wildflower green roof Archives - Page 4 of 6

July 25th, 2022July 8th, 2022

Climate Experts Urge Government to Turn City Roofs into Wildlife Havens

Jane Dalton of Independent UK writes:

Ministers should transform the UK’s towns and cities by turning flat roofs into wildlife havens and creating “green” walls, say conservationists. Experts are urging the government to launch a raft of climate measures, including writing into national planning policy that all flat roofs in new developments be made nature-friendly or solar roofs.

Harnessing nature to protect homes from floods, droughts and heatwaves will save money, report claims

Their report also calls on ministers to support tree-planting in cities and to set targets to retrofit buildings with green roofs.

The researchers want all four governments of the UK to “unleash the power of nature” to protect homes and farmland from floods, droughts and heatwaves brought on by the climate crisis. They say harnessing nature’s power for the changes will save taxpayers’ money in the long run.

Last month more than 200 scientists for the UN issued a “code red for humanity”, warning such emergencies will become more frequent, but said catastrophe can be avoided if world leaders act quickly.

The new report, Nature-based Solutions in UK Climate Adaptation Policy, commissioned by the RSPB and WWF, points out the government needs to act much faster on expert advice about using nature to help society adapt to the effects of climate change.

Earlier this year, the government unveiled a plan to plant 44,000 large trees in towns and cities, as part of an ambition to reach at least 12 per cent of England covered by woodland, from 10 per cent now. But the researchers say far more funding and support is needed to promote a nature-first approach to flood control, also calling for measures such as making artificially straightened rivers meander again, restoring peatlands and planting trees in cities and on farms.

The RSPB says green walls and roofs, with wildflowers and insect-friendly features such as old logs, have blossomed in London boroughs after being made part of local planning policy.

Flat green roofs with a thick layer of soil cool buildings in summer by as much as 12C, a 2019 report found, and insulate them in winter, reducing flooding risks by soaking up water and filtering air. This report was written by Gary Grant and Dusty Gedge of The Green Infrastructure Consultancy Ltd (GIC).

South-facing green walls can be up to 32C cooler than others, Spanish research has found, save 59 per cent of energy, and provide sound insulation. In seas and rivers, restoring kelp forests and seagrass meadows would help otters and seahorses and reduce the height and force of waves, preventing coastal flooding, according to the report authors.

A Department for Environment spokesperson said the Environment Bill would create further incentives for developers to include green roofs, walls, trees and other green infrastructure in their development plans, adding: “Our Environment Bill will deliver the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth and drive forward action to protect nature and improve biodiversity, supported by a legally binding target to halt species decline in England by 2030.

May 5th, 2022April 25th, 2022

NASA looks into the efficacy of green roofs in urban settings

Close Up of Wildflower M-Tray - Saxon Court YMCA Project - Pic 3

Rooftop gardens and greenery can help ease some of the severe heat in cities, according to research from climate scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. For several decades, researchers have promoted replacing black tar and other dark-colored roofing materials with bright, Sun-reflecting surfaces or “green roofs” full of plant cover. Now they have used freely available satellite data to measure how effective these changes are.

Heat is often intensified or amplified in cities, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. Asphalt, concrete, and similar materials absorb and retain significantly more heat than vegetation, so temperatures in urban areas are often 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than surrounding suburbs or rural regions. In neighborhoods with fewer trees and green spaces, this heat often disproportionately affects older adults, low-income communities and some communities of color.

Green roofs are designed to harness the cooling power of plants to lower the temperature in city spaces. The greenery may be extensive (shallow soil, low-maintenance plants) or intensive (deeper soil, more diverse plants and trees).

The GISS team studied three sites in Chicago to see how green roofs affected surface temperatures around those buildings, and whether there was a difference between those sites and others nearby without green roofs. Two of three green roofs in the study reduced temperatures, but results indicated that effectiveness may depend on location and plant diversity, among other factors. The results were recently published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society.

Studying green roofs in urban jungles

“As cities grow and develop, they need to make good decisions about their infrastructure, because these decisions often last for 30 or 50 years or longer,” said Christian Braneon, a climate scientist and civil engineer at Columbia University and GISS. “In the context of more frequent heat waves and more extreme heat, it’s important to understand how these urban design interventions can be effective.”

