Happy Holidays!
Thank you for appreciating Groof’s work in 2023.
Green Roofs and Green Walls are very much needed in this new era of the world. I believe the most poignant theory unearthed in our blogs was realizing the number of battles this industry is up against. Whether it’s the reluctancy for building owners to invest in this or a lack of education about it - mental health and physical health are both at risk right now as we cross over into AI. This will pressure the property owners to help enhance the environment differently. Education Institutes that prioritize green roofs (like Humber College) and walls (like University of Toronto) do a good job of promoting the benefits for the students, not financially for the institution itself, although there are undeniable benefits there too.
20 articles (30,000 words) later (not including another 3,000 words about Global Impact), we’ve learned a lot. We wish everyone the happiest of holidays. Let’s see how much further we could all go together in the future now that a considerable amount of hard work has been put in, although it’s only the beginning.
Here are the best moments from the last 19 blogs! Thanks again for supporting us.
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Article 1 - July 1, 2023 - Irrigation
This article really reminds you what green roofs are all about - embracing, prioritizing, and enjoying nature. While there are even better climates for green roofs, many award-winning green roofs come from Canada. And while we’d love for our green roofs to be green 365 days a year, irrigating or artificially watering them is costly and not ideal for the environment.
Instead, you should do things like: install green roofs in rain season, choose your ‘plant-palette’ wisely (there are plants that are resistant to dry conditions and adaptable to your building’s environment), and incorporate a water retention system to water the roof in drier areas.
“Waste should always be avoided. Should a buildings’ manager find that irrigation is needed frequently, it’s probably time to re-evaluate the plant palette. Or even, if possible, modify the design of the green roof.”
Article 2 - July 2, 2023 - Stormwater
In our previous blog, we reflected on an article about the economical and environmental options when considering how to water a green roof enough - for example, a builder can store rainwater to irrigate a green roof during droughts.
It turns out there are even more important benefits related to water and green roofs. Sidewalks, roads, parks, and more help cities manage stormwater runoff because it can overwhelm a city and contaminate sewage systems with bacteria. Green roofs naturally help keep more of the rain where it falls.
Article 3 - July 3, 2023 - Schools
Not only are there passive health benefits, it’s an opportunity to teach students about green walls
PS - When I attended UofT some years ago, a notable a feature on campus was the Exam Centre’s ‘Living Wall’ in the Main Lobby. I was already familiar with the positive impacts for wellbeing from more natural elements indoors, and always looked forward to soaking in the wall while waiting to write my exams.
Article 4 - July 4, 2023 - Maintenance
The main downside of green roofs described in the article is related to costs. They can be expensive upfront, and while they lead to a longer lifespan for the roof in general, protecting it from harmful UV rays for instance, they can be expensive to replace.
However, the article ends up unearthing more positive impacts of green roofs as opposed to the costs associated with installation and maintenance - both of which are becoming cheaper and easier. The article highlights sedum trays instead of one field of sedum for easy install and removal, and Groof is aware of lighter green roof technologies across the market.
Article 5 - July 5, 2023 - White Roofs
Incentives aren’t borders and green roofs (and walls) are all about community building. Communities like customers or employees will appreciate the extra lengths a building owner has gone to keep a building up with the times. On the topic of white roofs vs. green roofs, green roofs involve more work but there are multiple benefits that outweigh the lesser benefits of white roofs. Review this direct quote from this article about white roofs versus green.
“Although white roofs have good solar reflectance, their ability to reflect the sun decreases over time due to weathering and wear, which can lead to increased heat absorption. Therefore, they need to be cleaned periodically to remove dust and dirt that can reduce their reflectance. Also, no matter how well the roof material is maintained it will still lose its ability to reflect the sun over time.”
Article 6 - July 6, 2023 - City of Toronto Bylaws and Rebate
Overall positive sentiment for the city - great work they’re doing.
Mandatory provisions are included in the Toronto Green Roof Construction for the following areas:
Green Roof Assembly
Gravity Loads
Slope Stability
Parapet Height and /or Overflow Scupper Locations
Wind Uplift
etc.
Article 7 - July 17, 2023 - Dangers of Green Roofs
Should you know us through our Blog by now - we like to show we that we prefer to do the heavy lifting for our clients. We recently summarized some articles about the cons, downsides, dangers, and failures of both green roofs and green walls in the last decade, so our readers can get a head start.
