As irrigation leaders in Western Canada, we have helped many different customers meet their business goals. Southern Irrigation has the opportunity to provide efficient water systems to a wide range of customers, from high-label vineyards and greenhouses to small family-owned farms and gardens, each dedicated to growing the best crop possible.

THE LEAF NINJAS

Restoring landscapes to a biodiverse paradise

One customer, The Leaf Ninjas, caught our attention as their purpose for irrigation is not just to grow a quality crop but “to assist nature in restoring landscapes to a biodiverse paradise.” The Leaf Ninjas are researching and developing technology to speed up the ability to restore natural habitats, establish ecology, and prove that high-quality ecological restoration is possible.

Leaders in the supply, installation, maintenance and monitoring of ecological restoration projects, the Leaf Ninjas supply and plant native materials to stabilize slopes, fix drainage channels, vegetate riverbanks to prevent erosion, and other applications.

The Leaf Ninjas have designed a solar-powered irrigation system to give these plants the best chance to grow. They use a wide variety of Southern Irrigation’s irrigation technologies to adapt the solar-powered system to unique sites. These technologies include using dripline for willow live staking, Flexnet to build a drip matrix for urban forestry, MegaNet sprinklers for wetting sites for plant and weeding preparation, and filters for processing the natural water and drip emitters for point source watering of container material.

Drip irrigation increases the planting success rates because of the consistency of the water application. Combining drip irrigation with a solar pump allows for great flexibility, as there is no fuel or electrical hookup nor carbon footprint – the power comes from sunlight and can run for several hours every day. The small amount of labour required to run a drip irrigation system is reduced even more, and the system can utilize many sources of water, including tanks, rivers and ponds. Their current system can irrigate over 10 hectares.

“The irrigation has significantly reduced our warranty costs. Depending on the weather, survival rates can be below 30% without irrigation compared to over 90% with proper irrigation. The cost of replacement plants, logistics, installation and extensions on maintenance requirements can be substantial, and irrigation solves all of that. When the plants survive and thrive on the first try, the projects look awesome and our positive reputation with our clients continues to grow, leading to more work in the future.” 

The Leaf Ninjas have been a part of many large projects across Western Canada. Some key projects include providing solar tank irrigation sites to Urban Forestry in the City of Calgary. Urban Forestry partnered with The Leaf Ninjas to establish 100,000 tree seedlings for an urban canopy expansion program.

Another key project was the Elbow River Fish Spawning Habitat project, where they armoured the riverbank with natural infrastructure to prevent erosion and provide shade for fish spawning.

They were also key in the Bioengineering Demonstration and Education Project on the Bow River. This project demonstrated multiple techniques for utilizing soil bioengineering to protect shorelines and riverbanks from flood erosion.

“Southern Irrigation has helped immensely by working with us to understand our needs first and suggesting new products to help on our unique sites.  They have even helped us work with suppliers to have some dripline custom built to maximize the efficiency of our solar irrigation system.  From quote to shipping, they have been fast, helpful and caring to get us the products we need on time.”

Southern Irrigation is excited to continue this partnership as they continue to rebuild and restore the ecological habitats of Southern Alberta.