People are talking about... Green Roofs

Ben Flanner at Brooklyn Grange

They're popping up all over the place, from New York to Los Angeles, and no, Im not talking about cupcakes.  It's Green Roofs!

The green roof movement is of course, not new.  Germany is the leader, where about 10% of roofs are green.  They have been growing "up" for the past 50 years and some parts of Germany require green roofs on all new buildings.

But it seems like the movement has legs in the States, and it's running!

Green roofs, according to The New York Times writer Tina Rosenberg, can help solve so many serious environmental issues.

A green roof on a NYC co-op

• "Urban Heat Island." For anyone who has ever lived in a city, this needs no explaining, the temperature can sometime be as much as 7 degrees warmer, Rosenberg says, and green roofs can help lower the heat index.  
• "Scrub the air." One sq meter can absorb all the emissions from a car being driven 12,000 miles a year, said Amy Norquist, chief executive of Greensulate.
• "Water Run-off." It can take only 20 minutes of rainfall to start water from toilets flowing into Brooklyn’s waterways, Rosenberg reports.  And, the water can makes us sick.
• "Habitats." Green roofs can provide the plants that animals, birds and bees need when parks are far apart.

The movement is attracting all types of companies interested in making a difference, from hydroponic growers to vertical walls and soil amendments like biochar. In fact, Brooklyn Grange is planning to put Soil Reef biochar on 1/2 acre of their rooftop in Brooklyn. 

Start small... with a green doghouse roof!

The benefits of Soil Reef are endless, conserving water and nutrients, growing healthier, bigger plants and putting carbon back in the soil, yet, the addition of biochar to greenroof soil has even greater benefits.  According to the Journal of Environmental Pollution, it has been proven to improve both runoff water quality and retention.

The future of green roofs is bright- look into installing one today. 

Katie @KatieGMG
http://www.gardenmediagroup.com

Trees Matter

A recent article in the New York Times titles, Why Trees Matter, makes the case, once again, for planting trees.

Jim Robbins, writer and author of "The Man Who Planted Trees” says, "trees are on the front lines of our changing climate... and are a potentially major answer to some of our most pressing environmental problems."

Robbins goes on to explain how trees help clean the ocean, filter water, create a heat shield, clean the air, absorb toxic chemical and release beneficial ones. 

In Japan, he explains, it's daily practice to take "A walk in the woods."  This was the part that hit home the most- since we've been touting biophilia a lot this year.  Nature heals!

They say it "reduces the level of stress chemicals in the body and increases natural killer cells in the immune system, which fight tumors and viruses. Studies in inner cities show that anxiety, depression and even crime are lower in a landscaped environment."

So, in honor of Earth Month (or what I like to call Earth Lifetime...) get out there and plant a tree.  PLANT A TREE!

Robbins says California Redwoods are the super trees, but go ahead and just plant something!

Katie @KatieGMG
Garden Media Group

Replacing Concrete with Greenery? Get in line!

New York City's High Line

From Detroit's abandoned train station to Chicago's old train tracks, more and more cities are transforming their elevated railways, roads and viaducts into green spaces.  

The latest city to join this craze is Madrid! The park here, called Madrid Río, is more than six miles long, and it transforms a formerly neglected area in the middle of Spain’s capital.

Madrid resident, Pilar López, 73, has lived for more than a half-century in an apartment in a housing project nearby, suffering the fumes and noise from the highway.  She describes to Michael Kimmelman of the New York Times how this park has changed her life.

Madrid's Rio Park

“This is like new lungs for us. When the highway was here, I sat on my sofa and watched television all day. Now I feel healthy again because I walk with my friends in the park for hours.”

With the rising biophilia trend, It's no surprise that cities across the world are creating nurturing spaces from their residents to play, walk and enjoy.  It's a good way to foster human advancement on this finite planet.

@KatieGMG Garden Media Group