Braneon and the GISS team partnered with Chicago’s Public Health and Planning and Development departments to study three sites that had installed green roofs in the early 2000s: Millennium Park, City Hall, and a Walmart shopping center. Using imagery captured by the Landsat 5 satellite between 1990 and 2011, the researchers compared changes in land surface temperatures and vegetation abundance at the study sites as well as nearby control sites without green roofs.

Results from the three sites were mixed. Millennium Park, which has an intensive mix of plants and is located near Lake Michigan, showed significantly lower average temperatures after its green roof was installed in 2004. It was the only site where the roof fully mitigated climate warming over the study period.

City Hall, also an intensive site, had a green roof installed in 2002. Its temperatures after green roof installation were lower than those at the control site, but they were rising toward the end of the study period.

The Walmart site told a different story. While the green roofs at Millennium Park and City Hall were added onto existing buildings, the supermarket was newly built during the study period. Even though the Walmart installed an extensive green roof, the conversion of the land from a vacant, grassy lot to a store meant the vegetation index for the landscape decreased.

“In a lot of places, you might be developing an area that didn’t have something there before; it just had overgrown vegetation,” said Braneon, who co-leads urban research for the Climate Impacts Group at GISS. “You might think that putting a green roof on your new building would make a significant impact. But what we see is that a lot of impervious material may also be added there – such as a parking lot around the building. As a result, you might reduce the impact of the parking lot, but you certainly haven’t created the cooling effect that the overgrown vegetation had.”

The benefits of green roofs depend on a variety of factors — from geographic region and plant diversity to rooftop structure and the cooling efficiency of the building itself, the scientists said.

For the full story, please click here.

April 20th, 2022April 11th, 2022

Leicester’s Green Aspirations Bring A Buzz To Bus Stops

Leicester City Council’s ambition to be carbon neutral and climate-adapted by 2030 has paved the way for the installation of the UK’s largest network of bus stops topped off with living roofs.

The initiative, delivered in conjunction with out-of-home advertising and infrastructure company Clear Channel UK and award-winning British living roof supplier, Wallbarn, has seen 30 new ‘green’ bus stops installed on city centre thoroughfares: Humberstone Gate and Charles Street.

Affectionally nicknamed ‘bee bus stops’, the shelters deliver a boost to biodiversity and demonstrate how local authorities can take the lead in retrogreening urban landscapes. The project has been named a finalist in the Edie Sustainability Leaders Awards.

Deputy City Mayor Cllr Adam Clarke, environment and transportation lead, said:
“It’s great to see the first of Leicester’s new living roof bus shelters appearing across the city. We’ve had fantastic feedback from people who are as excited as we are to see this bee and butterfly friendly revamp of bus shelters taking shape.”

Finding the right living roof partner was essential for Clear Channel, which selected Wallbarn and its award-winning British-grown M-Tray modular green roof system, which is designed with all elements of a traditional green roof contained within fully established pre-planted trays.

The bus stops are planted with a blend of 18 different species of wildflowers, offering all year green with a carpet of flowers in summer.

Wallbarn Director Julian Thurbin said:
“This is an absolutely fantastic project, providing the city with a ‘bee superhighway’ and all the many recognised benefits of living roofs. It’s showcased how adaptable the modular system is and what can be achieved by uniting street furniture and green roofs.”

Clear Channel’s Managing Director Will Ramage said:
“The out of home sector is uniquely positioned to help cities around the UK tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges they face. That’s why we continue to challenge ourselves to come up with unique, inventive ways to make our street furniture green.”

“Our Living Roof Product was first introduced in the Netherlands, and we were excited to bring this green technology to the streets of the UK. Finding the right partner was essential in making this a reality, and we look forward to building on our partnership with Wallbarn by rolling out even more Living Roofs to UK streets. We could not be happier to be working with such a forward-thinking and award-winning company,” added Will.

Green roofs have many benefits, including aiding biodiversity and creating habitats for flora and fauna (most notably pollinators; a study of green roofs in London recorded more than 20 species of bee foraging on them), managing stormwater run-off, improving air quality, reducing the urban heat island effect, sound and thermal insulation, extending the lifespan of waterproofing membranes and even boosting the mental well-being of those looking out on to them.

For the full article, please click here.

April 13th, 2022April 11th, 2022

Partnering with Wallbarn to provide reliable and sustainable modular green roof systems

SIG Design & Technology has partnered with Wallbarn to provide reliable and sustainable modular green roof systems that can transform both new and refurbishment projects.

