2003:

*New York City* GREEN DRINKS

The January 2004 monthly social meeting of New York Green Drinks was held on Tuesday, January 13 at "Ideya" at 6:00 pm - 349 West Broadway between Grand and Broome New York, NY 10013.  They claim the best mojitos in town... Latin American theme - Stay for Dinner (heard food is great). See web for more info; Phone: 212.625.1441.

Green Drinks is a low key, informal, self-organizing network who meet at a different place each month.  They have met very month since 1990 with an average attendance of 70 people who work and study in the environmental field.

Organizers feel this might be a way for greenroofs folks to connect with other green folks in the city, and suggest you take a chance to mix with other like-minded folks, to network, share info and make friends.

Read more at www.greendrinks.org.  To get on the email circulation list, send an email to: nyc@greendrinks.org.

GLOBAL meetings in: London | Berlin | Bristol | Bath | Canberra | Hamburg | Munich | Oxford | Reading | Warsaw | Tokyo | Washington, DC | Peterborough | San Francisco | Chicago | Sacramento | New York City | Providence | Twin Cities | Portland, OR | Seattle | Houston |

The Green Roofs for Affordable Housing Workshop was held on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 in New York City at the Greenpoint Bank at 356 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., sponsored by Earth Pledge and the Association for Neighborhood Housing Development for the Green Roofs for Affordable Housing Workshop.

A greener, healthier Gotham should be available to all of its citizens. Green, vegetated roofs present a unique opportunity for affordable housing developers to reduce building operating costs while benefiting the environment and improving their tenants’ quality of life.

This workshop, intended for those involved in the affordable housing field, outlined the costs, benefits, and technical requirements of green roofs, and included a presentation of another Viridian Project green roof currently under construction at the Chelsea Residence, a supportive living facility developed by Common Ground Community and designed by OCV Architects.

For more info, call Don Morlan of ANHD at 212.463.9600 ext. 3.

A Green Holiday Party was held in New York City on Tuesday, December 9th, 2003 at "Union Bar" located at 200 Park Ave. S. between 17th and 18th, a half block north of Union Square (on the North East Corner).  The Party was coordinated by Green Drinks with the AIA Committee on the Environment, GreenHomeNYC, ASLA, and many more.  Sign up for future events in the New York area at nyc@greendrinks.org, and for more info call 212.674.2105.

The Calgary Green Roof Infrastructure Workshop was held on December 3, 2003 at the Rosza Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, and the Edmonton Green Roof Infrastructure Workshop was held on December 4, 2003 at The Fine Arts Building, University of Alberta.  Organized by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the City of Calgary, the City of Edmonton and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Workshop helped develop strategies to encourage green roof development in the City and surrounding region of Calgary.  This workshop was an opportunity to learn from local and national experts about the design and implementation of green roofs. Afternoon breakout sessions allowed participants to identify local research needs and obstacles to implementation, followed by a reception. Input from participants at the workshop will be used to guide the development of both cities' research programs to further explore green roof technical performance and supportive policy options.

To download the Workshop Agenda and Registration information, please visit www.greenroofs.ca, or contact Steven Peck, Executive Director of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities at speck@cardinalgroup.ca.

The Cool Music for a Green City: A Greening Gotham Benefit Concert was held on Saturday, November 22nd at 9pm at Jazz on the Park - 36 W 106th Street (Between Manhattan Avenue and Central Park West), in New York.  Tickets were $15 at the door.

The event helped Earth Pledge create a greener, more sustainable city while offering participants an evening of jazz with innovative pianist and vocalist Rick DellaRatta leading the Jazz For Peace trio in a concert to support Earth Pledge programs.

Proceeds from the concert, sponsored by Jazz For Peace (www.jazzforpeace.org) and held at Jazz on the Park, benefited GreeningGotham.org, Earth Pledge's latest project, a comprehensive online green roof resource for New Yorkers.  Earth Pledge staffers were on hand to answer questions and provide  information about Greening Gotham and Earth Pledge.

For more info on this event or future Earth Pledge and Greening Gotham events, call 212.947.1104 or  visit www.greeninggotham.org or www.earthpledge.org.

The U. S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild International Conference and Expo was held in Pittsburgh, PA on November 12 - 14, 2003.  According to the USGBC website, the conference will address "Everything about green building, under one roof.  Greenbuild is the annual meeting place for the green building industry. For five days in Pittsburgh, thousands of green building industry professionals will come together to learn about the latest advancements in green building design, construction, project financing and building management.

