As a final reminder, those of you wishing to present in London, UK, this September 15-16, 2010 at the World Green Roof Congress, you need to submit your abstracts by this Friday, March 12!  Abstracts are invited for submission on a range of topics.

The World Green Roof Congress is hosted and delivered by CIRIA and Livingroofs.org.  We were there in 2008 and had a grand time in a wonderful setting with many knowledgeable speakers!  The Congress attracted over 300 delegates from around 15 countries and numerous exhibitors.  Hopefully you will attend this year, too, and further your greenroofing experience!

Call for Papers

“The World Green Roof Congress in 2010 will showcase green roofs and green walls, and how we can progress their delivery and achieve their mainstream inclusion in buildings. The Congress will also focus on what can be done to fully exploit the multiple benefits of green roofs and adapt to a changing climate.

The Congress committee are looking for papers, presentations and case studies that demonstrate the delivery of green roofs and green walls providing a diverse range of benefits, and the evidence base to demonstrate that they not only look aesthetically pleasing but bring significant socio and economic benefits.

The Congress is keen to have papers and presentations that cover these themes: 1. International green roof case studies; 2. British green roof case studies; 3. Policy and regulations for green roofs; 4. Up on the roof – urban agriculture, amenity and place making; 5. Planting and growing media for green roofs; 6. Biodiversity benefits; 7. Water management benefits; 8. Green roofs and climate change adaptation; 9. Retrofitting green roofs; and 10. Delivery of green roofs.”

The Call for Papers closes on March 12, 2010 - learn all about the submission guidelines, requirements, and process here:  World Green Roof Congress.  For additional information or any queries, please contact Dusty Gedge at: dusty@dustygedge.co.uk or Charles Perkin at: charles.perkin@ciria.org – tel +44 (0)207 5493300.

~ Linda V.

Aramis and I had a great time in Toronto last week for the inaugural 2009 CitiesAlive! World Green Roof Infrastructure Congress ~ what a wonderful city!  It’s clean, green, and at the moment has the most progressive greenroof policy in North America.  From the airport we rode along the waterfront and were impressed on how green the city really is – we enjoyed the many beautifully landscaped parks with an abundance of trees in full autumn color, swaying grasses and flowering perennials.  Tons of people were out enjoying the cool, crisp fall day with strollers, jogging, or just relaxing and taking in the views of Lake Ontario.  The prominent Toronto Hydro/WindShare wind turbine, ”North America’s first urban wind turbine,” was truly an impressive sight to see at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, a showcase for sustainability.  And the many architectural styles and hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto were a pleasure.

At the Congress we encountered many of the “usual greenroof suspects” we know from Canada, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. and met some very interesting new people, too, from South Korea and Spain (to name a couple) in the various speaker sessions, on the Toronto Sustainable Bus Tour sponsored by Tremco and Bioroof, and at the CitiesAlive! Closing Gala at the Toronto Botanical Garden where we all enjoyed a lively and tasty Mexican Fiesta celebration.

The theme of the Congress was “Green Roof Infrastructure: A Global Solution to Climate Change” and began on Monday, October 19 with a selection of tours and training sessions and the Canadian launch of the GRP exam, followed by the CitiesAlive! Opening Reception at Toronto City Hall, which we unfortunately missed due to a late flight.  Sponsored by The City of Toronto, attendees gathered on the City Hall Rotunda and were treated to a ’sneak peek preview tour’ of the new Toronto City Hall Green Roof, and heard from Mayor of Toronto David Miller, Manfred Köhler, President of the co-host World Green Roof Infrastructure Network (WGRIN), and Steven Peck, Executive Director of co-host Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC).  The new greenroof is more expansive than the previous incarnation of  the 3,200 sf Toronto City Hall Green Roof Demonstration Project, which was dismantled and replaced with this larger living roof.  I’ll update the profile on The Greenroof Projects Database as soon as I get more info.