The Wallbarn M Tray ® consists of specially-designed modular trays containing superior, engineered substrate and fully established flowering sedum, which are easy-to-carry and click together to form a seamless green roof. The fully established sedum plants are nurtured from seed at Wallbarn’s UK nurseries.

Built Up Green Roof
SIG Design & Technology are working with Eco Green Roofs (EGR) to provide guaranteed green roof and blue roof systems.

Partnering with Eco Green Roofs allows SIG to offer a fully built up system that combines expertise on both the green roofing and waterproofing under one package.

Eco Green Roof System
Eco Green Roof provides guaranteed systems that replicate the natural growing environment for plants. Using a wide range of sedum and wildflower plant species they create lush, vibrant, bio-diverse environments that can transform both new and refurbishment projects.

A green roof has a core function in the development of the urban landscape and every system requires careful blending to ensure its environmental capacity is suited to its location and the demands that may be laid upon it.

Designing bespoke systems to meet the client’s needs, Eco Green Roofs specialises in the supply and installation to ensure the sustainability of their green roofs.

The planting of Green Roof can be achieved using one of three methods; pre-grown mat, plug planting and self-vegetated.

Plant choice should consider factors such as air pollution levels, location, structural limitations of the building and the level of maintenance required. The choice is also dependent upon what the client wants to achieve. If you have any bespoke requirements, please contact SIG and they can create a perfect green roof for you.

EGR Blue Roof System
SIG Design & Technology also offer optimal roofscape water management solutions with the EGR Blue Roof System.

In the past, blue roofs were conceived as storage tanks for rainwater harvesting. Today they form part of SuDs best practice. A blue roof is designed to attenuate water, typically rainfall and release this water over a longer period of time. This eases the pressure on the drainage systems particularly in times of severe rainfall.

Blue Roofs are suitable for a wide range of building types from domestic to commercial. They place stormwater attenuation within the building footprint, making them ideal for urban environments where ground space is limited.

For the full article, please click here.

April 4th, 2022March 28th, 2022

Rooftop Detention Can Save You Money – Green Roofs

Many readers who are familiar with GRD’s work probably already know that in saying “Green roofs can do more,” a big part of the “more” that GRD has identified is providing stormwater detention. Urban stormwater management usually deals with two primary practices: retention and detention. Retention is the reduction of runoff; water is absorbed by green roof media and plants and never runs off the roof. Instead, retained water leaves the roof only as vapor through evapotranspiration. All green roofs provide retention to varying degrees based on climate, profile composition, and thickness.

Detention is the practice of slowing down water that does runoff. As it is impractical – or even impossible – to retain all stormwater on a green roof all the time, detention is often necessary to ensure minimal negative downstream impact of runoff, particularly reduction of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Most stormwater permits require detention, but most green roofs do not provide any statistically significant detention.

As developers are required to comply with retention and detention requirements, adding detention to the range of benefits that green roofs provide may provide significant return-on-investment (ROI) to the developer.

The Moderne, Saratoga Springs

The Moderne is a new 5-story condominium located in Saratoga Springs, New York. Constructed in 2021, it contains a mix of 24 high-end residential units with exterior and underground parking. It also includes an 11,000 sf (1020 m2) rooftop amenity space with a green roof.

The original green roof design was a traditional profile, consisting of 5” (125mm) deep growing media and sedum mat over a standard drainage panel.

While traditional green roofs have many benefits, without the use of additional tank systems, they do not provide a consistent and accepted means of complete stormwater management. The originally proposed 5” (125mm) deep profile will retain a large amount of water when relatively dry. In fact, it will entirely capture most small storms, of one inch or less. But once it’s fully saturated, any additional stormwater that falls on it will flow to the roof drain and ultimately to the sewer system. This results in very high peak flow rates during large storms, which can contribute to localized flooding and CSOs.

To combat overflows and related damages, stormwater management has become an even more critical element of design and is considered in the early stages of project planning. Most jurisdictions have developed extensive regulations and requirements to help reduce overflows. When permitting, some jurisdictions require that designs must demonstrate the capability to capture small storms and manage the larger, 100-year frequency storms.

