Two draught horses were seen at parks in Wandsworth and Morden this week as part of a £50,000 Rewild London project.
Two French Comptois draught horses, named Karina and Bumble, were spotted at King George’s Park on Monday and Tuesday, replacing machinery to revert to more sustainable and traditional methods of managing green spaces.
They could be seen pulling a harrow as it collected grass cuttings, which if overgrown limits the biodiversity value of greenspaces.
The Rewild project started two and a half years ago with the planting of wildflower seeds in patches, led by non-for-profit organisation Enable who are responsible for managing the greenery of Wandsworth Borough Council.
Mick Green, Biodiversity Officer for Parks for Enable, said: “When we walk through the meadowed grass it’s full of insects, ants, spiders, and beetles.
“There are all sorts of things living in the longer grass now which you wouldn’t have seen before.”
The survey results showed 44 species of vascular plant in the meadows, which compared to the five detected prior to the project started.
But for Green, there is still more to do to improve biodiversity in the grass.
He said: “We’re still in the stage where we’re trying to get as many nutrients out of the soil as possible.
The horses are expected to return next spring for another cut, as they not only play a role in reducing the nutrient levels in soil, but also helping the wildflower seeds root more effectively with their hooves and maintaining a low carbon footprint method.
Daniel Brown is the horseman who brought Karina and Bumble up from Dorking in his truck.
Usually familiar with the horses work in timber extraction or bracken control, Brown has been amazed by what the project has achieved so far.
He said: “It’s incredible, in two and a half years we’ve gone from four or five species to over 35 species of plant, plus all of the invertebrates.”
The benefits of using horses to carry out the rewilding work, from generating lower noise disturbance, compacting the soil, can be compared to the impacts of using modern machinery.
In addition, having the horses at the south west London parks attracted public attention and from people and passers by in the park.
Brown said: “We’ve had tons of kids and schools come out this morning.”
A spokesperson for the Rewild London Fund added: “It was positive for community engagement and was less disruptive to wildlife than tractor use.”
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