Along Morton Road in Christie Downs you’ll see lovely new footpaths and trees, but underground there’s more than meets the eye.
Trees
Christie Downs has relatively low tree cover at 10.5% while the Adelaide average is 27%. Around 100 native and ornamental trees have now been planted.
Like many suburbs, this area can be a real hot spot in summer with lots of hard surfaces that act like a heat bank at night.
By planting trees and other vegetation in a supportive environment that encourages them to thrive we improved the appeal of the area. But most importantly making it makes the area greener and cooler in summer.
Footpaths
On the west side of the road, next to the high school, the paving might look standard but it is actually full of tiny holes. This allows the rain to filter through, rather than run off into the stormwater drain and out to sea.
You’ll also see a series of silver plates in the kerb by the school. These are tree inlets that capture water running down the street into a holding area, where it slowly filters out to water the street trees.
The large vegetation strip on the eastern side of the road captures stormwater. Which allows it to seep back into the soil after it has been filtered by a series of biofiltration beds. This passive irrigation is being supplemented by recycled water until the vegetation establishes.
In time, the street will be:
- a much more welcoming place to walk
- have a great cover of shade
- reducing the unfiltered stormwater that is going out to sea.