Tuesday morning, October 20 started bright and early with the CitiesAlive! Opening Plenary, where Steven welcomed everyone and stressed the importance of the bigger picture and how green infrastructure options can secure a more sustainable and prosperous future for us all.  He talked about two main themes: Cities can and are leading on major environmental issues such as global warming and how the best solutions are those that are good for the environment and good for the economy.  The City of Toronto is leading by example in many areas; for example, it now has a 40% reduction of greenhouse emissions based on 1990 levels and the #1 hybrid electric bus fleet in Canada, which is #2 in North America behind New York City, saving significant operations costs.  And through partnering with local businesses and residents, Live Green Toronto has issued grants in excess of $10 million to Torontonians.

Mayor Miller presented the Opening Address “Towards a Green Toronto” spoke about Living Green here with projects such as their ”Transit City” program, whose transit expansion into underserved, poorer areas really equals social justice as light rail encouragesbetter development and will better the lives of many.  New programs like Live Green Toronto and city-wide initiatives like Mayor’s Tower Renewal will revitalize communities.  For example, plans to add thermal over cladding and insulation (plus greenroofs and other eco- friendly building features) to the numerous city concrete slab highrises will not only reduce energy but will cut citywide gas emissions by 3-5%. These efforts will help create local employment and result in an environmental success story for Toronto. The City’s overall goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone spoke about the evolution of the Toronto’s Eco-Roof Incentive Program (formerly the Green Roof Pilot Program).  For example, in 2006, 16 projects were funded, 30 in 2007, and 34 projects have been approved in 2009.  Approved by City Council in November 2008, the Eco-Roof Incentive Program is based on the successful Green Roof Pilot Program of 2006 and 2007 and includes both cool and eco-roofs.  In May, 2009 Toronto became the first City in North America to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of greenroofs on new development.  The bylaw will apply to all new building permit applications made after January 31, 2010 (residential, commercial and institutional) and January 31, 2011 for all new industrial development, with a few exceptions. The new bylaw will be required on all new development above 2,000 m² (about 21,530 sf) of Gross Floor Area and have a graduated coverage requirement ranging from 20-60%.  (See more details at the City of Toronto website.)

Then the first round of speakers started from each of the four concurrent tracks, which I felt was rather ambitious all in just one day - I think we missed out on a lot of really pertinent info, and there was no conference CD like usual for later reference.  I remained for Track 2: Innovative Projects and Design from Around the World, and Aramis headed over to Track 3: Policies and Programmes Supporting Green Infrastructure Development with our Student Editor, Christine Thüring (who should be adding some commentary of her own soon).

Track 2: Don Delaney from Flynn Canada started with details of the “Vancouver Convention Centre: 7 Acres of Green Roof in Downtown Vancouver” and went into detail about the trials and tribulations of Canada’s largest greenroof to date, including solutions to stabilize the growing media on slopes up to 40° and planting the 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses.  Innovative features include decorative runnels with perforations on the high side to retain water and runoff collection used for irrigation and in a blackwater system.  International Leak Detention was brought on board to test the integrity of the waterproofing membrane before and after the installation of the overburden with their Electric Field Vector Mapping (EFVM®) system.  We were all very happy to have Andrea from N.A.T.S. Nursery in the audience to answer a lot of growing media and plant questions!  This project will be a highlight to our trip to Vancouver, B.C. next year for the 8th installement of the Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference.  The Vancouver Convention Centre will be home of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games media and broadcast centre.

Prof. Dr. Eun-Heui Lee from Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea impressed us with ”Green Roof Policy and Projects to Expand Green Space in Seoul” with some key figures: From 2002 through 2008, 218 greenroofs equalling 104,403 m² were constructed and in 2009 so far, 104 greenroofs totalling 41,000 m² have been built or on the boards!  And perhaps more importantly, the Seoul Metro Government plans 600 new roofs to be greened by 2012.
 