Article 8 - July 18, 2023 - Upsides of Green Roofs
To counter the above blog about Downsides (13 articles used), I only needed 6 of those articles to sufficiently counter that with upsides.
In our previous Blog post, we looked at a number of informative pieces about the dangers and downsides of green roofs and green walls. Primarily in North America where climates are harsher. We couldn’t help notice the decent amount of pros and upsides mentioned in the same articles. Below is a look at just that (some positives of green roofs and green walls) via direct quotes from some of those articles mentioned in Part 1.
Article 9 - July 19 , 2023 - Planet Palettes
Groof recently did a search for the best resources available today related to the plant selection for green roofs and walls in cold climates. The following is a look at our favourite excerpts from articles we think offer the most value about the topic - for the full article, click on the link provided. Enjoy the read!
Over 20 sources used to create this article - with a focus on colder climates like Canada.
Article 10 - August 7, 2023 - Roundup (ARTICLES)
Not much new was added to the world around us this time with respect to green roofs and walls (3 articles used)
Article 11 - August 8, 2023 - Roundup (VIDEOS)
Not much new was added to the world around us this time with respect to green roofs and walls (6 videos used)
12 - August 9, 2023 - Schools Pt. 2
We wanted to provide you with a link to a few articles (from late 2015, 2020, and 2022) regarding the ability for green roofs and walls in schools to directly benefit students, teachers, staff, communities, and the overall school brand. We mentioned these articles in our third blog. Here are our favourite excerpts from those articles too. Thanks for reading!
The increase in mental health disorders in children highlights the need for further research to be conducted on child well-being and as children spend more time in school than any other indoor environment outside of the home.
Their findings suggest interior green walls may have the ability to help recuperate students stress levels.
Green walls could have the ability to involuntarily ‘distract’ students from complex academic work and allow them to reflect on the problem. Alternatively, the soft fascination of the green walls could be the ‘distraction’ required for students to reflect on personal problems.
green walls can be integrated into the curriculum to enhance education and behaviour.
Canadians are estimated to spend upwards of 90 per cent of their time indoors
13 - August 23, 2023 - Solar Panels
In the last decade, solar panel installations in North America were more of the hot topic roof-wise than green roofs. People are curious these days, as the climate continues to warm up, what’s the truth between solar panels and green roofs? Solar panels appear to be heavier and more likely to over-heat the roof under sunny conditions, and vendors haven’t been consistent across the industry enough in areas like installation and maintenance.
Regardless, solar panels can be beneficial in both the short and long term for building owners in many ways, not to mention energy cost savings. While the need for green roofs outweighs that of the need for solar panels we believe, bringing solar panels and green roofs (and walls) together is our recommendation almost always.
14 - September 5, 2023 - Award Winners
For example, this University of Ottawa project we love won an award in 2014 -
the oldest example of awards in the Green Roofs and Green Walls industry that we could find so far dates back to the year 2000, and it’s been an annual event ever since - the Scandinavian Green Roof Institute’s “Green Roof Award” for “the best green roof project in Scandinavia, on the initiative of the City of Malmö.”
Click HERE to learn more about this awesome initiative.
One thing we especially like about this Awards Program was this clear distinction they’ve promoted this year on their website about the key difference between an Extensive and Intensive Green Roof -
“Extensive” = The dominating part of the project has a green roof buildup of maximum 15 cm and is inaccessible
“Intensive” = The dominating part of the project has a green roof buildup of minimum 15 cm
Not only are they saying that 15 cm is a good measure distinguishing the two, but they’re also proclaiming that if you’re going to “go short/small” (our words, not theirs) and adopt an extensive green roof, then your green roof should not be accessible… We believe this is an effort to promote the more appealing and productive intensive green roofs (which is also roughly twice the cost) over the lighter, cheaper extensive variety. The way they see it, if you want an award at least, if you’re going for the lighter, cheaper, faster option, it better be because you can’t have any visitors up there to access/experience the green roof themselves. The SIGR has at least twenty years of credibility to back this belief.
15 - September, 17, 2023 - Award Winners Pt. 2
2 Old Mill, Toronto
Award Winning Powderhouse Green Roof Project (livingarchitecturemonitor.com)
As the book above looks at award winning green roofs in Canada and the United States, we wanted to highlight this award winner from Somerville, MA - awarded by Recover Green Roofs (Recover Green Roofs | New England Green Roofs) who have been doing great work in this space since 2009 all over the U.S. This was awarded the Jeffrey L. Bruce Awards of Excellence for 2021 by GRHC which is the author of the book above’s organization.
