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Understanding the benefits of green roof projects in Milton Keynes

Installing M-Tray green roof

Milton Keynes’ tech community will come together at Saxon Court this weekend (18th – 19th September) in the first live Hackathon event to understand the environmental benefits of green roof projects.

Supported by Milton Keynes Council as part of its COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan, the event will be hosted by Protospace, in collaboration with MK Hackathon, creative agency Pooleyville, and the South Central Institute of Technology.

sedum in flower

The ‘Green Roof Hackathon’ follows the submission of plans for the highly sustainable redevelopment of Saxon Court by mixed-use developers First Base, and investors Patron Capital.

Part of the sustainable goals includes the creation of Milton Keynes’ first, highly sustainable, “live lab” green rooftop, which is already being trialled on Saxon Court in collaboration with local living roof specialists, Bridgman & Bridgman.

With growth aspirations for Milton Keynes underway, green roofs can deliver substantial environmental benefits, which will help realise MK Council’s ambitions of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, and carbon negative by 2050. 

Utilising technology to measure and compare the effectiveness of green roofs, the Hackathon is free to attend and open to anyone, regardless of technical capabilities. The fast paced event, which harnesses the power technology to tackle pressing issues, is set to measure the carbon capture of green roofs, rainfall retention, biodiversity, and other environmentally beneficial attributes.

Data collected over the course of the weekend will be revealed to the public and support future green roof installations.

For further information on the Green Roof Hackathon visit https://protospace.uk/hackathon

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Green Roofs Could Help Improve Solar Panel Efficiency

Fertiliser added to a green roof

There’s been a movement in architecture over the past couple of decades to help tie together large urban developments with plant life and greenery. We’ve seen a few buildings, and hundreds more renders, of tall skyscrapers and large buildings covered in vegetation.

The aesthetic is often a beautiful one, but the idea is done as much for its tangible benefits as for the sheer visual glory. Naturally, there’s the obvious boost from plants converting carbon dioxide into delicious, life-giving oxygen. However, greenery on the roofs of buildings could also help improve the output of solar installations, according to a recent study from Sydney, Australia.

Over an eight month period, the roof loaded with greenery was 3.6% more efficient than the bare roof over the course of the experiment. The difference between the two was as much as 20% at peak generating times. This led to the green roof netting 69 MWh of electricity versus 59.5MWh for the bare roof. The extra 9.5 MWh generated over the period of the experiment is worth a full $2595 at local market rates. The study was led by Dr Peter Irga of the University of Technology Sydney, with a report published for the City of Sydney. The opportunity for the study came about precipitously, thanks to two similar office buildings located side by side in downtown Sydney. Each building had a photovoltaic solar system installed on the roof to generate electricity. On one building, plenty of plants were placed on the roof and around the solar panels, while the other building was left bare.

The key to the difference in performance came down to temperature. Solar panels don’t work as well at higher temperatures, with Irga noting that “Temperatures above 25 degrees make photovoltaic panels less efficient.” This can be problematic in a place like Australia, where sunlight is abundant in the summer months but daily temperatures routinely span from 30 to 45 degrees Celsius. Reportedly, temperatures were on the order of 20°C lower on the green roof compared to the otherwise identical bare-roofed office building.

This is a remarkable figure, and one that speaks to the quality of the green roof design in the experiment. This comes down to careful selection of the right plant species, which are able to survive and thrive on the roof while also providing good cooling performance. Green roofs cool buildings through a process called evaportranspiration, or more accurately, the twin processes of evaporation and transpiration. Water from the soil and other rooftop surfaces is evaporated, reducing heat in the air. Additionally, small holes in the plants of the green roof, called stomata, are essentially the pores with which the plant exchanges gases with its surroundings. The plants lose water through these stomata to the atmosphere, further adding to the cooling process. Ideally, the vast majority of this water comes from rainfall, avoiding irrigation costs that can spoil the efficiency and environmental benefits of the roof as a whole.

For more on this story, please visit – https://hackaday.com/2021/09/20/green-roofs-could-help-improve-solar-panel-efficiency/

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What Are Wildflower Green Roofs

An image of a wildflower green roof

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

Wildflower green roofs, also known as 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. Users 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 green roof solutions, please contact us today on 0208 916 2222 or email sales@wallbarn.com.