Francois LaSalle of ADIVET in France addressed “Development of Green Roofs and Green Facades in France, and presented a history of greenroofs and walls in France.  Starting in the 1970’s, about 1 m² of roofs have been greened here, mostly intensive roof gardens, through the 1980’s.  By the end of the 1990’s, about 10 greenroof companies had emerged from the extensive market, and in 1994 Patrick Blanc unveiled his first green wall (Mur Vegetal) at the Garden Festival in Chaumont Sur Loire (although probably most famous for his Musée du quai Branly vegetated wall in Paris, 2006).  Francois concluded with various French policies, subsidies, and bills to promote, and believe it not, prohibit opposition to planted roofs.  Currently, vegetated façades are in their infancy, but greenroofs have a firm hold in the marketplace.

Ignacio Espoz Babul from LatinGreen in Santiago, Chile, presented “Living Walls for Better Indoor Climate in Subways,” an experimental green wall research program currently being implemented at two underground Metro stations in Santiago.  Ignacio believes that indoor air pollutant abatement with an improvement in air quality due to reductions of metals and volatile chemicals is possible along with noise reduction due to plant foliage and the associated natural processes – as long as there is sufficient light, air, and water.

The sessions ran a bit late, and the Networking Break on the Trade Show was only supposed to last 30 minutes, but we stayed through lunch because we kept running into people we just had to talk to!  So we skipped the next round of speakers in between (sorry I missed Paul Kephart, Andrew Bowerbank, Dr. Nigel Dunnett, Jeff Bruce, and James Sable!).  The Networking Break on the Trade Show was very lively, and packed with people – I hope not too many missed those speakers, either.  Lunch was held on the Trade Show Floor, which is always a good thing for the exhibitors, who help foot the bill and provide us with so many varieties of products and services.  Here are a few:

Bill Corrigan from Tremco Canada told us about some of their company’s 1 million sf of greenroofs in Canada.

International Leak Detection performs non-destructive integrity tests of waterproofing membranes utilizing their patented Electric Field Vector Mapping technology. Membrane defects are located with pin point accuracy. 

Diane DiGregorio of GLT shows off the Green Living Technologies living wall.

Lots of people visited the LiveRoof booth to learn about the modular manufacturer’s Soil Elevator™ and Moisture Portal™ technology. 

Marie-Anne Boivin and fellow Soprema colleague told us about their many years of greenroof experience in the harsh Canadian climates.

The Trade Show was a good size and was heavily trafficked by all, especially since the refreshment break and newtworking lunch and cocktail were set here.  Other Greenroofs.com exhibitor friends included Xero Flor America and Xero Flor Canada, Motherplants, Hydrotech, Sika Sarnafil, and Nilex, where Janet Faust of JDR Enterprises was present.

After lunch, the next round of speakers in Track 2 included Peter Lowitt from Devens Enterprise Commission who spoke about “Green Infrastructure & Eco-Industrial Parks: Lessons Learned From Devens, Massachusetts,” a former military barracks now a 40-acre eco- industrial park with an International Audubon Certified Sustainable Golf Course.  He spoke how green infrastructure must take a holistic approach and asked how can we make these projects sustainable?  By promoting social and environmental equity.

João Manuel Linck Feijó of the Associação de Telhados Verdes do Brazil presented “Innovative Projects & Green Roof Progress in Brazil” - introducing us to the relatively new greenroof market in Brazil and explaining a potential tax break for large cities and various state proposals for living roofs.  He showed some beautiful greenroof projects throughout Brazil using a modular greenroof system from Ecotelhado.

