Green-tech helps transform the University of York campus landscape.

Project:University of York - New Green Space

Location:York, North Yorkshire

Main ContractorGRAHAM Construction

Landscape Contractor:Palmer Landscapes

Product/Services Supplied:Stakes, crossbars, grass seed, Mona irrigation, underground anchor systems and gator watering bags

Green-tech helps transform the University of York campus landscape.

The University of York has a “Campus for the Future” masterplan which includes delivering a major 1480-bed student accommodation project. The £130m flagship scheme, which has transformed the Heslington East Campus began in November 2019 and has recently been completed.

The location was chosen to strengthen the link between Campus East and Campus West while maximising views of the lake and surrounding parkland. The student accommodation project will help to meet the news of its expanding global student body as well as aid with the university’s student recruitment strategy.

Palmer Landscapes was awarded the landscaping contract to create green areas for the students to enjoy and to bring their outdoor space to life. This was achieved by planting tens of thousands of shrubs and hundreds of trees, spreading 10,000 sqm of seeding and turfing all the green spaces.

Green-tech has a long-standing relationship with Palmer Landscapes and supplied all the machine round tree stakes, tree belting, and blocks, MONA irrigation systems, and bespoke grass seed mixes that were used throughout the project. We also supplied the underground anchor systems and gator watering bags to stabilise and irrigate the trees.

Green-tech is the largest UK supplier of tree planting materials and sundries. The machine round tree stakes used for this project have been treated with Green Osmose AE500 to guarantee longevity and were used with cross bars and belting which secure trees to help reduce tree damage or movement from the wind until roots have established. Green-tech’s Mona Relief Tree Irrigation watering systems are an essential tool to guarantee the success of urban planted trees and shrubs. Lack of water at the tree's root ball can be detrimental to the lifespan and survival of the tree. The Mona Relief is a robust unit that delivers water straight to the roots of the tree. Installed with a perforated pipe that surrounds the tree's rootball, the Mona Relief system is a cost-effective solution for preventing drought with newly planted trees. By proactively installing a system that will irrigate at the root ball the tree’s roots instantly receive the much-needed water to aid growth.

Palmer Landscapes Contract Manager Sam Isles comments, “Green-tech was one of our main suppliers for this project. We have a strong relationship with them. They stocked all the products we needed and provided materials on a quick turnaround timescale. All planting materials were delivered on time and gave that professional finish that we pride ourselves on.The seed specification we were working too was very detailed so being able to tap into their expertise was invaluable and helped us so much.”

The main contractor GRAHAM Building has won the GB & Rol New Build Project of the Year, above £2.5m’ accolade at the CEF 2023 Excellence Awards. The judging panel agreed GRAHAM's work on this project was a remarkable achievement.”