Thirsty work in a Concrete Jungle
Irrigation specialists, Tricor has teamed up with its Finnish distributor, Habitec Oy, in a challenging project to improve tree and plantlife within Helsinki Airport.
Acting on behalf of the airport, Finnish distributor Habitec chose Tricor’s MPS system to solve many of the airport’s irrigation problems, and created plans for many new trees and large scale planting containers for the airport’s external areas. Extremely versatile and very simple to use, the MPS range provides an underground irrigation system that is highly effective, almost maintenance-free and 100% water efficient.
Earning the title ‘Tree Hill’, a solution was devised using MPS to create healthy trees and floral displays on the top of a large, existing concrete hill covering an area of 10m x 30m, situated just outside the terminal buildings and airport car park. The most challenging task of the project was how to grow plants and trees from a concrete deck structure with limited soil capacity, minimal drainage and lots of natural rock. The solution was the installation of a series of linked MPS reservoirs – each capable of holding up to 96 litres of water - under the concrete, delivering exact quantities of water and nutrients to the plant’s roots.
Timo Rinkinen, Habitec’s sales director, commented: “Due to the complicated structure of the concrete area and limited growing media, irrigation would have been almost impossible without the use of MPS. The system offers good water capacity and because water and nutrients are supplied at root level, capillary action allows the plants and trees to take up the exact quantities required for optimum growth and health – with no wastage. This nurtures young trees during the critical first few years of growth and prevents over or under watering.”
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