Dr. Karen Liu of Xero Flor Canada addressed “Special Green Roof Projects in B.C.”  Dr. Liu highlighted a couple of projects which presented opportunities for greenroof design and engineering creativity.  The Butchart Gardens Carousel Pavilion in Victoria, B.C. has slopes ranging from 14-44% and utilized a 2-ply modified bitumen, standing seam copper roof and the architects needed to capture 36 liters of rainwater.  Dr. Liu explained the steel grid system to retain the growing media and cautionary items to consider as well.  The second project focused on Canada’s first LEED Gold Community, the 2010 Olympic Village where all of the roofs will be either extensive or intensive greenroofs!  The extensive greenroofs will feature Xero Flor roofs with vegetated sports figures.  These athletic figures will be planted with red flowering annuals and set in red lava rock.

Michael Krause of Kandiyohi Development talked about “Urban Forests and Energy in Minnesota,” a different and very interesting topic.  Biomass energy is included in current U.S. energy legislation, and a biomass fuel energy strategy can be used as a small, community-based local climate change solution.  Fallen trees are viewed as a carbon sink and vast supplies of excess biomass are available – Michael believes that biomass can be used as an interim strategy for the next 30 years orso, and sees this as a way to democratize energy and bring energy to the community level, since there would be no importing fossil fuels from afar.

Toby Lennox from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority finished with “Industrial Ecology: Partners in Project Green,” Canada’s largest eco-business zone at 4,000 acres.  Toronto Pearson Airport manages one half of Canada’s commercial air traffic and 65,000 trips are made to the airport each day.  Project Green is bringing together common strategies in a new eco-model of development in a growing community of businesses working together to green facilities and the bottom line.

Afterwards we all convened for the Cocktail Reception, once again on the Trade Show Floor, with spirits and snacks and an opportunity to unwind a bit, followed by the “Transforming the Face of Buildings” Student Design Challenge Awards, Poster Presentations and Networking Event at the Steam Whistle Brewing Roundhouse, a very funky locale and local brewery.  The quality of the student entries was superb and I’m sure that the judges had a hard time selecting the winners.  Congratulations to everyone who participated, and especially the First Place winner, “Cliffside Village” from students Dov Feinmesser, Yekaterina Mityuryayeva, Tommy Tso, and Aaron Hendershott form Ryerson University, Architectural Science!

We ended the evening with a spirited dinner compliments of George Irwin, our Green Wall Editor, and Diane DiGregorio of Green Living Technologies.  Christine took us to an artsy part of town that’s being refurbished where we had awesome appetizers and organic pizza, incredible wine, and great conversation.

I believe that the 2009 CitiesAlive! has indeed sown future seeds of success as WGRIN continues to bring together the international greenroof community of non-profit organizations to highlight current and planned green infrastructure research, policy and projects.  Their first congress had some growing pains but I believe that overall it was important, fruitful, and promising with quite an international flair – set in a perfect international city with a very promising future of its own.

Next up I’ll wrap up our time in Toronto with some photos of our day on the Toronto Sustainable Bus Tour and evening at the lovely Toronto Botanical Garden.

~ Linda V.

Jet lag is a thing of the distant past, we’ve been back here at Greenroofs.com for a few weeks after our extremely interesting and entertaining trip to the UK capitol and the 2008 World Green Roof Congress (WGRC).  Many of our readers expressed a lot of advance interest in attending this particular conference because of the location and their opportunity to do additional sightseeing in the beautiful English countryside and beyond.  In fact, most of our fellow participants did just that, adding vacation days to their trip across the pond to take full advantage of their stay.

Due to time constraints, we opted to arrive the morning of the first day of the Congress on Wednesday September 17 figuring (wrongly) we’d get there in plenty of time.  Manuevering from Gatwick to our hotel was quite a workout with bags in tow (not to mention horrifically expensive at about $130 for two, round trip) – and I can honestly say that Grand Central Station in New York doesn’t even come close to the hustle and bustle of Victoria Station! “Move It or Lose It” should be their motto.

