Climbers' Corner • Tree Academy
Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday
Nineteen Years of Structural Soils
Summary
The theory and research associated
with the growing medium concept commonly referred to as Structural Soil has
been available now for 20 years. This
presentation will highlight the progress of the technology in British Columbia
region of Canada where structural soil has been used extensively since
1995. The discussion will review what
we have learned, the good and the bad.
In 2001, we provided a presentation
to the 1st Milwaukee ISA conference that outlined what we had learned in the
first six year of use. It seems
appropriate that an update of what has been learned after 19 years of use would
be appropriate for this conference.
Subsequent to the initial
installations, a number of critical advancements in the methods, materials and
techniques have been tested and applied.
With the evolution of managed applications, the acceptance of Structural
Soil has grown to the extent that this material has become an engineering standard
that in many communities is no longer optional for trees installed in hardscape
situations. It has been generally
acknowledged that more structural soil has been installed under the sidewalks
of the British Columbia region than the rest of north America combined.
This presentation will review the
detailed design process, material selection, and make available examples of
various installation methods. We will
also include discussion with regard to our experience in obtaining engineering
approval for the use of this material under city streets and sidewalks. Innovation in the installation process will
be discussed and critique of
the limitations that have been identified will be provided. We will also
provide a critical assessment of which tree species have proven to be the
better selection for growth in Structural Soil.
Recent information from other areas
of north America suggest varied results in the use of similar materials.
The general consensus in British Columbia is that Structural Soil is working
well but there have been exceptions. Structural Soil continues to be
specified regularly and with far more cost benefit than any of the other
options that have become available in the recent past to the design
profession. Our discussion will reflect on why the British Columbia
experience has been superior to what has been reported in other areas.
Conference Proceedings Documents
Presenters
ISA Certified Arborist
Michael Mills is a Consulting Arborist certified by
the International Society of Arboriculture.
He specialises in urban forestry and arboriculture, particularly tree
preservation, tree evaluation and alternative tree installation design. Michael also provides landscape consulting
services focused on review services for newly installed landscapes. Michael is well known as an advocate for
sustainable landscape and urban forestry practices with over 35 years of
experience in related fields of study.
He continues to work toward ongoing improvements in the practise of
arboriculture and urban forestry in close association with the design
fields of Architecture, Engineering and Landscape Architecture. His work with alternative tree preservation
techniques such as pre development root pruning and alternative tree
installation designs such as structural soil have been recognized and adopted
by many of the lower mainland municipalities.
He has also been recognized internationally by invitation to present his
views on several topics at three international training conferences, numerous
regional conferences and at the Canadian Urban Forestry Conference in Lake
Louise. Michael also owns and operates a
nursery operation on the Sunshine Coast.
Climbers' Corner • Tree Academy
Monday • Tuesday • Wednesday