Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has announced that the city of Toronto has passed a new green roof by-law with overwhelming support yesterday. The green roof by-law consists of a green roof construction standard and a mandatory requirement for green roofs on all classes of new buildings. The by-law requires up to 50% green roof coverage on multi-unit residential dwellings over six stories, schools, non-profit housing, and commercial and industrial buildings. Larger residential projects require greater green roof coverage, ranging anywhere from 20-50% of the roof area.

The use of garden roof systems is relatively new in the U.S. However, as energy costs rise and environmental awareness increases, the idea of vegetative roofing is poised to become much more common place. In fact, a number of major cities and large property owners are already looking at these ecological roofing solutions. According to Brad Rowe, a Michigan State University horticulture professor and chairperson of the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) Research Committee, the garden roofing industry is growing rapidly. The area covered by garden roofs increased 80 percent between 2005 and 2006 in the United States.

The first study to compare the performance of different types of green roofs has been completed by The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and suggests that buyers shouldn’t assume these roofs are created equal.

Interest in vegetated roofs has increased as water and energy conservation becomes more important to property owners. Yet the study of six different manufacturers’ products found the green roofs varied greatly in capabilities such as how much they cooled down a building’s interior and how much rainwater they captured during downpours.

1:00 eastern, 12:00 central, 11:00 mountain and 10:00 pacific and will last for 90 minutes.

Earn 1.5 AIA CEUs: Upon the completion of the session, registered attendees will receive an email with a web address to register for their AIA certificate.

Note: Access to Practice Greenhealth webinars is a fee-based service, and is one of many member benefits. You can learn more about the fees and benefits of membership by going to our website, and you can join on-line as well. See http://www.practicegreenhealth.org/community/membership/

Access to a single webinar is also available for $150 or by purchasing an annual subscription for $795. See http://www.practicegreenhealth.org/tools/webinars/

Topic
Hospitals are often one of the largest consumers of water resources in their community. In this Webinar, you’ll learn about the impact of laundry and stormwater on healthcare’s ‘aquaprint’. In the summer of 2007 Metro Health Hospital installed a 1 acre vegetative roof along with 3 bio-retention swales as design strategies to mitigate storm water run off. These design features were submitted as a part of Metro’s LEED certification. The two designs are undergoing a study to measure storm water runoff. John Ebers from Metro Health will describe the benefits of the project, and lessons learned. Next, Ken Tyler will discuss the impact of Laundry Operations on a hospital’s environmental footprint, and how that impact can be reduced. He will review several case studies during his presentation.

Who should attend:
Anyone involved in the operation, design, construction and engineering of healthcare facilities.
Take Home Value (THV)

1. The qualitative and quantitative benefits of a vegetative roof
2. The qualitative benefits of a bioretention swale
3. Implementation Lessons learned
4. Introduction of laundry industry data
5. Definition of laundry services
6. Impact on water savings-how and why
7. Construction and Equipment Alternatives
8. Greening a Laundry from top to bottom

Presenters

• John Ebers, Metro Health Hospital
• Ken Tyler, HRLLD, CFM, Encompass LLC

Please note, this webinar will take advantage of updated technology. Your confirmation email will list the phone number and web address required to access the call. No visual presentation will be available for download on the site.
To register for the webinar:
http://cms.h2e-online.org/teleconferences/calendar/details/420

The call is at 1:00 eastern, Noon central, 11:00 mountain and 10:00 pacific time. The call will last approximately 90 minutes.

Earn 1.5 AIA CEUs: Upon the completion of the session, registered attendees will receive an email with a web address to register for their AIA certificate.

Join us! Questions? Call Mark Tecca at 866-548-2140 or email education@practicegreenhealth.org.

Green roofs are nothing new. In their book, Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, Nigel Dunnett and Nöel Kingsbury report that the idea has “been [around] for centuries.” Historically, say the authors, people in present-day Turkey, Iraq and Iran built homes of mud or earth with grass-covered rooftops.

The ancient practice is enjoying a resurgence. In the U.S., noteworthy green examples include the Pentagon, Chicago’s City Hall, a Ford assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan and numerous buildings in Portland, Oregon.

As climate change raises the alternating risks of urban flooding and drought, cities around the world are seeking better ways to manage water. In Europe and North America, two strategies are becoming increasingly popular: installing “green” roofs covered in vegetation and collecting rainwater for household use.

As more urban homeowners look for ways to green their personal corner of the asphalt jungle, green residential rooftops are a growing trend. Covering house or garage tops with plants slows movement of water into city sewer systems and helps lessen the urban heat island effect, lowering heating and cooling costs.

Green roofs also soften and beautify harsh landscapes, and can act as sound barriers to city clatter.

In May 2006, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) began to monitor the performance of a green roof installed on its Washington, DC headquarters building.

Of all the cities in the United States, Chicago might be the most ready for something like Earth Hour.

For much of the past decade, Chicago has pioneered a “green roofs” program: literally gardens growing on roof tops, which officials say cool buildings and mean less power is consumed.