We hadn’t seen Dusty Gedge of Livingroofs.org in a few years, and he welcomed us warmly and enthusiastically – in fact, both Aramis and I felt right at home among seasoned colleagues and new friends, too.  In particular, Paul Shaffer and Nipa Patel of CIRIA were just wonderful.  I’ve e-worked with Paul before, having reviewed the successful “BUILDING GREENer – Guidance on the use of green roofs, green walls and complementary features on buildings (C644),” (by Paul Early, Dusty Gedge, John Newton, and Steve Wilson, 2007 from CIRIA,) but meeting Nipa and Paul was very special – they’re really good people with not only great patience and organizational skills, but a great sense of humor, too.  All characteristics which must come in handy while planning an international conference of this stature.

Delayed bags made us unfortunately miss the better portion of the Wednesday morning session: Jim McLelland, Editor of sustain’ magazine (and the Congress Media Partner), opened the Congress with the Chairman’s Introduction followed by the Keynote Address from Richard Blakeway, Advisor to the Mayor of London on environment issues.  The London Plan addresses sustainability from many aspects and incorporates green roofs and green walls.  London climate change partnerships were discussed along with achievements and plans for the future.  The North American and German perspectives were tackled by Peter Lowitt of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Wolfgang Ansel of the International Green Roof Association (IGRA), respectively, addressing the drivers for implementing greenroofs, the benefits and achievements of their approach, challenges faced and lessons learned, ending with future plans.

Speaking of the International Green Roof Association, make plans now to attend the International Green Roof Congress 2009 in Nuertingen, Germany on May 25-27, 2009.  Under the patronage of the German Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, the congress will be hosted by IGRA and the Deutscher Dachgärtner Verband e.V. (DDV).  Wolfgang is extremely excited about the program which will include the latest technological developments within our industry as well as detailed case studies of spectacular greenroof projects from renown international architects and designers.  Of course, there will be hands-on workshops and excursions to Stuttgart and Freiburg, too.

Edmund Maurer from Linz, Austria, gave “Green Roofs in Linz – A European municipality perspective on green roofs” including the history and development of the Linz Green Roof Policy, incentives, rationale, and barriers to implementation.  The City of Linz uses a combination of legal framework, financial grants, and policy incentives.  In 1985 legally binding development plans required greeenroofs, either extensive or intensive and a green roof subsidy was implemented in 1989, marking the first direct financial incentive in Austria.  At present, Linz has approximately 440 funded greenroofs with a total greened of about 500,000 m2 (5,381,955 sf), which includes the Bindermichl Landscape Park at 81,000 m2, designed with playgrounds above a motorway tunnel.

Paul Collins, Head of Design Environment at Nottingham Trent University followed with his presentation of “Green roofs: British policy responses and practice.”  It was nice to finally meet Paul later, too, as we had been corresponding for many years.

We arrived at the beautiful glass structure of One Bishops Square in Spitalfields, home to the London offices of Allen & Overy, the WGRC host, close to noon and joined the other 300 attendees in time to hear Duncan Young of Lend Lease, UK talk about “Commercial drivers for green roofs” which was very heartening.  He talked about some of the amazing projects that Lend Lease is currently working on, both in the UK and Australia.  Lots of green buildings and greenroofs!  For example, one of the UK’s largest regeneration schemes is Greenwich Peninsula which is being developed by a joint venture between Lend Lease and Quintain, working with English Partnerships.  Over the next 15 years, the £5 billion regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula will be transformed into a thriving riverside community with about 20,000 residents and 24,000 workers.  Upon completion, at 190 acres this extensive new quarter of London is expected to form Europe’s largest mass of greenroofs.  And we were told that approximately 70% of the 2012 London Olympic Games structures will be greenroofed!

