- There is so much at stake. We talk a lot about this with insects, butterflies and flowers together. Many of our crops require pollinators, says Sven-Åke Svensson, chairman of Eksjö nature conservation association.

A fraction of the meadow land remains

There are not many places where meadows are managed in the old way. It is about mowing the grass, preferably with a scythe, letting it seed off and then raking away the hay. A meadow should not be fertilized but the lean soil favors a variety of herbs, which in turn favors insects needed in our nature as pollinators.

In Eksjö municipality there were 920 hectares of meadow land in 1938, but fifty years later there were only five hectares left. The nature conservation association wants to increase the number of meadows throughout the country and then knowledge is required on how to care for them.

Meadow day in the whole country

Eksjö nature conservation association invites to a mowing guild at Fiskaretorpet, just outside Eksjö. There you will learn to beat with a scythe, what herbs and insects are in the meadow and how to do it if you want your own meadow.

- We show how to beat with a scythe, how to grind it and get spare parts and how to sow to make your meadow flourish, says Uno Björkman.

He continues:

- You can advantageously have a meadow at home in the garden. Leave a plot of a few square meters, take hay from a meadow and sow in it on the lawn.