WEBVTT

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My name is Johannes Ried.

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I'm Head of the local

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Civil Engineering department

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at the Landsberg am Lech council.

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In the local area, we're responsible for

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a 200-km local road network.

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We additionally also manage

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a 25-km stretch of municipal roads.

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We've now decided to carry out

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mowing operations ourselves again.

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We previously used

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external service providers

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over the past eight years

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to carry out the work for us

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but we're no longer happy

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with the idea of

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using external agencies.

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And so we decided that,

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instead of outsourcing the mowing,

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we'd bring it back under our control.

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To this end, we bought a mowing combination.

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And at the same time, we also needed

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to completely rethink the way

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we went about our mowing.

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In line with this, we drew up a range

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of different mowing concepts

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for how we want to

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look after the verges...

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how best to mow them to ensure

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we're not just environmentally friendly

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but also bee-friendly.

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The council then chose

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a two-method approach.

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On the one hand, there are intensive areas

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which are two metres from the road edge,

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which get mulched twice a year and

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whose cuttings get collected.

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And then there are extensive areas

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which are mowed once a year,

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and whose cuttings get mowed and raked up.

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The reason behind this decision is that

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in the case of normal mulching,

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the cuttings are simply left on the grassed area

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which then get over-fertilised and results in

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certain grass varieties being killed off

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through lack of light. In turn, this

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reduces the number of species and only

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a small number of grass varieties remain.

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As a result of this lack of variety,

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there is also a lack of other flora

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and fauna,

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particularly flying insects.

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The roadside thus offers them no nutrition.

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Hence this new concept.

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We vacuum up the cuttings,

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road verges become more lean

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and low-growing plant species

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which require plenty of light start to grow.

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Species diversity and flowering areas are the result.

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That's why we're taking our mulching concept

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on the verges of the road and on

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embankments that extra step further.

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We want to rake up and collect the cuttings

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because it also means that

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ground-dwelling insects,

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which would otherwise be vacuumed up,

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can remain in-situ.

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And even if the cuttings

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remain on the ground for one of two days,

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all insects can get themselves

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out of the danger zone

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and thus as many insects as possible

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can be saved.

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The decision was made to

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purchase a Unimog U 500.

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Because we could also use it in winter

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and needed a large vehicle which

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can face wintry conditions

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para esas tareas, con un dispersor

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whilst also being able to manage

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the routes we cover in winter

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to a reliable standard.