The morning Question and Answer session followed with many people asking about insurance issues, especially as recently raised by Swiss insurance giant Zurich Re – see the related article in Building.co.uk “Insurers warn of fire risk from green roofs” by Michael Willoughby of September 5, 2008.  People discussed how non-vegetated fire breaks are critical as well as setting a maintenance regime and having supplemental water available.  In terms of leaks, respondents said that just like in all of the roofing world, flat roofs, greened or not, are the problem.  And it was brought up that many European insurance giants actually have greenroofs on their own buildings, including Munich Re!  Austrian Edmund Maurer added that his country in general has problems related to greenroof maintenance, and several German delegates agreed that this issue was present in their homeland as well.  Also, with the current financial crisis in London (and elsewhere), it was asked how important is it to have incentives from government to promote further greenroof development.  As important as it is to have local and national governments behind the promotion of greenroofs, many people responded that we really need to focus on greenroofs as amenity driven, not policy driven.  Dusty said that after climate change, biodiversity is a major concern in the UK and that living roofs provide solutions for both.

Next we enjoyed our lunch, and I have to say that overall the catering and service was excellent, which can be rare for these types of events.  The exhibitor booths were arranged very smartly, in a U-shaped embrace of sorts around the central hall and all refreshments, lunches and snacks were set on tables within the exhibitor rooms to make it very easy to flow through, visit and network with other attendees and the greenroof trade show participants.

The afternoon session was also lively and we heard from some real leaders and mavericks in the field of architecture and research.  Known for his design of visionary green “bioclimatic” skyscrapers, Dr. Ken Yeang of Llewelyn Davies Yeang offered “Designing for ecological sustainability” which talked about his philosophy of “mound to ground” and the need to connect greenroofs to the ground level through a series of corridors and fingers utilizing living walls and “landscaped skycourts.”  He showed innovative designs from Hong Kong, New Delhi, Istanbul, Macao and Singapore.  Dr. Yeang also stressed the importance of bio integration of the physical, systemic and temporal nature of each site, and that each project needs to be program-specific.

Another colleague of ours, Dr. Stephan Brenneisen of the University of Applied Sciences in Basel, followed with “Benefits for biodiversity” and the Swiss approach for creating higher biodiversity and cost effective greenroofs.  Stephan said the low biotic diversity of many greenroofs is due to a very thin substrate layer, and using different types of local substrates and varying the depths ( 5, 8, and 12 cm, for example) creates various types of environments where a variety of flora and fauna may thrive.  Referring to the growing media mix, he added that the greater the water storing capacity, the more biomass you’ll get on your roof which in turn creates greater opportunities for higher diversity.  He also presented case studies including the Basel Exhibition Centre; Klinikum 2, Cantonal Hospital of Basel and the new Monument Development in London, which features the greenroof as a combination of art, design, and nature conservation.

Our German friend Dr. Manfred Kohler from the University of Applied Sciences in Neubrandenburg and the President of the World Green Roof Network (WGRIN), spoke about “Benefits for sustainable water management” and how it is possible to design zero runoff properties.  Greenroofs were discussed in relation to decentralized rainwater management with examples of research studies in Berlin.  Manfred also informed us that at present, the 2008 FLL Proceedings are being finished.

David Sailor from Portland State University presented “Energy and urban climate benefits of green roofs,” which could have been a boring, dry subject if that’s not your thing, but it wasn’t!  A very likable fellow, Dave talked about the solar radiation properties of greenroofs – they reflect 20% – and the thermal variances between winter and summer.  For example, a greenroof is 10 degrees C cooler in the summer, which is pretty standard, although a greater than 30 degree C heat flux is possible.  Unfortunately, greenroofs can be warmer at night since they retain some of the day’s heat, but overall greenroofs reduce summer roof temperatures by 10 -30 degrees C.  He gave examples of various energy studies including monitoring from ACROS in 1995 and the City of Portland, Oregon.  Dave told us the DOE EnergyPlus 2007 modeling software incorporated his greenroof module which includes details of greenroof energy balance (see “A green roof model for building energy simulation programs” published in Energy and Buildings).

