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Cardiff introduces more cut and lift mowing to support biodiversity
Enhanced cut and lift mowing procedures are being rolled out across more areas of wildflower and informally managed grassland in Cardiff, as part of the city's ongoing work to support biodiversity.

New machinery recently purchased by the council means that cuttings from more areas of grassland can be collected and baled up to form hay bales.

Removing grass cuttings reduces nutrient levels in the soil, allowing a much wider range of plant species to grow, which in turn can support an increased range of pollinators.

Baled grass can then be used to form grass piles which can provide important habitats for invertebrates and other wildlife, or it can be used to create compost.

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr Peter Bradbury said: "We already look after 33.5 hectares of pollinator friendly and informal grasslands. Investing in this new machinery means that at some of the sites we are able to make life even easier for nature and maximise our positive impact on biodiversity - but there's still more work to do.

"Plans are being developed to purchase further machinery that will allow us to roll out this cut and lift approach to more sites. We also intend to add more sites to our one-cut regime ahead of the next mowing season, and later this year we will also be publishing our One Planet Strategy, which will address the multiple challenges posed by climate change and the loss of biodiversity."

Sites at Forest Farm, Pontcanna Fields and Heath Park have already benefitted from this new approach.

Further machinery purchases will be possible due to funding received from the Welsh Government's Local Places for Nature Funding.