Satellite data and AI help to maintain green spaces in Helsinki

Helsinki has taken a significant step towards smarter and more sustainable management of its urban green spaces. This summer’ pilot used satellite data and AI to make the maintenance of parks and other green areas more efficient. The method has previously been used in agriculture to help assess fertilisation intervals.

Maintenance workers of Viherpalvelut Hyvönen were actively involved in the pilot. The reports generated from the data helped reduce unnecessary field visits, as parks in remote areas are now only tended to when they really require attention. As green space maintenance is agile and flexible by its nature, it was easy to take into account the reports.

The pilot was a collaboration between the technology company Lensor and Viherpalvelut Hyvönen, which is responsible for Helsinki’s green area maintenance in certain areas.. It was conducted as part of the European Union co-funded PilotGreen project, which focuses on urban green spaces.

Easily Spotting Green Lawns and Lupin Concentrations

Lensor’s technology uses AI to interpret satellite images and can identify factors such as the amount of chlorophyll in lawns. The Helsinki pilot focused on three areas: monitoring the condition of lawns, identifying invasive plant species, and targeting fertilisation based on data from the previous summer. A key part of the pilot was to estimate lawn length to reduce unnecessary mowing and inspection visits, which waste staff resources and fuel.

The parks selected for the pilot had large, treeless areas, which enabled the most reliable monitoring of lawn growth. The absence of trees also helped to detect large concentrations of lupins, which allowed for invasive species control measures to be targeted at the right time and in the correct areas.

During the experiment, the tool’s accuracy was improved through field visits and measurements taken by a team from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. These checks ensured that the satellite data results matched the reality of the parks.

A Promising Future for Satellite Technology

The pilot has given promising results. It has been a great learning experience, especially concerning reporting. Initially, the reports were delivered too infrequently to be useful, which meant that plans had to be made using outdated data. The time between when the satellite images were taken and when the reports were delivered caused problems. For example, a lawn could be too long even though the report still indicated it was in good condition. Since then, the reporting intervals have been adjusted. The reports are now praised by workers for their clarity and usefulness.

In the near future, we will certainly see more reports on the condition of green areas based on satellite data and the development of similar tools. Innovations like this are an essential part of sustainable urban development. They demonstrate how technology and data can be used to concretely benefit city residents, making the maintenance of green spaces not only more efficient but also more environmentally friendly.

In the summer of 2025, the PilotGreen project ran six other green pilots. Read more about them in the web article.

Photo: Maija Astikainen