What the Papers Say:
POCKET HABITAT MARKS NEW ERA FOR GREEN ROOFING
Arup and SkyGardens have today launched Pocket Habitat, the only modular planting system actively designed to promote biodiversity on new or existing roofs, or provide temporary greening at ground level. Each module is a stand-alone unit made from environmentally friendly material and containing recycled substrates and wildflower seeds. They link together to form a continuous vegetated surface, which may be moved when required.
Rebecca Stewart of Arup said “The Pocket Habitat is an adaptable way to create a biodiverse rooftop environment allowing a green roof to be easily retro-fitted to existing buildings. Furthermore the innovation is generating much interest from developers for temporary greening of development sites. The Pocket Habitat can be rapidly installed and removed if maintenance of the roof or other areas is required. A further attraction is that it can be tailored to a user’s home or work area postcode, using locally sourced aggregates, thereby promoting localised biodiversity and reducing carbon footprint through travel.”
Sky-Garden installation at Adnams shows how to Secede on Green Roofs Without Really Trying
What happens on a green roof without intervention? Ecological succession is at work in all climates at all times turning areas scrubbed clean from fires or lava flows into meadows then shrub lands to primary forests to secondary forests to climax forests. All human-designed gardening and agriculture fights this natural succession to keep the intended plants from being replaced.
Click here to read full article by Ed Snodgrass, Plant Editor of Greenroofs.com
Roofs - Officially Cool! (from Green Roof News)
Scientists from the University of Reading's School of Biological Sciences have been investigating the extent to which different plants can reduce the temperature of buildings by modifying the micro-climate around them.
The research is showing that the choice of plant used in covering buildings is very important, with a dense grass ‘green’ roof the best option for reducing overall temperature. However, growing the climbing annual Nasturtium has also been shown to bring benefits.
Dr Ross Cameron from the University's School of Biological Sciences said: "Plants are nature's own air conditioning units. Our research used model mini-buildings to replicate the thermal properties of buildings that we find in towns and cities, and we looked at the effects that growing different plants on them had. Growing Nasturtium over our mini-buildings reduced surface temperatures during sunny periods by 4˚C, but growing turf grass reduced the surface temperature by 8˚C. Temperatures inside were reduced by 4˚C when the surface was covered by Nasturtium and 6˚C when covered by turf grass."
The benefits however, do not just relate to reduced energy consumption. The urban heat island effect makes cities typically 3 - 4°C warmer than the surrounding countryside, which adds to the effects of climate change. Hot weather and heat waves can also affect health, especially of those who are young, old or infirm.
Dr Cameron continued: "This could be a natural way of combating some of the effects of climate change. We need to do more in this area, but these early results are encouraging, and should help promote the wider adoption of green roofs and walls in our cities."
The turf grass on a green roof provides insulation through its dense, mat-like structure, and when fitted correctly can provide a complete 'carpet' of vegetation across the wall or roof. The large leaves of climbing plants like the Nasturtium work in a slightly different manner. They increase the overall surface area of the vegetation and act like large heat exchangers, by releasing water vapour into the air around the building. And of course, both types of plant help by shading a building from direct sunlight.
Cities to Sizzle as islands of heat.
The Sunday Times reports (10-05-09) that London and other cities could see summer temperatures rise to more than 10C above those in the surrounding countryside, according to Met Office research.
This 'Urban Heat Island Effect' as it is known, already sees cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow reach temperatures 2C - 3C above their surroundings in summer. But higher summer temperatures and soaring energy use make temperature gaps more frequent and extreme.
One of the factors that make cities so hot is there inability to cool down. This is becuase cities do not lose as much heat at night due to the materials used for hard surfaces which store solar energy and lose it more slowly. Also, as cities get warmer they consume more power trying to stay cool, because of air-conditioners and fridges working harder.
Richard Betts, head of climate impacts at the Met Office said, "We must change how we plan cities, to maximise green spaces and create structures that dissipate heat."
New lease of LIFE for Green Roofs - Groundwork Sheffield gets go-ahead for £640,000 projectGroundwork Sheffield is pleased to announce it has successfully secured European Life+ funding to raise the standard of green roof design and installation across the UK.Green roofs perform a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change by reducing the need for artificial cooling in hot weather and capturing rainwater run-off, as well as providing a range of habitats for urban wildlife. But green roofs can only deliver on these environmental benefits if installed to the highest specifications.
Currently there are no UK-specific standards, which mean there is an over-reliance on European standards which have not been developed for the UK climate.
The Life+ funding contributes to a £640,000 project that will enable Groundwork Sheffield, in partnership with national and European experts, to establish a UK code of best practice for the design and installation of green roofs. Project partners include The Green Roof Centre, Livingroofs.org, Clear Ltd and the European Federation of Green Buildings. LIFE+ is the EU's financial instrument supporting environmental policy development across Member States.
