Abbots Park, St. Albans
Remedial soil de-compaction and improvement
Abbots Park, in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, is a residential estate comprising blocks of flats, maisonettes and town houses set within approximately 7 acres of grounds. There are many trees on the site, over 100 of which are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs).
Our objective was to improve the condition of the soil around the tree to be more conducive to root growth. In order to achieve this, 10 radial trenches were excavated using a SoilPick (a tool which uses compressed air, in the same way as an AirSpade, to displace soil from around the roots and break up compacted areas). Each trench was approximately 2.4m long, 30cm wide and 30cm deep. These were backfilled with leaf mould and compost, then the lawn surface was reinstated.