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What's New
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Welcome to Kevin Songer, our newest Contributing Editor! Hailing from Jacksonville, FL, Kevin will write about the trials and tribulations of designing greenroofs and walls in the sub-tropics and tropics. Make sure to join the discussion! Read Linda's post and his first as the Tropical Green Roofs Editor at right.
 The world's largest grassroots environmental movement, Earth Hour is almost upon us! This Saturday, March 31, the Velazquez family here in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA and hundreds of millions of environmentally aware people across our planet will once again show their commitment to the Earth and voluntarily turn off all their non-essential lights for Earth Hour, 8:30 - 9:30 pm local time.
Be on the lookout for this year's "Love the Earth, Plant a Roof!" Earth Day Photo Contest coming next week. Now in our 3rd year, it's a great way celebrate beautiful living rooftop architecture and highlight some outstanding vegetated roofs. Designed to be quick, simple, and fun, it's basically is a popularity contest among our international readership - so start thinking of a project to submit and be prepared to vote soon!  |
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Virtual Summit 2011 Videos
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2012 Greenroofs & Walls™ of the World Calendar
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March features the Chicago City Hall in Chicago, IL. Visible from surrounding buildings, the highly publicized, award-winning green roof was conceived of as part of the City's Urban Heat Island Initiative. Roofmeadow provided engineering expertise for the rooftop. The mounds consist of lightweight insulation topped with dual-media Roofmeadow assemblies, Type II (3.5") & Type III (9"), which sustain the native and nonnative plant palette using base drip irrigation. The rooftop is a perennial garden and so much more. Home to more than 150 species of plants, the green roof habitat supports two beehives tended by the city's beekeeper.
The Greenroofs & Walls™ of the World Calendar series combines two of our most popular destinations on Greenroofs.com: The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database and Upcoming Events, and it's still available for purchase for only $9.95 including shipping in the USA & Canada.
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Projects of the Week
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| | | |  | |  | Mary Catherine Bunting Center at Mercy
Baltimore, MD, USA
17,500 sf. Greenroof
| | WaterShed House
Washington, DC, USA
312 sf. Greenroof
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| Soleil @ Sinaran
Singapore
12,378 sf. Greenroof | | Epcot Living Wall
Orlando, FL, USA
300 sf. Greenwall |  | | | 360 Smith Street Residences
Brooklyn, NY, USA
6,700 sf. Greenroof | | |
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Industry News
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 A new report released by the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition identifies green infrastructure as a cost solution policy makers should be considering on the eve of the Ontario Budget and in subsequent political discussions centered on doing more with less. Health, Prosperity and Sustainability: The Case for Green Infrastructure in Ontario argues taxpayer dollars spent on green infrastructure offer a greater return on investment because of the multiple economic, health and environmental benefits. [3.26.12]
 The District of Columbia is a national leader in the total amount of Green Roofs constructed - second only to Chicago, IL in the total area of green roofs per capita. The District's Green Roof Rebate Program is the perfect way to fund your green roof - and it's now is back in full swing. AWS is offering $5 per square foot on a first-come, first-served basis for qualified DC buildings of any size! [3.16.12]
 The American Federal Government spends about $500 billion per year on services and products and about almost half of it is allocated to use services and buying products from small businesses in America. If you have business company, you might be asking yourself if the American Fed Gov wants your products or services. You can search for opportunities to install and maintain "green roofs." [3.15.12]
 The Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities (SERF) announced its launch into the Chicago market. The East Lansing, Mich.-based green building certification organization brings affordable, streamlined and accessible environmental certification to the metro's building owners, managers and developers. [3.14.12]
For more information please visit our Industry News section of our website.
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NewsLinks
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Green Roofs Elements
Garden Design Magazine, by Bill Marken
World. "...Another approach designers take is to mix up the plant palette on roofs. In Sonoma County, California, Kevin Falkerson and Kerrie Lee Cole, the design-and-build team at SYMBIOS, create one-of-a-kind "artisan" roofs that display a surprising diversity of plants...Author Ed Snodgrass - America's pre-eminent grower of green roof plants and plant supplier for as many as 100 residential green roofs - is an admirer and frequent user of low-growing hardy sedums. He says, Sedums are metabolically suited to a green roof's shallow root space; they lose just a quarter of their water compared to other plants..." [3.21.12]
Rooftop blooms help pollinators
BBC News, by Staff
UK. "Wildlife charity Buglife have published a report recommending flower-filled rooftops to help wild pollinators. After analysing green roofs in the UK and Switzerland, conservationists have found that mixed planting attracts more wildlife than a standard green roof. Traditionally, green roofs are planted with sedum: a group of flowering plants that store water in their leaves. Since green roofs first became popular in the 1980s, studies have suggested that they reduce rainwater run off, provide sound and heat insulation and even improve urban air quality..." [3.21.12]
Case Study: Green Roof Plants
Nursery Management, by Staff
US. "...For most green roof applications, 4 inches of planting medium is the standard depth specified in the majority of projects...But 6-8 inches of planting medium expands plant palettes suitable for arid climates, said Dave MacKenzie, horticulturalist and president of LiveRoof LLC in Spring Lake, Michigan...The species in our Wild West Sun Mix are native to the Pacific Northwest. They feature a wide range of flowering times to reveal changing blasts of seasonal color visible from the residence hall, said Andrea Martinello, LiveRoof sales specialist at N.A.T.S. Nursery..." [3.16.12] For more News, please visit Newslinks section of our website. |
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Upcoming Events
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March 29: One day left to submit Abstracts for CitiesAlive 2012 in Chicago!