The USGBC anticipates over 5000 professionals gathered in one place for three intensive days of education sessions, networking, and product displays. Greenbuild brings together all the industries touched by green building. This global event draws not only architects and engineers, but also brings in the facilities managers, developers, contractors, builders, interior designers, federal, state, and local governments, and product manufacturers, just to name a few. Their goal is to unite the industry by encouraging the exchange of ideas, partnerships and collaboration.

The Greenbuild Conference Mission:

Provide an exciting, new, annual meeting place for the rapidly expanding green building industry. Serve as the pre-eminent showcase for leading-edge green technologies worldwide. Deliver an outstanding educational program that highlights benchmarks of sustainability across a broad array of issues including site location and development, water use, energy, materials, indoor environmental quality, biophelia, health and productivity, financing - and more!"

Several greenroof industry companies exhibited booths:

American Hydrotech, Inc., # 435
Building Logics, Inc., # 1037
Colbond, Inc., # 937
The Garland Company, Inc., # 1038
GreenGrid™ / Weston Solutions, Inc., # 1008
GreenTech, Inc., # 1003
Sarnafil Roofing and Waterproofing Systems, # 532

For more information, please visit: www.usgbc.org

The "Designing Sustainable Communities Managing Stormwater from an Ecological Perspective Workshop" was held in the Falany Performing Arts Center at Reinhardt College, Waleska, GA on Wednesday, November 12, from 9:00am - 12:00pm.  Sponsored by The Nature Conservancy with funding by The Turner Foundation, this workshop explored the problems associated with commonly accepted stormwater codes and ordinances that often lead to downstream flooding, water quality degradation, and a loss of biological diversity in streams.

New concepts and technologies were discussed, including on-site infiltration, residential "rain gardens," green roof systems, bioretention, porous pavement and more. Real world examples that have been implemented throughout the country demonstrated how these low impact development methods are both economically feasible and ecologically effective.

The target audience included public sector employees including community planners, engineers, planning commission and board members, and representatives of local, state, and federal governmental agencies, private sector developers, architects, landscape architects, planners, biologists, ecologists, representatives of the agricultural community, and interested citizens.

Jim Patchett, ASLA, Principal of Conservation Design Forum spoke and his presentation focused on examining techniques for blending the principles of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design, with the most advanced thinking in environmental planning, landscape ecology, and water resource management.

Atlanta area vendor exhibits provided local products and services relative to low impact development technologies and stormwater management.

For more info, please contact Candace Stoughton of The Nature Conservancy at 770.704.7280 or cstoughton@tnc.org.

*New York City* GREEN DRINKS

The November monthly social meeting of New York Green Drinks was held on November 11 at "COUNTER," located at 105 First Avenue (Between 6th St. & 7th St.), East Village, New York.   Phone: 212.982.5870, and see web for more information.

Green Drinks is a low key, informal, self-organizing network who meet at a different place each month.  They have met very month since 1990 with an average attendance of 70 people who work and study in the environmental field.

Organizers feel this might be a way for greenroofs folks to connect with other green folks in the city, and suggest you take a chance to mix with other like-minded folks, to network, share info and make friends.

Read more at www.greendrinks.org.  To get on the email circulation list, send an email to: nyc@greendrinks.org.

GLOBAL meetings in: London | Berlin | Bristol | Bath | Canberra | Hamburg | Munich | Oxford | Reading | Warsaw | Tokyo | Washington, DC | Peterborough | San Francisco | Chicago | Sacramento | New York City | Providence | Twin Cities | Portland, OR | Seattle | Houston |

On November 7, 8 and 9 Portland State University presented the annual PSU Weekend, and Seminar Day at PSU was held on Saturday, November 8, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Smith Center, Portland State University, 1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR.  Presented by the PSU Alumni Association, the PSU Weekend Keynote Speaker was Frances Mayes, author of "Under the Tuscan Sun, and the Weekend included seminars, events, music, tours and more.

The annual "Seminar Day" offered 20 free lectures, seminars and performances for free and was open to the public. Experts spoke about everything from the music of The Beatles to watershed health. Events included a demonstration of barbershop harmony, music from Italy, discussion of greenroofs, and a jazz jam.

Tom Liptan, ASLA, Environmental Specialist, City of Portland, presented "Greenroofs for Healthy and Sustainable Cities," on Saturday November 8 at 2 pm.  He explained what greenroofs are and how they offer an exciting and effective technique for addressing urban health and sustainability. 

