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Nine of the 21 communities in the Gmünd district are “nature in the garden” communities that have spoken out against the use of pesticides and peat and in favor of natural areas. Six municipalities do not use pesticides.
Badge just received
Großdietmanns is the “youngest” parish in this group, it received the “Nature in the garden” award last week.
“We have been working without synthetic chemical agents for a long time and we value the preservation of natural spaces. So it was only a logical step that we settled on this seal of approval in the municipal council, ”says Councilor for the Environment Christian Kowar.
2,000 square meters of bushes
The municipality of Gmünd took this step back in 2016, and in spring was awarded the highest honor “Nature in the garden”, the “Golden Hedgehog”.
“We are the envy of many municipalities in Lower Austria for our green spaces,” says Deputy Mayor Helga Rosenmayer, who may refer to some 2,000 square meters of shrubbery in the city of Gmünd; the first were in 2016 as part of the renovation of Bahnhofstrasse according to a concept of the landscape planners created by Franz Grossauer. Many other green spaces followed the concept: they are also optically front men of ecological awareness in our city. “
Although Gmünd is one of the most urban cities in Waldviertel, no other city is immersed in a comparable natural landscape. “We gmünders have nature and biodiversity in the middle of the city. That is incredible potential that we can all be proud of, “emphasizes Rosenmayer.
Cordless tools for green space maintenance
The Heidenreichstein municipality can also call itself a “nature in the garden municipality”.
“It is a certain extra effort to keep the green spaces without pesticides or peat, but the protection of the environment comes first. For this reason, we have also purchased cordless tools for green space maintenance, ”says SP Mayor Gerhard Kirchmayer, who takes pride in the newly created large bee pasture between the church and the elementary school.
A decision is planned
Weitra is not yet a “nature in the garden” community. “But the only thing missing is the decision of principle in the local council, which will come soon,” reveals Deputy Mayor Patrick Layr.
Expert advice was provided in the spring. “We have a lot of green spaces and trees that are already pesticide free and a bee hotel. Additional trees and flowers are planned for the new green spaces that are now being laid throughout the newly designed B41 city, of course, all to Nature-in-the-Garden specifications, ”says Layr.
Primal rock in nature in the garden.
In the parish of San Martín there has been “nature in the garden” for 20 years. “At that time, we started planting old fruit trees. We have now planted more than 1,800 trees, ”says Deputy Mayor Peter Höbarth. But also many hedges found their way into the community. “There is also the day of the lower coverage again. You can order shrubs and perennials online for this until October 14, ”says Höbarth (information at www.heckentag.at).
Pesticides and peat have long been banned from public green spaces. So we have been a community of nature in the garden for years, even if the official resolution of the city council is missing. Maybe we’ll catch up on that, ”says Höbarth.
It depends on the “how”
Franz Grossauer, civil engineer for landscape planning, does not accept that the maintenance and care of green spaces is more laborious without pesticides: “It is a different kind of maintenance. But if some criteria are taken into account when designing the green spaces and choosing the plants, it can even save work. “
It is important to use weed-free soil and perennial perennials instead of annual flowers: “With the right mix, you can have flowers from spring to fall.”
Gardeners can advise on this and of course from nature in the garden, on October 6 there was a cross-border practical day for construction yard employees and green space managers in Gmünd.
“Corona has raised awareness”
A special point of contact for all garden lovers and communities is the nature “garden phone” in the garden, based in Zwettl. Since January, this service point has been managed by Stefan Strobelberger from the municipality of Moorbad Harbach.
Together with eleven employees, around 40,000 inquiries are answered per year. “There will be more this year. Corona has made people more aware of their own garden and supplying their own organic food. The green sector is booming. Apparently many have been infected with the ‘garden virus’, ”says Strobelberger.
But you can’t just get help over the phone at the counseling center: “We also offer one-on-one advice after a prior phone appointment, as well as live chats and award the coveted nature plaques in the garden for private gardens. In the Gmünd district, 426 orchards have already been created. Excellent.
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