Hummelholm

In Hummelholm, the villagers still look after the wooded meadows in the old-fashioned way, with spring-clearing and mowing the hay every year. Thanks to this, the beautiful landscape is kept open and the summer’s floral display can be preserved.

Wooded meadows rich in flowers

The Hummelholm meadows are lush and rich in flowers. Red campion and Arctic bramble flower in the early summer, while hawksbeard, European goldenrod, tansy and Siberian lettuce flower in the late summer. Parts of the reserve’s forests are allowed to grow freely. Birds such as garden warblers and willow warblers thrive there.

Nature reserve with local involvement

The Hummelholm cultural association carries out annual clearing and mowing of hay in the wooded meadows on behalf of the County Administrative Board. Over two weekends in August, some 60 villagers, young and old alike, gather to mow the hay using scythes and hay rakes at Granholmen and Hästängsholmen. The hay-cutting days are greatly appreciated. They provide the villagers, friends and relatives the opportunity to meet and create a strong community. At the same time, knowledge is preserved and spread about how harvesting was carried out in the past using simple tools. There is also plenty of time for talking, laughing, coffee and good food.

Storholme with forest hay-mowing

A map of Hummelholm dating from 1793 shows that what is now the reserve was almost entirely under water at that time. All that was there at the time were two islands in the west, the “Hollmarne”, which comprised hay meadows. In 1858, the village’s land was partitioned into parcels. By this time there were twelve islands in the western part of the village. One of them was designated forest hay on the Lantmäteriet map, while there others were referred to as dry grasslands or sedge grasslands. Today, Hummelholm’s wooded meadows have merged with the mainland. The Öreälven river is constantly recreating the landscape by means of floods, ice movements and the transport of sediment.