Valued meadows

Valued meadows are meadows that are designated as important for their cultural heritage, landscape or biodiversity, or are otherwise important to local residents. In Tampere, 14 valuable meadows have been preserved, the most important of which are Piikahaka and Hevoshaka. The aim is to ensure that all valuable meadows are subject to systematic management. The most common management method is mowing and collection of mowing waste.

Piikahaka

Piikahaka is located in Rahola, Tampere, at the corner of Nokiantie and Tesoman valtatie. It is a valued meadow with semi-open and wooded areas. Piikahaka used to be grazed by the sheep of Rahola Manor, and valuable meadow and broad-leaved plants still grow there. The area is home to a wide variety of valuable trees of different ages. The area has also been preserved with deadwood, and birdhouses have been hung on the trees. Sheep graze in the central part of the meadow during the summer.

Hevoshaka

Hevoshaka is located in Jokipohja, between Nekalantie and Iidesjärvi lake. The area is mainly open grassland, with a small pond and some wooded area. The area is rich in landscape and natural values; it is a valuable area for insects and birds and an important bat habitat. The open meadow of Hevoshaka is also part of the old agricultural landscape typical of Iidesjärvi lake. Hevoshaka is managed in summer by grazing young Finnish cattle.

Pappilanpuisto renewed meadow

Pappilanpuisto is located in Pappila on the east side of Kirjavaisenkatu. The varied and extensive green area is mainly an old field, with some meadows and wooded areas. A perennial meadow seed mix was sown on the central slope of the park in autumn 2013. The species in the mixture include brown knapweed, red campion, yellow chamomile, clustered bellflower and daisy. In addition, sheep's fescue and common bent were sown as cover crops.

The meadow grasses are slow starters, so the first few years of the meadow are modest in appearance.

Epilänharju and Sudenkuopanrinne

Epilänharju and Sudenkuopanrinne meadows are located in Epilänharju, east of Tohloppijärvi lake. These warm, sunlit slopes are a unique valuable landscape in Tampere. They are a valuable part of the esker environment. Other valued meadows in Tampere have a history of grazing or mowing, but this site is a natural sunlit esker slope. The slopes are covered with a diversity of meadow vegetation.

Provastinpuisto, Porraspuisto and Porraspuistikko

Provastinpuisto, Porraspuisto and Porraspuistikko are small areas of valued meadows located in Ylä-Pispala, on Pispalanharju slope. The meadows are bordered by private plots and partly by Provastinkatu and Pispankatu.

The sunlit slopes are a valuable part of the esker environment. A number of plant and insect species specialise in these areas, favouring sandy-bottomed sunlit environment. Cultivated plants, some of which are invasive alien species, have also spread to the sunlit slope. The aim of the management is therefore to reduce or eliminate invasive species, thus providing more habitat for the native species.

Teerivuorenpuisto

Teerivuorenpuisto is located in Rahola, along Jättikatajankatu. Teerivuorenpuisto consists of a valued meadow and a public meadow.

The open, south-facing, sandy meadow provides good conditions for the development of traditional biotope species. It is an old agricultural area and has probably been grazed historically. The area was arable until the 1990s, after which it gradually developed into grassland. An old barn is evidence of past arable farming.

Teerivuorenpuisto provides a habitat for numerous meadow plants and insects. The meadow is home to a wide variety of vegetation, including four different species of bellflower: common harebell, peach-leaved bellflower, clustered bellflower and spreading bellflower. Other relatively rare meadow species include burnet-saxifrage, mouse-ear hawkweed, sticky catchfly and daisy. The meadow is rich in honey bees, grasshoppers and butterflies. The wooded area is home to a protected old juniper tree, once the largest in the Nordic countries.

The main management of the area is mowing and collection of mowing waste. The area is mowed between August and September after the plants have flowered. The management promotes biodiversity in terms of vegetation and insects and maintains the traditional cultural landscape of the area. The meadow will remain open and the collection of the mowing waste will lead to a gradual depletion of the soil. This will provide more habitat for traditional grassland species. It is expected that long-hidden traditional biotope species will gradually emerge from the soil seed bank.