The PSU Weekend Hotline telephone number is 503.725.4949. Download the Event PDF here, and get the complete details at www.alumni.pdx.edu. 

The 2003 ASLA Annual Meeting & EXPO, was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 30 - November 3, 2003.  "The American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Meeting & EXPO is always a great opportunity for landscape architects to gather together. This year’s meeting represents an opportunity to fashion our response to the challenges that now face our country—how best to realize the full potential of our profession through defining safe, secure, and healthy environments.

This year’s theme, “Fusion of Culture and Place,” provided a timely focus for exploring the complex relationship between richly diverse cultures and their connection to healthy, vibrant landscapes."

An Education Session relating to greenroofs was presented on Friday, October 31 10:15am-11:45am:

A2
The Emerging Culture of Green Roof Technology
Intermediate
Track: The Green Machine

The emerging green roof movement offers landscape architects new technologies for an old idea: a vegetated roof. This session presents an introduction to the green roof movement, definitions and descriptions of green roof technologies, and an understanding of the cultural and environmental benefits of using green roof technologies. The session concludes with a presentation of a model green roof design and installation process. This model will be presented through examples of the design and installation of two case studies. For more information regarding this session, please contact bdvorak@cdfinc.com.

Learning Outcomes:
1. Gain basic knowledge of green roof technology.
2. Understand the cultural and environmental benefits of green roof technology.
3. Learn the fundamental requirements of a model green roof design process.

Bruce Dvorak, ASLA, is an associate with the Conservation Design Forum and has contributed to the design and management of several green roof projects in the Chicago area including the Chicago City Hall Green Roof Pilot Project, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum green roofs, and a green roof research and monitoring station at Conservation Design Forum. Over the past two years Dvorak has presented at several green roof conferences in the Midwest. Dvorak holds a BLA from the University of Minnesota and an MLA from the University of Illinois. Marcus de la fleur is an associate with Conservation Design Forum.

Several greenroofing or related companieswere exhibitors in the EXPO - please visit each:

American Hydrotech - Booths 1329 & 1331
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities - Booth 140
GreenTech - Booths 1435 & 1437
Stalite - Permatill - Booth 138

Visit ASLA's website here for registration and complete session information.

The New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx offered several greenroof related classes in their Certificate in Landscape Design Program for the Fall 2003 - Winter 2004 sessions:

Roof Garden Basics
4 Saturdays Oct 4-25
10-1 p.m.
Cooper Union in Manhattan
"With its dense, varied, and soaring residential architecture, NYC is the ideal place to learn about roof gardens. This course includes visits to two roof gardens of contrasting styles with onsite discussions with contractors and consultants who participated in the designs. Learn about the special requirements of roof garden design and the basic materials and plants for this environment. Please dress for the weather for field trips. THIS CLASS IS A PRE-REQUISITE FOR ROOF GARDEN DESIGN WORKSHOP LAN 432."

This class was taught by Steven Cantor, Registered Landscape Architect and member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Roof Garden Design Workshop (see above prerequisite)
4 Wednesdays, October 8, 15, 22, 29
6:30-9:30 p.m.
Cooper Union, Manhattan
$138 non-members, $125 members
"Learn to apply and expand your design skills to roof gardens and also learn practical information about the basics of green roof design. Work on a design project and focus on specific aspects of roof garden horticulture, maintenance, and technology. Course includes a take-home exam. Students must also be enrolled in Roof Garden Basics, LAN 232, to register for this course. Prerequisites: Graphics I, LAN 301 and Landscape Design I, LAN 401."

Also taught by Steven Cantor, RLA, ASLA.

Create Your Own Green Roof: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Saturday, November 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
Room P201. NYBG
$23 non-members and $21 members.
"The European style of environmentally sound, low maintenance vegetative roofs is just being introduced to North American cities. Chicago's City Hall has a celebrated large green roof, and the Hudson River Park opened June 2003 with a smaller scale one. THE FUTURE OF THE ROOF GARDEN IS HERE, AND THE TIME IS RIGHT TO LEARN THE METHODS, TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS TO BUILD THEM. Class included a slide presentation of the journey to construct and establish a beautiful green roof on a simple tool shed in Manhattan."

The class was taught by Lynn Torgerson who specializes in rooftop gardens and urban spaces.

