{"id":1616,"date":"2026-06-30T18:50:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grasslife.lv\/the-first-open-meadow-day-of-the-season-held-in-the-flowering-meadows-of-the-abava-river-valley\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T18:45:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T15:45:29","slug":"the-first-open-meadow-day-of-the-season-held-in-the-flowering-meadows-of-the-abava-river-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grasslife.lv\/en\/the-first-open-meadow-day-of-the-season-held-in-the-flowering-meadows-of-the-abava-river-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"The first Open Meadow Day of the season held in the flowering meadows of the Abava River Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 20 June, the Latvian Fund for Nature held an Open Meadow Day in the Abava River Valley Nature Park, bringing together participants for an informative and inspiring event about natural meadows at the farm of nature-friendly farmers Linda and J\u0101nis Priednieks. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The morning began with breakfast snacks and a tasting of wild plant pesto prepared by Linda, followed by discussions about the management and restoration of natural meadows.<\/p>\n

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Tasting wild plant pesto. Photo: Ter\u0113ze Matisone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hosts, Linda and J\u0101nis, together with Latvian Fund for Nature grassland expert Baiba Strazdi\u0146a, then spoke about the importance of natural meadows for conserving biodiversity. They also explained how the naturalness of a meadow can be determined based on its plant species composition and the presence of indicator species.<\/p>\n

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Grassland expert Baiba Strazdi\u0146a talks about natural meadow management. Photo: Ter\u0113ze Matisone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Participants were also introduced to the natural meadow restoration methods used on the farm, including restorative grazing, restorative mowing, removal of overgrowth, and the introduction of seeds from natural grassland plants. These methods are used across approximately 30 hectares, gradually improving the structure and species composition of the meadows.<\/p>\n

The day continued with a walk through the flowering Midsummer meadows of the Abava River Valley, where participants learned about the diversity of natural meadow plants and indicator species, including maiden pink, quaking grass, mountain clover and meadow salsify, as well as other species characteristic of meadows. During the walk, participants also had the opportunity to observe a specially protected natural grassland plant species, cross Gentian.<\/p>\n