These requirements meant that any project with a green roof would still require another method of stormwater management, thereby limiting the ROI of the green roof to less-tangible but still desirable benefits such as partial stormwater management, noise, and heat reduction, improved air quality, building energy savings, biodiversity, and tenant health and well-being.

In the search for a better solution, many options were considered. It was determined that by upgrading the traditional green roof assembly with new components that provide the missing detention, a green roof could be a complete solution to managing stormwater and eliminating the need for additional systems, such as tanks, to supplement.

In this case, the Purple-Roof© Concept was implemented to address the “too much water” challenges with retention and the “too little time” challenge with detention.

For the full article, please visit the Living Architecture Monitor website by clicking here.

February 18th, 2022February 23rd, 2022

What Are Wildflower Green Roofs?

A close-up of an M-Tray installation in Whitstable

There is a lot of chatter about “wildflower” green roofs this is an area in which little is actually known.

Wildflower or biodiverse green roofs are supposed to contain a mixture of native flower species to attract native insects and birds. However, if you were to prepare a green roof substrate of bare earth and introduce a few native flowers after a period of time the roof will become overrun with grass and very invasive weeds such as goat willow, bindweed and nettles. The result after time will be unsightly and potentially dangerous for the membrane beneath.

Choosing The Correct Sedum

Many “wildflowers” are either annual or biennial or have such large root structures that they are unsuitable for green roofs.

What to do? Wallbarn is offering a solution by using the standard sedum M-Tray® green roofs as a basis for our green roof and adding wildflower seeds.

Our sedum mix, which is based on the Jellito “Northern European and English Mix” seed mix which that company supplies, contains native sedum species and those deemed suitable for the English climate. Many of these sedums are flowering, have different leaf structures and textures, and grow and retreat throughout the year.

Sedum is not just a green carpet. It has many different varieties and if it is planted up in the right manner, can produce an extremely complicated and attractive garden.

The Correct Way To Introduce The Wildflower Seed Mix

In order to get more wildflowers into the system, Wallbarn is broadcasting the sedum trays with a wildflower seed mix at the point of harvesting and packing.

If we planted up wildflower trays on the farm, the flowers would be crushed upon packing and would be dead by the time they were delivered. Therefore, the tray units will look like regular sedum trays when they are delivered. The seeds will start to germinate immediately and will start to appear as flowers within 3 weeks of delivery and watering (we recommend that the trays are watered once installed).

This seed mix is designed to attract bees and butterflies, so will increase the amount of nature on the roof.

“Wildflower” Green Roofs Need To Be Maintained

There are certain things to consider: these flowers are chiefly annuals, so will die off at the end of the growing season.

Therefore, in order to have flowers the next year, the roof will need to be reseeded. Either user can harvest the seeds in this season’s crop to sow the next year, or purchase another seed mix (available from Wallbarn) the next spring. Also, these wildflowers can grow very high, up to 80cm and will have much more fibrous structures than sedum (which is succulent) so the dead stalks and other vegetation will turn not rot but remain on the roof after the flowers have died off.

This makes the roof look unsightly and is also a potential fire risk, so these dead stalks should be removed every autumn. Clients should bear this additional maintenance in mind when choosing wildflower – if the roof is inaccessible this can prove a major problem. The additional costs of more maintenance should also be factored.

Need More Information?

If you would like to talk to us to discuss our wildflower green roofs UK solutions, please contact us today on 0208 916 2222 or email sales@wallbarn.com.

Currently Browsing: What Are Wildflower Green Roofs?

February 14th, 2022February 21st, 2022

Install, grow, relocate: the green roof project on the move

Close Up of Sedum M-Tray before Installation - Saxon Court YMCA Project - Pic 19

Two projects, one green roof. That’s the aim of a ground-breaking initiative to revamp a YMCA with a living roof removed from a development 1km away.

Saxon Court in Milton Keynes has undergone a temporary transformation into a ‘live lab’, showcasing multiple green, blue and biosolar roof applications together with a rooftop vegetable growing project, all installed while planning permission are gained to redevelop the site.

Green infrastructure and living roof specialist Bridgman & Bridgman is spearheading the venture – entitled The Green Roof Project – with support from Milton Keynes Council, aiming to demonstrate the many benefits of green roofs in towns and cities for biodiversity, carbon capture and fruit/vegetable production.