To register or request a catalog which includes classes, exhibits and lectures, call the New York Botanical Gardens at (718) 817-8747, or go online at www.nybg.org. They are located in the Bronx and convenient to NY, NJ and Connecticut.

An Open International Green Roof Research Seminar was held at The Augustenborg Botanical Roof Garden on Friday, October 24 2003 from 9.00 - 16.00, at Ystadvägen 56, Malmö, Sweden, hosted by  Louise Lundberg and Peter Lindhqvist of the International Green Roof Institute (IGRI).
At this seminar researchers from the U.S. and Great Britain spoke of their respective research fields on greenroofs, and Swedish researchers reported on their work at Augustenborg Botanical Roof Garden.

AGENDA
Part one: Reports on research around the world.

9.00 Welcome speech by Gunnar Eriksson, Chairman of IGRI and City Gardener of Malmö.
9.10 Tom Liptan, USA: Green Roofs and Storm Water Management in North  America
9.50 Questions and discussion
10.00 Mathew Frith, UK: Green roofs and biodiversity aspects in urban environments
10.30 Questions and discussion
10.40 Gyongyver Kadas, PhD, UK: "Brown roofs" - habitats for rare birds and invertebrates
11.00 Questions and discussion
11.10 Coffee and tea break

Part two: Ongoing research on Augustenborg Botanical Roof Garden.

11.30 Pär Söderblom: Co-ordination of the research on Augustenborg Botanical Roof Garden.
11.45 Per Nyström, Veg Tech: Reports on German experiments on green roof techniques
12.05 Questions and discussion
12.15 Lunch buffet.
13.15 Tobias Emilsson, PhD, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: Plant diversity and development
13.30 Dr Nils Cronberg, Lund University: Mosses on green roofs
13.45 Dr Thomas Ohlsson, Lund University: Fauna on green roofs
14.00 Dr Annika Kruuse: Ruderal plants and the coming ruderal garden
14.15 Questions and discussion panel with the speakers
14.30 Coffee and tea break
14.45 Dr Håkan Håkansson, Lund Technical University: Energy flows through roofs with or without vegetation
15.00 Prof Lars Bengtsson , Lund Technical University: Water research on green roofs
15.15 Jens Lagström, Malmö University: Do green roofs subdue noise?
15.30 Questions and discussion panel with the speakers

The cost was 300 kr per person with lunch and coffee or tea included.  Members of Augustenborg Botanical Roof Garden Association received free admission. Two participants per member organization were free, and additional participants cost 100 kr. Members of the Green Roof Association were charged 100 kr each.

If you have any questions please contact Louise Lundberg, IGRI, at: +46 40-94 85 20 or fax +46 40-92 83 45 or Louise.Lundberg@malmo.se, or visit the new IGRI website at: www.greenroof.se.

*New York City* GREEN DRINKS

The October monthly social meeting of New York Green Drinks met at "Zum Schneider" located at 107 Ave C @ 7th Street, East Village, New York City.   Green Drinks is a low key, informal, self-organizing network who meet at a different place each month.  They have met very month since 1990 with an average attendance of 70 people who work and study in the environmental field.

Organizers feel this might be a way for greenroofs folks to connect with other green folks in the city, and suggest you take a chance to mix with other like-minded folks, to network, share info and make friends.

Read more at www.greendrinks.org.  To get on the email circulation list, send an email to: nyc@greendrinks.org.

GLOBAL meetings in: London | Berlin | Bristol | Bath | Canberra | Hamburg | Munich | Oxford | Reading | Warsaw | Tokyo | Washington, DC | Peterborough | San Francisco | Chicago | Sacramento | New York City |Providence| Twin Cities | Portland, OR | Seattle | Houston |

The "2003 Green Buildings Open House" was held on Saturday, October 4, from 10a.m. to 4p.m. in New York City.  This event was part of the American Solar Energy Society's National Tour of Solar Buildings and was hosted by GreenHomeNYC and Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), and the AIA NYC COTE is proud to be a Green Building Partner. 

The Open House showcased a wide variety of New York City Green Building Projects including residential, commercial, and public buildings. Participants of the Open House tour got a first-hand look at sustainable design building features promoting healthy indoor environments as well as energy and resource efficiency.  The tour was an opportunity to learn how "green" features are implemented as building owners and designers shared lessons learned on the projects.

The open house featured 14 participants, with at least four of the sites having greenroofs; see list below.  The initial Open House Participant was the former Nassau Brewery Ice House in Crown Heights, Brooklyn renovated by Benton Brown and Susan Boyle into six loft apartments.