Currently Browsing: Wildflower Green Roofs
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31 cities commit to green infrastructure targets

Aluminium edging on edges of a green roof

Thirty-one mayors have signed the C40 Cities Urban Nature Declaration, pledging to invest in green spaces to improve air quality and bolster protection against climate impacts such as extreme heat, flooding and drought.

The signatory cities, which include Athens, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo, have committed to deliver on one or both of two key targets. By 2030, 30 – 40 percent of city surface area should consist of green or blue infrastructure. This includes street trees, urban forests and parks, as well as sustainable urban drainage systems and permeable pavements. With a focus on equitable distribution, the Declaration sets a target for 70 percent of a city’s population to have access to green or blue public spaces within a 15-minute walk or bike ride by 2030.

“Supporting and protecting cities’ natural ecosystems is one of our most important tools for building resiliency against the climate crisis and creating the healthy, inclusive urban communities we deserve,” said Mark Watts, C40 Cities Executive Director. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we were reminded that accessible, green spaces are essential for liveable, climate-ready and crisis-prepared cities. As we seek to deliver a green and just recovery, investing in and implementing nature-based climate solutions will be imperative to public health and well-being, as well as the success of global efforts to tackle the climate crisis.”

Green infrastructure plans

Examples of cities’ plans to achieve these targets include:

  • In Guadalajara, 67,000 new trees will be planted across 70 green corridors, and over 50 new public gardens will be introduced to cool down the city and provide shade and leisure space. The city is funding courses to train gardeners and tree technicians, and providing 400 workshops for residents on caring for trees and gardens.
  • Under Toronto’s Urban Forests Grants and Incentives programme over 13,000 trees and shrubs will be planted, and citizens will be involved through planting events, educational workshops and youth programming.
  • In Mumbai, the Maharashtra government is making amendments to the ‘Tree Act’ to protect and conserve old trees and prevent felling of trees.
  • Through the Green Roofs Competition, Barcelona is subsidising 75 percent of the cost of new green rooftops for winning projects to create urban allotments and space for renewable energy generation, rainwater collection and composting.
  • The Transformative Riverine Management Programme in Durban (eThekwini) aims to improve resilience and create thousands of green jobs.

Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan, said: “In Milan, we are committed to plant 3 million trees by 2030, to use nature-based solutions to increase resilience and protect citizens from the climate crisis, to refresh our neighbourhoods with green areas and water, and to regenerate the urban environment in a sustainable manner. Our commitment is to the people and the planet at once.”

Within two years, the 31 cities will make their nature goals public and report annually on progress.

For the full story, please click here.

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Green Roofs – A Beginners Guide

M-Tray green roof in flower, Radisson Heathrow

Green Roofs are becoming increasingly popular across the UK. These specialist types of roof are topped with a planting scheme consisting of a variety of different species of plants. The roof base is designed to support these plants and ensure they can thrive and grow to create a green, living, and environmentally friendly rooftop that looks great and also performs brilliantly as a roof in its own right.

So, what are the benefits of a green roof?

  • Creates a natural habitat.
  • Environmental masking blends the building into its surroundings.
  • Improved air quality as vegetation assists in reducing both gaseous pollutants and dust particles.
  • Reduces urban heat island effect (the difference in temperature between urban areas and the surrounding countryside) through absorption of some of this heat and the natural evaporation of water from plants and soil.
  • Reduces building’s carbon footprint through lowering building running costs.
  • Reduced construction costs: no requirement for screed on the deck reducing the overall weight imposed, fewer rainwater outlets, decreased rainwater drainage system capacity and a reduced requirement for stormwater attenuation within the SUDs scheme for the site.
  • Soft landscaping helps to reduce the risk of flooding by retaining large proportions of annual rainfall and reducing rainwater run-off. Particularly useful within Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) schemes.
  • The increased life expectancy of waterproofing membranes when protected by green roof landscaping.
  • Increased property value – roof usage can be maximised for purposes including leisure and offers unique potential for replacing the land lost to the building’s footprint.
  • Noise reduction for the building – green roofs have excellent acoustic qualities for both external sound (up to 3dB) and internal noise up to 8dB).
  • Many local authorities favour planning proposals that incorporate green roofs within the application, particularly if it meets their policies towards providing a sustainable environment.

Plenty of benefits then!

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

The Basics

In a way, there is nothing particularly special about a Green Roof from a technical perspective. A Green Roof is simply one that aids the growth of vegetation. It is made of a waterproofing layer, a root barrier, a drainage system and growing medium for the plants. Roof gardens can be created as part of Green Roofs and can include much larger plants and even water features.

