Latvian nature farmers to care for their lands, their pride in the biodiversity of their territories, and their interest in the history of their property.