The following buildings among this year's Green Buildings Open House participants have greenroofs:

Bitman Rivas House
The Earth Pledge Foundation
Nassau Brewery Ice House Lofts
Queens Botanical Garden

Visit the GreenHome NYC website to learn more.

Renewable Brooklyn hosted a fundraising concert, art show, and sustainable design and technology exhibition in Prospect Park, New York on October 4th, 2003.  Renewable Brooklyn is a collective of artists, educators, environmentalists and professionals dedicated to creating a more ecologically healthy way of living.  Proceeds from the event benefited Earth Pledge, Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, Williamsburg/Greenpoint Waterfront Task Force, and Just Food.

Earth Pledge exhibited a small-scale anaerobic digestor and a tabletop greenroof model alongside other exhibitors showing everything from a solar powered tricycle to photovoltaic lighting systems.

A wide range of bands and DJs performed in an arena powered by off-set wind power. The art exhibit  featured an eclectic group of prominent urban artists presenting paintings, sculptures and installations using salvaged, recycled, and reconstructed materials.

For more information  visit www.renewablebrooklyn.com.

Sustainable Resources 2003, was held in Boulder, Colorado on September 29 - October 4 at different locations, primarily on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder.  An "International Forum Connecting People with Hands-on Solutions to World Poverty," the Conference was co-organized by The University of Colorado at Boulder School of Engineering, Service Learning Program, Environmental Center, Office of International Education, Program in Developing Areas Research and Testing, The Sustainable Village, The Marpa Center for Business and Economics at Naropa University, and Engineers Without Borders - USA & Engineers Without Borders - International.

Sustainable Resources 2003 provided a new platform of exchange where poverty issues faced by the developing world were addressed globally to be solved locally. The overall technical program of the conference was designed around the Millennium Development Goals selected by the United Nations on September 18, 2000.  The Conference provided unique opportunities for non-profits, NGOs, donors, funding agencies, humanitarian organizations, educators, engineers, business people, volunteers, students, and representatives of developing communities to meet, learn from each other, network, discuss new approaches for outreach, and create new partnerships. Such organizations have not traditionally interacted in the past.

Workshops  focused on generating cooperative partnerships that can more effectively accomplish each organization's goals.  A couple of workshops were devoted to roof garden related technologies, including:

Solar Roof-garden Concepts, Feeding the World Track, by Richard Nelson:
"Solaroofgarden concepts for the North (cold climates)" and "solaroofgarden methods for the South (the tropics and sub-tropics)". Both general concepts and more detailed "instructional" information about liquid solar glazing systems, bubble insulation and shading for the cold climates. For the tropics there will be more information on roof level and rooftop growing systems for a great cooling benefit that is more effective and lower cost than other strategies for cool roofs and reduction of air-condition costs while delivering comfort and relief from hot roof problems.

Echo, Feeding the World Track, by Martin Price:

This talk tells how people can make use of our (primarily) free services, and I try to make it both entertaining and educational. I (1) explore briefly whether there is a food shortage (pictures of malnutrition) or food surplus (problems of western farmers), (2) discuss what kind of problems development workers encounter when they want to help small farmers, (3) give examples of (sometimes amusing) technical questions they have asked us, (4) talk about some of the most interesting underutilized plants in our seedbank (as well as a few we removed because of ecological danger), (5) show pictures of methods used to grow gardens in light-weight beds above ground on pavement or rooftops using recycled or waste materials (including Port-au-Prince and the roof of a prison in Russia).

For more information visit www.sustainableresources.org or contact Steve Troy at steve@sustainablevillage.com.

Landscape at the University of Sheffield and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities - UK -  presented a one day seminar on September 24, 2003.   Speakers included Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; Mathew Frith of the Peabody Trust; Nigel Dunnett of the Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield; Dusty Gedge of London Biodiversity Partnership; Heidi Eckert of ZinCo International; Noel Kingsbury, a noted horticultural journalist and writer; and Jonathan Hines, of Architype.  The meeting had three main aims:

· To provide up to date information to all those with an interest in the design, development, implementation and marketing of green roofs

· To stimulate installation of green roofs, both on new developments, and as 'retro-fits' on existing structures.

· To establish an information-sharing network of individuals and organizations who wish to develop the market for green roofs.