Green Roofs are not a new experimental type of roof… far from it. They are experiencing a significant resurgence as environmental factors become a higher priority but you can find green roofs that have been protecting buildings for decades. As such you don’t need to be concerned that you are experimenting with an untested technology for the roof of your home. Green Roofs are well tried and tested and, when installed correctly, will last as long, if not longer than more traditional forms of roofing.

There is a concern for people considering a Green Roof that it will be more prone to leakage than a traditional roof. Fortunately, we can dispel this myth… a Green Roof will be no more susceptible to leaking than an ‘ordinary’ equivalent. In fact, as the plants protect the underlying roof membrane (which is what provides the waterproof layer) from UV light, Green Roofs may actually stay watertight for longer than regular roofs. Barriers are also in place to prevent roots from the plants penetrating the waterproof membrane. In short, a well-designed Green Roof will provide a superb covering for your property and will fully protect it from the weather.

Wallbarn Green Roofs

ER Group is pleased to work with Wallbarn who are suppliers of innovative, top-quality green roof systems, decking, paving, landscaping and waterproofing products. Their industry-leading M-Tray® Unique Modular Green Roofs are leading the way and set the standard for Green Roofs.

The Wallbarn M-Tray® green roof system consists of specially-designed modular trays containing superior, engineered substrate and fully established flowering sedum. These easy-to-carry trays click together to form a seamless green roof consisting of fully established sedum plants nurtured from seed at their own UK nurseries. The clever design ensures your Green Roof is futureproofed. If there are problems with the deck beneath or inspection is required, one M-Tray® or section can easily be lifted out without disruption to the whole roof, unlike roll-out which often involves the removal of tonnes of soil and vegetation, which they would need to be replaced at an additional cost. This makes the Wallbarn M-Tray® our Green Roof system of choice.

Installation is made much easier thanks to the M-Tray® and means a Green Roof can no be fitted to traditionally harder to access rooftops (subject to roof suitability). The modules are easier to fit than many alternatives meaning it’s possible to install your new Green Roof more quickly. In addition, the M-Tray®’s unique, self-irrigating design means rainwater gets retained far longer and very little maintenance is required through the seasons.

ER Group has carried out numerous installations of Green Roofs for our clients and have a deep understanding of the product and how to ensure it provides excellent service over its lifetime.

 

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Wallbarn – easy solutions for new and retrofit green roofs

How to install a green roof - Radisson hotel

Wallbarn is a manufacturer and supplier of specialist materials for flat roofing, structural waterproofing and landscaping. As the company, they produce solutions for rooftop living.

The company has the most comprehensive range of pedestals for suspended paving and decking in the UK. We have a reputation for offering the highest quality pedestals with unrivalled service. We supply sheet membranes for waterproofing systems as well as decking products including the innovative iDecking system.

Green roofing solutions – Wallbarn’s unique answer

Wallbarn also produces and supplies extensive green roof systems including the modular M-Tray® sedum and wildflower green roof system. M-Tray® provides instant, sustainable green roofing, whilst being incredibly easy to install and maintain.

A selection of 13 separate species of sedum suitable for the English climate is pre-grown from seeds in the trays at their nursery in Hampshire for at least 6 months. The plants, therefore have time to fully root into the substrate. Once harvested and transported to the site, the plants are mature and well-established.

green roof installation - Wallbarn

The modules contain a mixture of ground covering and flowering sedum species. They provide year-round colour from green in the winter to a range of primary colours in the summer. In fact, several of flowering species have bee selected specifically to attract pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. These insects, in addition, encourage birds and other wildlife onto the urban rooftop environment. Thus our system helps increase biodiversity in urban areas.

Wallbarn is all about Ease of installation

The single-size, self-contained trays can be carried by hand and are clipped together, creating a seamless, instant green roof. The modularity means they can be installed extremely quickly by contractors without specialist landscaping training. Furthermore, the roof is future-proofed. This allows installers if they ever need to inspect the roof to easily remove the trays. They can simply unclip and lift the trays to access the deck beneath to inspect or repair it.

Wallbarn wants to help increase the number of green spaces onto often lost flat roofs and podium decks. Even one small flat roof or podium deck transformed into a green roof helps the environment. Wallbarn, through its company’s activities, want to can contribute over time to the greening of our urban spaces, significant increasing nature and improving air quality in our cities.

