Wednesday, July 18, 2012

On The Living Roof at Brooklyn Botanic


I learned today from Geraldine, our intern from overseas, that much of the focus on greenroofs in her home city of Zurich which has mandated laws for flat roofs, is on habitat and biodiversity. The thinking is that part of what it means to "green" a city is that there is an attempt made to replace some of what has been lost to urbanization.

4 comments:

Jen said...

That made my day. What a great concept.

I am looking forward to visiting the BBG and seeing the living roof. I spent a lot of time there, many years ago. My son is moving to Brooklyn and I can't wait to visit.

Sweetgum Thursday said...

yeah. i know a lot of people think in terms of capturing rain water and reducing heat island effect, but just to do it to reintroduce plants or for habitat alone is kind of a cool idea. Give a shoutout if you are in town. Joe wants to meet you too.

Chantay Smithingell said...

You're right, Sweetgum! Most people think that installing a green roof on their houses would only reduce the heat island effect, and prevent flooding from their area. Yes, I agree with that, but little do they know, that this also attracts tiny organisms to live on their roof, thus, providing them with food and shelter, and contributing to making the world more beautiful, one flower at a time.

Noreen Mayweather said...

That’s right! Going green means so much deeper than simply putting up plants. A true living roof must not benefit the homeowners alone, but all living creatures. That statement was a bit ambitious, I know. The thing we must do is welcome beings that could promote biodiversity. The presence of insects on your roof garden only means you’ve made a healthy ecosystem up there. Nice! :)