Green Roofs have been shown through research in Europe and North America to have a very wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits. These can be divided into 'Private Benefits' (those that confer primarily economic benefits to the individual building owner or occupier) and 'Public Benefits' (benefits to the wider city environment and economy). These benefits and others were addressed at the meeting, with evidence relevant to the UK.

Click here for program and location information.

"Greening Ground Zero" was held on September 4th, 2003 in New York City at Pace University to launch Green Ground Zero's Sustainable Design Competition for Lower Manhattan.  William McDonough, visionary green architect and Cradle to Cradle author, will give the keynote address.

Aimed at showcasing the possibilities for sustainable urban design around the World Trade Center site, the competition asks participants to articulate a green vision for downtown that could impact the ecology, health and quality of life of the area.

Green Ground Zero, a project of New York Climate Rescue, has partnered with Earth Pledge, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green House Network, and Pop Sustainability to promote sustainable thinking in the continuing redevelopment of Lower Manhattan.

Leslie Hoffman, Earth Pledge's Executive Director, will serve on the design selection committee headed by architect Randy Croxton.  Please join Earth Pledge at this important event. For more information on the event and competition, please visit www.greengroundzero.org.

Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Cities: The First North American Green Roof Conference, Awards and Trade Show was held in Chicago, IL on May 29 and 30, 2003.  Presented by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and co-hosted by the City of Chicago, the two-day event was held at The Congress Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in downtown Chicago right beside Grant Park on Michigan Avenue.  The Conference was an exciting opportunity to introduce, explore and present greenroof technologies, research studies and project profiles to government officials, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, engineers, the business community, and the public at large.  Guided tours of the Chicago City Hall and The Chicago Center for Green Technology were sold out and enjoyed by all.  

Over 45 national and international speakers addressed the three Conference tracks of Policy, Design, and Technical/Research issues - see Agenda below - and twenty Poster sessions highlighting exceptional ideas and works were also presented.  We had attendees from all over North America, as well as from Europe, Asia and South America. 

The Agenda included several plenary sessions as well as three tracks focused on:

• Green Roof Research on Technical Performance and Benefits

• Green Roof Design and Implementation, including a number of case studies.

• Policy and Program Development and Implementation to support the market for green roof implementation.

For complete Agenda and information, please visit www.greenroofs.org.

Beyond Organic Radio Show:  Live Web Broadcast on May 21, 2003.  Host Jerry Kay interviewed Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Colin Cheney of New York's Earth Pledge Foundation, Dr. David Beattie of Penn State, and Linda S. Velazquez of Greenroofs.com, as they spoke about greenroofs and rooftop gardens.

Link to: www.strauscom.com/radio.  Archives of the show are available here.

EnvironDesign7 Sustainability By Design will be held on April 30 through May 2, 2003 in Washington, D.C., at The Hilton Washington. According to the website, "EnvironDesign is the premier conference showcasing all that is truly revolutionary about what’s happening to advance environmental stewardship and sustainable development in both the public and private sector.  EnvironDesign is one of the most well-respected symposium dealing with the topics of sustainable design and business practices and their ability to be incorporated into mainstream America.

Now in its seventh year, the EnvironDesign conference has been expanded to strengthen the dialogue between all business-to-business enterprises. During the two-and-a-half day event, participants will have a chance to learn from the visionaries who are changing the environmental landscape in the 21st century. Its 2003 venue in Washington, DC, provides unlimited possibilities for maximizing exposure to the United States Federal Government (the largest potential purchaser of green products and services), as well as the home to the most influential NGOs involved in the sustainability arena. The result will be a dynamic, ground-breaking event unlike any other ever held in the United States."

A wide range of topics will be addressed in the curriculum of EnvironDesign7, and tracks include:  Green Theory &  Design; Green Business Practices; Communities; Case Studies; Product Design & Development; Energy; Materials; Health & Safety; Future Trends; and Sustainable Mobility.  A number of the sessions do talk about green roofs; one in particular focuses specifically and solely on the topic:

9D. The Fifth Façade
Jay Yowell, AIA, Elliott & Associates Architects
Increasing numbers of building projects are emerging that look to the roof as an interactive experienced element. It is not just earth-covered roofs emerging; interactive roofscapes that harness the sun's energy and harvest rainwater also are becoming popular solutions. This session examines some reasons for this technology advancement including: improved technology; experimentation of the building plane; as well as urban enhancement and the Livable Cities movement. This session will demonstrate how an often-forgotten façade can be better utilized.

