In Girona, time for (wild) flowers and good weeds

GironaThis spring, walking through the streets and squares of Girona, it is easy to notice that in parks and garden areas, grasses and leafy plants grow, some more than a meter high, forming urban oases of wild vegetation Very lush with flowers of all colors. These are areas that until now the City Council, as is the case in most large cities, usually mowed as soon as the grass grew taller than a foot, assuming that the so-called weeds They are ugly and an eyesore. But in the current term, the Department of Climate Action has approved a pilot project to allow all this vegetation to grow naturally to assert its aesthetic and ecological value for the city. Provided, of course, that it doesn't bother or hinder the mobility of citizens.

They are grasses, cypresses, fabaceae, dandelions, mustard flowers, white daisies, poppies, and all kinds of native herbaceous plants that are very resilient in the Mediterranean climate: some of them germinated deliberately and very frequently, making their way between pavements, walls, sidewalk margins, in tree pits and, above all, in the green expanses of parks and gardens.

In Girona, the city's vegetation is particularly prominent. For example, on the esplanade in front of the Carles Rahola Library, next to Emili Grahit Street, which has recently become a flowery meadow of yellow and green that surrounds the sidewalks and rises above the pedestrians' height. Also in Central Park, behind the train station, green rectangles form meadows of yellow, white, red, and lilac flowers, which even some residents occasionally pick to make a small bouquet.

Benefits in pollination, drainage and the heat island effect

Beyond highlighting the ornamental role of these wild plants in an urban environment, Girona City Council has supported this initiative for its environmental benefits, heeding the recommendations of municipal technicians and experts: "They promote biodiversity and pollination, because bees and butterflies flock to the city when it rains. They also improve flower production, prevent flooding, and, in summer, they help reduce the heat block effect, because they lower the soil temperature, as do shaded wooded areas," explains Sergi Cot, Councilor for Climate Action. The council's studies also support the use of plant cover on the ground because it helps retain moisture, fix nitrogen, and create a symbiosis with bacteria that improves the fertility of the soil. To raise awareness of the wealth of these wild herbs that populate the city, the City Council has created a catalog to identify them and, in the coming months, following the studies carried out in this pilot project, expects to reap even more benefits.

As this is a pioneering project, there have also been places where the implementation has not been entirely successful and the trial-and-error method has forced a step back, such as in a green area in Domeny near the river, where the vegetation grew too uncontrolled and it was necessary to mow it again. Regarding the concerns of some residents with pets, who feared that this lush vegetation would cause flea or tick problems for dogs rubbing against it, the City Council responds that animals must be properly leashed, as required by regulations, and cannot run off-leash in these green areas of the city center.

There are no good and bad weeds, they all have a role in the ecosystem.

The urban space renaturalization initiative has been approved within the framework of the GiroNat project, which unites the Girona administration with various environmental expert organizations, with the aim of promoting the green transformation of the city through various lines of action. The Girona Naturalists Association (ANG) is part of the initiative and highly values the measure: "Until now, we considered all these plants to be weeds because we didn't know how to see their uses, but that doesn't mean they aren't useful. Each one has a role within the ecosystem. We viewed them from a very anthropocentric perspective, but they don't have a very anthropocentric role," says Pau Ortega, biodiversity conservation specialist at the ANG.

For this environmental organization, valuing wild plants is the way to be more consistent with the famous annual exhibition of Flower Time, beyond the slogan and the tourist attraction: "Until now there was a certain level of hypocrisy, because we made floral decorations but without taking advantage of the opportunity to see the equally beautiful wild plants that we could have let grow. On occasion, the Onyar riverbed was even mowed to prepare spaces that were later prepared.

Finally, in this same line of attention to the city's vegetation, next week the City Council will make a website available to the public where, in addition to explaining all these renaturalization actions in the parks, the criteria for pruning and felling the city's trees will also be made public.