Upon commencing construction, a number of logistical challenges had to be overcome, such as how best to reach the central courtyard and how to most efficiently convey materials from grade. As the project progressed, Recover followed the model of the Roman armies who built their highways as they traveled, allowing the build team to convey their materials along the route they were building.
16 - September 21, 2023 - Roundup
We’re back already with a Part 2 of a series where we make sure to keep our readers aware of the latest news or information from the Green Roof and Green Wall industry. We’re surprised at how soon this was needed as there’s been an undeniable increase in activity and publicity for this space.
“The green roof market was valued at $1,451.3 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $4,192.0 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 15.6% from 2020 to 2027.”
GROWING VEGGIES IN ROOFTOP (How to make rooftop garden) - YouTube
“DIY inspiration for individuals on their roofs”
17 - November 3, 2023 - Roundup
While the seemingly endless list of benefits from Green Roofs and Green Walls is undeniable, it’s still too early for companies to be ready to purchase Green Roofs & Walls of their own. Which is why blogs and websites such as ours are especially useful right now - where we take a good look at what’s new in our industry, globally, and without prejudice.
SolarGardenRoofs, Solar Green Roofs, BioSolar - YouTube
Short video by a top Green Roof Specialist - POSTED JUNE 15, 2023
“Jörg Breuning is one of a few people on earth who actively shaped the beginning of the modern Green Roof industry in Europe/Germany more than 4 decades ago. In addition, he introduced Green Roofs to North America in 1999 and Solar Green Roofs in 2010.”
“In North America there are multimillions of acres of rooftops in commercial areas surrounding our metropolitan areas. Often contributing more stormwater runoff and heat island than the adjoining city. Green infrastructure in these commercial areas is hardly discussed. It would be more effective, efficient and target oriented to meet sustainability goals.”
Humber Cultural Hub Green Roofs - YouTube
Short video on College’s 15,000 Sq.ft. Green Roof - POSTED JUNE 13, 2023
“LEED Platinum certified, net zero carbon targets, and the Toronto Green Standard”
Green Roofs: Reducing the Heat Island Effect #greenroof #livingroof - YouTube
Short, highly informative video of a residential green roof by the homeowner - POSTED MAY 9, 2023
“A field of glover and garlic on the roof of my house. Green roofs provide […] cooling, insulation, gardening[…] reinforce the roof and use an appropriate liner […] drought-tolerant plants, sedums do great, it depends largely on climate.”
18 - November 5, 2023 - Roundup
NOVEMBER 1, 2023 - Green Roof Market Next Big Thing | Major Giants: Soprema, Tremco, Sempergreen – Argyle Report
Green Roof market faces challenges in customizing solutions to unique client needs, staying updated with evolving e-commerce trends, ensuring seamless integration with existing systems, and managing potential competition from in-house teams or other consulting providers. Risks include misaligned implementations, limited scalability, reliance on legacy technology, and shifting client preferences. Moreover, changing market dynamics and emerging technologies introduce uncertainties. Successful providers must navigate these challenges by offering tailored strategies, staying agile, fostering expertise in emerging technologies, and providing transparent communication, delivering effective, adaptable, and value-driven consulting services while mitigating risks associated with customization and market shifts.
19 - November 15, 2023 - Solar LEAFS
I really enjoyed this latest blog which digs further into the future between green roofs, solar panels, and the like. Our goal is that all of our work in the future incorporates all relevant, most helpful foundations. Part of this will be tracking these relevant evolutions in technology, which could very well lead us into spaces such as Solar (fresh alternatives) or Landscaping to help businesses and families on the ground.
A 'bionic leaf' turns solar energy into chemicals and fuels (theconversation.com)
Photosynthesis – turning the sun’s energy into food for plants – is the biological system that feeds the world. But despite its awesome power, the process is extremely inefficient. We can’t really blame plants for this because photosynthesis evolved for ancient earth’s conditions.
This bio-inspired leaf generates more power than solar panels (interestingengineering.com)
Studies have already found that PV-leaves can “generate over 10 percent more electricity compared to conventional solar panels, which lose up to 70 percent of the incoming solar energy to the environment.”