Keynote speakers include E. O. Wilson, William McDonough, and Dr. Michael Braungart, to name a few.  The "State of the World" panel discussion will explore sustainable development progress worldwide, moderated by William Browning, a principal at the Rocky Mountain Institute and founder of its Green Development Services.  The Earth Pledge Foundation will have a booth at the Product Learning Center, where sponsors display new environmentally friendly products, technologies, and resources.

Please visit www.isdesignet.com/ED/index.html for the complete agenda and for registration information.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities hosted a Green Roof Infrastructure Workshop in Waterloo, Ontario Canada on April 9, 2003 at the Waterloo Region Community Health Department, 99 Regina Street South, Waterloo, Ontario, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Green Roofs for Health Cities is continuing to develop new opportunities to hold workshops in communities throughout North America, and the City of Waterloo is currently funding a green roof demonstration project with plans to study the benefits of widespread green roof implementation.

The cost of the Waterloo Green Roof Workshop was $120 for Green Roofs for Healthy Cities members and $160 for non-members, with a limited number of special discount rates for students.  Speakers included: Lucien Marton of M+S Landscaping; Terry McGlade of Perennial Gardens; Charles Simon, Architect; Wayne Roberts of the Toronto Food Policy Council; Zen Szewczyk of IRC Building Sciences Group Inc.; Nada Sucic and Ryan Kennedy of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.

For complete details and registration information, please see www.greenroofs.ca.

New Roofs for a New Century - The Second Annual International Conference was held in New York on April 7 and 8, 2003 at the 3 West Club, 3 West 51^st St., New York City.  The roof as a platform for sustainability in the built environment of the 21^st century was the theme of the Conference sponsored by Environmental Business Association of New York State, Inc. (EBA/NYS), EarthPledge, Go2Buildings.com, and the Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development.  The focus was on the use of Planted, Metal, Photovoltaic, and Reflective Roofs to attain desired economic, energy, and environmental impacts.

North American and European experts were on hand to share their thoughts and experience about these new and emerging roofing technologies.  Invited green roof speakers included David Beattie, of the Penn State Green Roof Center; Dr. Manfred Kohler, of the University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg, Germany; Balmori Associates; Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; and Earth Pledge.  Vegetated roof presentations were given by Weston Solutions on the CTA Clifton Substation Green Grid Installation; XeroFlor on the Ford River Rouge Living Roof; and Dattner Architects on European and NYC Park Service Test Roofs.

For the Draft Agenda check the Environmental Business Association of New York State, Inc. website at www.eba-nys.org.  EBA/NYS members and early registers received a discount rate.  For information please contact   info@eba-nys.org or Robyn Stewart.

Greenroof Workshops for Design and Building Professionals were held in New York on March 4 and March 25, 2003 at the Earth Pledge Foundation in Manhattan.  Earth Pledge presented Building Green Roofs and Planting Green Roofs in partnership with American Institute of Architects, NY Chapter; American Society of Civil Engineers, Met Section; Roof Consultants Institute; American Society of Landscape Architects, NY Chapter; Association of Professional Landscape Designers; and Horticultural Society of New York.  Greenroof construction techniques, appropriate materials and the information needed to successfully design and build green roofs were presented.

WHEN:  Building Green Roofs: Architectural, Engineering, and Roofing Considerations
March 4 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm - Speakers included Charlie Miller, P.E. of Roofscapes, Inc.; Dov Kaminetzky, P.E. of Feld Kaminetzky & Cohen PC; and Tim Barrett, RRC of Barrett Roofing.

WHEN:  Planting Green Roofs: Landscape Architecture/Design and Horticultural Considerations
March 25 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm - Speakers included Ed Snodgrass of Emory Knoll Farms; Robert Herman of Uncommon Plants; and Dave Yocca of Conservation Design Forum.  Linda Velazquez attended this Workshop and found the presentations excellent and the turnout great!

WHERE:  Carriage House Center, 149 East 38th Street (between Lexington and Third Avenues), New York, NY
PRICE:  $60 per workshop, $100 for both workshops.  AIA Members: $50 per workshop, $90 for both workshops
REGISTRATION:   212. 725.6611 x 241
CONTACT:  Gaby Brainard 212.725.6611 x 241 or gbrainard@earthpledge.org

Continuing education credits were offered. For more information, call Gaby Brainard at 212.725.6611 x 241, or visit www.earthpledge.org.

Fred Oesch of Oesch Environmental Design, had a repeat showing of the national television broadcast of his sustainable architectural design work including "The Quarries ecoVillage," on Home and Garden Television (HGTV) on March 8, 2003.