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3 Key Benefits Offered By A Green Roof Installation

A close-up of completed M-Tray green roof installation|An overhead shot of a green roof

A close-up of completed M-Tray green roof installation|An overhead shot of a green roof

With the concept of ‘the green roof’ now widely acknowledged throughout many areas of the world, we believe that now is a great time to highlight some of the most important benefits offered by the installation of a quality modular green roofing system onto a property.

Below we have identified 3 of the primary benefits available:

Benefit No. 1 – Positive Environmental Impact

Green roofs are proven to have a positive impact on the environment in that they help reduce carbon dioxide concentration as grass and other vegetation aid in air purification. The air around most urban centres is most toxic because very few trees or grass are present. However, having some vegetation on every apartment’s rooftop can help deal with the toxic air.

Another key benefit of using a green roof is that it helps conserve heat by reducing heat loss during winter and reducing heat absorption into the house during hot weather and summer.

These roofs have also shown the ability to reduce stormwater runoff. Stormwater is often destructive as it carries away anything in its way, as well as damaging waterways. These roofs, however, retain water reducing its speed and impact on these waterways.

For more on the positive environmental impact created by the installation of a green roof, please check out this study by NC State University by clicking here.

Benefit No. 2 – Prolonging the life of your roof

Green roofs last many times longer than roofing shingles exposed to UV rays. The grass and soil covering the waterproofing membrane protect the roof from harmful UV rays that cause faster degradation especially on conventional roofs.

If installed correctly, these roofs can last twice as long as the most durable roofing materials in the market today. Little or no maintenance is required for these roofs thus making them cost-effective and value for your money.

Please Note – With new advances in green roofing technology, the plants are far more likely to survive and not die back as they are more mature and established

Benefit No.  3 – Reduction in energy costs

Unlike traditional roofs, green roofs offer the chance to reduce your energy bills by absorbing heat, therefore providing natural insulation for buildings.

According to a study conducted by the National Research Council of Canada, even a six-inch extensive green roof can reduce summer energy demands by more than 75 percent.

For more information regarding the M-Tray® modular green roofing system, please click here.

We have also created a 7 min docu-style film about our awesome modular green roof solution and how we produce it from seed at our own UK nurseries. Please check out the video below:

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How To Choose The Correct Sedum For Your Green Roof

Sedum green roof summer flowers

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. 

How To Make Sure You Choose 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.

This Is The Right 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.

Effective Maintenance For “Wildflower” Green Roofs Is Essential

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?

More information on Green Roofs can be found on our website.

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

 
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Introducing DIY Green Roofs – All You Need To Know

Green Roof Installation

Thanks to the modular nature of the M-Tray®, we are able to provide a viable option for areas which are simply not suitable for other types of green roof installation.

They are even suitable for DIY projects!

Perfectly Suited To DIY Installations

Due to their modular nature, the M-Tray® is particularly well suited to DIY installations on single storey flat roofs, garden storage areas and many other flat areas which can be utilised.

Whether working on a large or small project, it’s easy to work out how many M-Trays® one needs because each module is 500sqmm, meaning four units make a square metre.

Exactly 4 units per m² make estimating and installing much easier. M-Tray® modules are extremely easy to transport and deliver. They can also be used in areas where standard roll-out is not possible.

Transforming A Garden Storage Unit

A recent project involved the transformation of a garden storage unit.

“A residential customer recently installed a garden storage unit and wanted to make it more attractive by giving it a green roof. The M-Tray®, being modular in shape and incredibly easy to install, lent itself perfectly to the job.

The green roof components needed to be walked through the house to access the garden. Traditional roll-out green roof systems, with their bags of aggregate-based substrate and sedum blankets spilling compost and plant matter, are extremely messy to transport and install. The M-Tray® is self-contained within the walls of the plastic tray and comes with fully established, sustainable vegetation.”

From this…

M-Tray Bin Store Install 1

 

 

To this…

Transforming An Open Flat Roof

Another recent project involved an extension on a domestic property

Being a wide extension overlooked by two different bedrooms, the owners were not keen on the idea of looking down on a bare rooftop.

The homeowner wanted to save on contractor fees by installing the green roof himself. M-Trays® simply clip together meaning that no specialist roofing or landscaping expertise is required and offered the perfect solution.

M-Tray - Project - Whitstable