April 5-6: ASLA Texas Chapter Conference & Expo, Grapevine, TX
April 14-17: APA (American Planning Association) National Planning Conference, Los Angeles, CA
April 17: Green Roof Science Symposium, Columbia University, New York, NY
April 22: Earth Day 2011
April 23-25: Design-Build for Water/Wastewater Conference, Phoenix, AZ
April 27: Green Rooftop Co-Working & Philanthropy Event, Sydney, Australia
April 27-28: Green Living Roofs, SUNY Ulster, New York, NY
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| Featured Sponsor | 
Green Roof Blocks introduces their green roof innovation, Green Paks, the easiest and most affordable way to own a green roof. These knitted polyethylene green roof modules are pre-filled with lightweight engineered soil. Simply cover the roof area with Green Paks, insert the plants of your choice, and start enjoying your green roof. Green Paks are fast, easy, and affordable and carry a twenty year limited warranty.
Click here for the full page color brochure in The Greenroof Directory
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Read what we've been blogging about in our latest Sky Gardens posts:
 | Linda Velazquez
Editor & Publisher, GRP |
CitiesAlive Call for Papers Extended to March 29, 2012 [3.22.12]
Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 videos:
Episode 16: "Vertical Agriculture: A Global Movement Starts Locally, from Wall to Table" Panel Session from George Irwin, Tom Ferraro, and U.S. Congressman Tom Reed.
Episode #15: "E = MC2 of Green Roofs: Ranking Energy Benefits by Mission, Climate and Construction" from Christopher Wark.
Episode #14: "The Work of ATVBrasil" from Joćo Manuel Linck Feijó.
Episode #13: "Green Roof Policies - An International Review of Current Practices and Future Trends" from Wolfgang Ansel.
Episode #12: "Wind. Water. Heat. Grow. Greenroofs." Panel Session from Dr. Bill Retzlaff, David Aponte, Kevin Songer, and Joe Webb
Greenroofs.com's "This Week in Review" on GreenroofsTV: March 23, March 16, March 9, March 2, and February 24, 2012
Contributing Editors:
 Kevin Songer, J.D., ISA Certified Arborist & Municipal Specialist, LEED AP BD+C , is now our Tropical Green Roof Editor! Read his "Intro to Tropical Green Roofs." [3.27.12]
Guest Feature Articles & Posts:
 See the guest blog post "Greening the District with Green Roofs" by Laura S. Washington, Green Roof Rebate Program Coordinator, Anacostia Watershed Society. [3.16.12]
 Read the guest feature article "Portland Builds Over 100,000 Square Feet of Greenroofs in 2011" by Casey Cunningham, Landscape Architect, City of Portland's Sustainable Stormwater Division. [3.16.12]
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JobLinks
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Sika Sarnafil USA is seeking an Inside Sales Representative in Canton, MA. [3.21.12]
Roofmeadow is now hiring aProject Field Specialist in Philadelphia, PA, USA. [3.13.12]
Roofmeadow is also seeking a Landscape Designer in Philadelphia, PA, USA. [3.13.12]
Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc. is looking for a Maintenance Supervisor in Glenview, IL, USA. [2.27.12]
Etera is looking for a Sales Support Coordinator in Mt. Vernon, WA, USA. [2.20.12]
LiveRoof is seeking a LiveWall Sales Specialist in Chicago, IL, USA. [2.6.12]
The Horticultural Society of New York (The Hort) is seeking a Greenroof Research Intern in New York, NY, USA. [12.5.11]
See other Jobs Available and Positions Wanted in our Joblinks page.
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BookStore
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 | | The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City (Revised and Updated) by Patrick Blanc |
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Submit your video, article, & project profile to Greenroofs.com!
Just send your content to our Editor and it will be reviewed for publishing. Email your info to linda@greenroofs.com. |
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