Oesch Environmental Design offers services in environmental design/solar, straw bale, green oak timber frame, living earth roof systems/organic environmental control systems.  If you are interested but were unable to see this broadcast, please request a complimentary video copy from Oesch Environmental Design at 434.977.9919.

For more information, please contact Fred Oesch of Oesch Environmental Design at 108 2nd St. N.W., Charlottesville, VA  22902;  http://www.hfoesch.com;  Phone:  434.977.9919; FAX:  434.977.9914.

The Greenprints 2003 - Sustainable Communities by Design Green Building Conference and Tradeshow was held on February 12 -15, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.  Hosted by GEFA (Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority) and Southface Energy Institute, the Greenprints 2003 theme was "Water" and focused on six Conference Tracks - Urban Ecology and Sustainable Communities; Introduction to LEED™ Sponsored by USGBC; Ecological Design and Construction; Renovating the Process: Old and New Tools for Eco-Solutions; and Tradeshow: Green Building Materials, Products and Services.  Although the topic of greenroofs was not given a dedicated session, they were specifically addressed in several sessions, including Master Speaker Alex Wilson of BuildingGreen, Inc.: "Green Building Technologies, Products and Trends," and Master Speaker Donna McIntire of the United States Department of State: "High Design Meets Green Design - A Case Study."

According to the Greenprints website, "Greenprints presents quality learning sessions geared both toward those new to being 'green' as well as advanced, in-depth and hands-on workshops for conference veterans.  Attendees choose from over 30 sessions, led by experts and visionaries committed to changing the way we think about architecture, energy and transportation in the 21st century.  This year, choose from over 25 sessions led by practitioners and visionaries committed to changing the way we think about architecture, energy and transportation in the 21st century.  Now Greenprints offers advanced how to sessions that provide tools to help you and your team achieve sustainable goals.  With over 70 expert presenters, a Solar Workshop, Green Design Charrette, Master Speakers, the Green Tradeshow and many other activities, you will have the opportunity to network with decision makers and learn first hand from leading practitioners."

The Green Tradeshow featured over 80 innovative green building products and services and three North American greenroof companies were exhibitors:  The Garden Roof by American Hydrotech; the Green Grid Roof System and GreenTech featuring the modular roof garden system (see exhibitor booth photos below).  Cool Communities (of which Greenroofs.com is a member) was also on hand presenting ways to cool our urban environments.  The Tradeshow was open to the public for $25.00.

Lester Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute and the Earth Policy Institute, delivered the keynote address for the Visionary Dinner on February 12.  Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening highlighted the importance of Smart Growth at the February 14 Greenprints 2003 Luncheon.  On Saturday February 15 the Eco-Atlanta Tours were offered to attendees and the future of transportation was presented at the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Show.

Founded in 1978, the Southface Energy Institute is located in Midtown Atlanta and promotes sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance.  Visit www.southface.org and www.greenprints.org or call 770.888.2883 for 2003 Conference highlights and complete information.

Roofscapes Regina 2003, "Exploring Saskatchewan's Potential for Green Roof Research, Application & Technology,"  a colloquium on green roof application, research and technology, was held on February 6, 2003 from 8:00 A.M. to 6:30 P.M. at the Delta Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan Canada.  Architects, engineers, technologists, landscape architects, urban designers, city planners, facility managers, environmental professionals, environmental specialists, environmental researchers, government specialists, developers, project managers, general contractors, building trades and suppliers found Roofscapes Regina 2003 extremely valuable. Green roof application, research and technology is quickly approaching mainstream North American society just like many European countries such as Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.  Read the February 3, 2003 story from Straight Goods under NEWS LINKS.

Roofscapes Regina 2003 was presented by CMHC, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SGI, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST), The City of Regina, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Tall Grass Design.  Participants were presented with the means to effectively encourage greenroof infrastructure investment and development at the community, regional and provincial level.  The agenda included presentations by Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; Richard Kula of Prairie Architects, Inc.; Robert Eastwood, Architect for Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Center (greenroof case study); and Dr. Brad Bass of the Institute for Environmental Studies.

Click here to view the final Roofscapes Regina 2003 Agenda .pdf.  For more information regarding this colloquium, please contact the Roofscapes Regina 2003 Coordinator, Ray Gosselin at:  rcgosselin@sk.sympatico.ca; phone: 1.306.586.8633; FAX: 1.306.352.0777.

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