Green Ecolution is a modular, open-source platform. Sensors deliver readings, the platform turns them into a clear picture of the situation, and deployment planning sends your team exactly where it is needed. Today it controls the irrigation of urban trees, and that is only the beginning.
Measure, understand and act stay the same for every task. The irrigation of urban trees is the first example.
Sensors capture what is happening on site and transmit their readings energy-efficiently via LoRaWAN or NB-IoT. For irrigation, soil probes measure moisture and temperature at variable depths.
The platform evaluates the measurement series and shows on a map and dashboard where action is needed. For irrigation, a traffic-light system shows which trees and areas need water.
The picture of the situation becomes a deployment. Deployment and route planning generates routes that take vehicles, capacities and road restrictions into account. For irrigation, these are watering routes with refill stops.
Our system scientifically evaluates the sensor data and shows when irrigation is needed. The data is prepared so that it is easy to interpret and can be directly incorporated into deployment planning.
This is how the readings travel from the sensor to the finished route. Every component is connected through open interfaces and can be extended.
Measures on site, for example the soil moisture at the tree
LoRaWAN transmission
Data processing & analysis
Visualization & route planning
Measures on site, for example the soil moisture at the tree
LoRaWAN transmission
Data processing & analysis
Visualization & route planning
Route optimisation in the backend is handled by Streamlet, a separate service of ours that can also be used outside Green Ecolution.
Modular extensions for municipality-specific adaptations without changing the core software. Import plugins for tree registries, CSV, and databases.
Open interfaces for integration into municipal IT landscapes. Connection to IoT hubs and open data portals.
The irrigation of urban trees is the first use case we built Green Ecolution for. The platform itself is conceived more broadly: wherever something can be measured, the readings have to be evaluated and a deployment on site follows in the end, the principle of measuring, understanding and acting applies.
The architecture is designed to take on further sensor types and use cases. A new use case still means development work, for example to connect the sensors and evaluate the data. We take care of that work for you.
Getting started is smaller than it first looks. The four points describe what has to come from the municipality.
Scheduling and route planning already work without sensors. Trees, fleet and refill points are enough. The soil probes improve the prioritisation because they show which areas actually need water.
Locations come in via CSV import or by connecting an existing tree register. There is no need to build a register from scratch.
Water carts, vans and trailers with their water capacities, plus the refill points across the city. A new fleet or fixed irrigation hardware is not required.
The probes transmit over LoRaWAN and the open The Things Network today. Since 2024 Schleswig-Holstein has built a state-wide network with more than 420 gateways. Where there is no coverage, you can either add a gateway of your own or run the same probes on NB-IoT with a SIM card. LoRaWAN is the technology in use today, not a condition.
We run the platform for you, including updates, backups and support. Because the source code is open and free of licence fees, running it yourself stays possible at any time. So you are not tied to us, and you still do not have to look after any of it.
How the route optimisation works and what input it expects is described on the route optimisation page.
Green Ecolution is publicly viewable and pursues one goal: using resources where they are needed. For irrigation, that means less water and variable deployment planning.
Auditable source code, no licence fees and no vendor lock-in
Individual deployment planning for more efficient irrigation
Targeted irrigation, less water consumption
The platform is deliberately designed to be usable in any municipality and for more than one task. Map areas, organisational structures and deployment areas are freely configurable, and new components connect through the plugin system and open interfaces.
Only open standards and open-source components are used. A cloud-native architecture based on Kubernetes enables multi-tenant, highly available operation. Additional municipalities can easily be added.
Sensor setup via QR code and GPS directly on-site at the tree
Fine-grained permission management for staff, service providers, and partner municipalities
Fully self-developed firmware for maximum control and adaptability
Connection to the open data portal of the state of Schleswig-Holstein
Expansion to flower beds, perennials, and parks beyond trees
···and much more in the pipeline
In August 2026 public broadcaster NDR reported on urban trees that no longer survive the dry summers and spent a morning filming in Flensburg. The piece shows a soil moisture sensor going into the ground and how the city's technical operations centre plans the next watering run from its readings.
This is the software that was developed and set up for the City of Flensburg. It is primarily used by the Technisches Betriebszentrum Flensburg (the city's technical operations center).
There you can find all code repositories associated with the project, such as the backend and frontend of the software
A post about the research project was also published on the Hochschule Flensburg website.
Green Ecolution was mentioned not only on the website but also on Instagram.
Green Ecolution was presented and funded as one of the open-source projects as part of DigitalHub.SH 2025.
NDR reported on urban trees that no longer withstand the dry summers and showed Green Ecolution in Flensburg as one approach to the problem.
The City of Flensburg also reported on Green Ecolution and its significance for sustainable city management.
The public demo instance, directly in the browser and without installation.
Do you have questions, feedback, or a request? We welcome your message and will get back to you as soon as possible.
