Utblick över Lövstadalen

Go up the hill and look north over the valley and the wetland. In Viking times it was much wetter here. The wetlands closest to the watercourses were used as natural hayfields right up until the 19th century. There was certainly a much richer animal life in the area then. Later, these lands were also plowed up into fields and the land was drained by straightening and deepening streams and ditches. In the 20th century, it became common to cover the small ditches and culvert larger ditches and watercourses. Here in Lövstadalen, many ditches are still open and you can see the edges of small hand-dug ditches from the 19th century landscape. Nowadays we know that wetlands have many important functions. For example, they act as a natural filter, purifying and slowing down water on its way to lakes and oceans. Wetlands need to be protected and restored.