An integral part of the plan is to also train young people from YMCA MK to install the living roof and support them in gaining the necessary expertise and certification in the installation and maintenance of green roofs. When the Saxon Court scheme is concluded, the newly skilled operatives will repurpose materials from its rooftop to top off the town’s new YMCA building.

Award-winning green roof manufacturer Wallbarn, along with other GRO members, is supporting the project by supplying its modular M-Tray green roof system, which suits the scheme perfectly due to its prefabricated, easy to install – and remove – nature, as Director Julian Thurbin explained: “If there was a project perfect for M-Tray it would be Saxon Court/YMCA MK simply because of the system’s pre-fabricated, modular characteristics.

For more on this story, please visit – https://greenscapemag.co.uk/online-magazine/ – Autumn 2021, pages 28 & 29

December 1st, 2021March 14th, 2022

Which Wildflower Species Are Used In M-Tray® Modular Green Roof Units

A mix of sedum for base cover of the M‐Tray® modules with a variety of low‐growing, perennial wildflower species. These plants are tolerant to dry conditions and suitable for substrate a depth of 100mm.

The wildflower plants will produce flowers up to a height of approx. 50cm and attract bees and butterflies. As it is made up of a wide range of native (& wild origin) flowering species and grasses to maximum diversity and reduce the amount of dead vegetation at the end of the summer.

Wildflowers often take 2‐3 years to fully germinate and flower, and some species are viable only as annual and biennial flowers, so new seeds should be broadcast regularly.

Armeria Maritama / Thrift Common Daisy

Flowering period: May to September
Approx. height 25cm
Flowering period: May to July
Approx. height 25cm

Fragia Vesca / Wild Strawberry Anthyllis Vulneraria / Kidney Vetch

Flowering period: summer
Approx. height 5cm
Flowering period: June to September
Approx. height 30cm

Poppy Heartsease / Pansy

Flowering period: spring / summer
Approx. height 60cm
Flowering period: May to October
Approx. height 20cm

Thymus Polytrichus / Thyme Lotus Corniculatus / Birdsfoot Trefoil

Flowering period: May to September
Approx. height 15mm
Flowering period: May to September
Approx. height 10cm

Oreganum Vulgare / Wild Marjoram Silene Uniflora / Sea Campion

Flowering period: spring / summer
Approx. height 10cm
Flowering period: June to August
Approx. height 10mm

Cathusian / Pink Primula Veris / Cowslip

Flowering period: spring / summer
Approx. height 20cm
Flowering period: March to May
Approx. height 25cm

Prunella Vulgaris / Selfheal Sedum Acre / Biting Stonecrop

Flowering period: June‐September
Approx. height 20cm
Flowering period: June to July
Approx. height 10mm

Sedum Czar’s Gold Sedum Hispanicum

Flowering period: May to August
Approx. height 10mm
Flowering period: very little flowers
Approx. height 6mm

Sedum Album Sedum Pullchellum

Flowering period: June to August
Approx. height 10mm
Flowering period: May to July
Approx. height 10mm

October 7th, 2021October 5th, 2021

Study Confirms Green Roofs’ Positive Impacts On Solar Panels

Carried out in a district of Sydney, the study compared the performance of conventional photovoltaic (PV) solar system with a combined PV solar and integrated green roof system (bio-solar roof) on two identical office buildings over the course of eight-months.

Researchers found that the green roof improved performance by as much as 20% at peak times and by 3.6% – equivalent to 9.5 MWh of additional energy generation – over the length of the experiment.

The green roof removed an additional 8.8 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gasses compared to the standard roof solar panels, the equivalent of planting 110 trees.

Surface temperatures were greatly reduced on the green roof – in some cases by up to 20°C during summer, suggesting a potential reduction in urban heat island effects. Insulation was another benefit of the integrated system, preventing heat transferring inside the building as well as retaining heat in cooler periods.

Furthermore, stormwater modelling on both roofs showed the bio-solar roof could reduce flows into the stormwater drains by more than 600 litres per second compared to the conventional roof. This could reduce the impacts of flooding during storm events.

Overall, the integrated green roof solar PV system outperformed the conventional solar PV system, confirming that green infrastructure is among the easiest and most efficient solutions that, through its multiple benefits, can help make our cities more resilient to climate change.

The study was led by Peter Irga from the University of Technology Sydney and funded by the City of Sydney Council.

Read the full study here

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