Dr. Nigel Dunnett of Sheffield University and The Green Roof Centre talked about “Landscape and Amenity: a UK Perspective.”  Nigel suggested we “liberate design opportunities in the UK horticultural tradition” and wants us designers to be more liberal overall, utilizing both native and non-native plant species to create dramatic visual impact.  His point was that we can design a living roof to be functional and attractive, and in fact the very important attribute of aesthetics will help promote the market.  The Sharrow School in Sheffield was highlighted as a case study, with greenroofs at three levels.  Modelled on the distinctive urban habitats of the region, its 8,000 m2 rooftop is a wildlife habitat of mounds and valleys with areas of: a small wetland, an open brownfield / rubble section, birch forest, limestone grassland, wildflower meadow and a colorful annual meadow.

Closing the afternoon session was Robert Runcie of Environment Agency from England and Wales – he presented “Partnership approach to implementing green roofs.”  Robert asked, “How do we use development as a stimulus?”  Environment Agency is a national body working with colleagues in government and industry with the capacity to roll this as a best practice policy out across England and Wales.  Over the past two years, they helped ensure that eight hectares of greenroofs were included in London.  As part of their Green Roof Toolkit, they recently launched “Environment Agency’s Building a better environment: A guide for developers – Environment Agency advice on adding value to your site,” a web-based resource for developers and planners for the Thames Region.

The pursuant Q & A session caused quite a stir and some people were dubbed ”Native Plant Nazis” putting forth the classic argument of how we should be only using native plant species on our greenroofs.  Basically the questions asked were Are aesthetics important enough for us to give up the biodiversity benefits that using native plants offer?  Is it really necessary to use introduced species just for the wow factor?  Many people responded that actually both natives and non-natives provide a multitude of benefits to wildlife, including valuable habitat, food and cover, and a variety of plants can be used for seasonal color and interest.  A little tolerance, people!  Don’t get me started – I’d like to write much more about this topic, so look for it later.

After the close of this first day of the WGRC, the Congress Reception was held on the beautiful 10th floor intensive greenroof terrace of Congress Supporter Allen & Overy where we were treated to a lavish selection of tasty barbecue and lovely local UK wines and later, innovative lemon and chocolate mousse dessert shots.

The area encompasses three landscaped greenroof terraces, and a fourth terrace is covered with photovoltaic cells.  The terrace layout offered intimate areas for reconnecting with far flung associates and social networking – who’s doing what and where, and what a view!  The ever expanding London skyline was beautiful in the rosy hues of dusk.

At the end of the evening we heard from Congress Sponsor The Wildlife Trusts who introduced their Biodiversity Benchmark for Green Roofs.  The Biodiversity Benchmark for Green Roofs was created to support the increased development of living roofs in the UK and is the first standard to encourage excellence in design, implementation and management of green roofs for the benefit of wildlife.  It was set up to support the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) to help increase the contribution that businesses can make towards enhancing biodiversity, and guidance materials provide advice on how to integrate biodiversity with environmental management processes.

It was great just hanging out with friends who share the same passion as we do in a relaxing greenspace in a wonderful city.  Stay tuned for a little more about the 2008 World Green Roof Congress and beyond when I’ll talk a bit about Day 2 and then our whirlwind London greenroof tour with Dusty and about 25 of his visiting colleagues!

~ Linda

My husband (and business partner) Aramis and I were lucky to sidestep our film scheduling issue and we are very pleased to be able to go to The World Green Roof Congress in stately London this upcoming Wednesday and Thursday, September 17-18!  Presented by CIRIA in partnership with Livingroofs.org, this Congress promises to offer us greenroof aficionados an interesting mix of the latest in innovation and research progress in the UK and around the world in addition to a great working vacation. 

In 2005 we attended the Congress in Basel, Switzerland, where I presented my paper “An International Call for The Greenroof Projects Database.”  We enjoyed a wonderful conference spending time with many old colleagues and friends; from the jokes of the late Dr. Dave Beattie and Dr. Rob Berghage to the wonderful hospitality of Dr. Stephan Brenneisen and staff to Trish and Kelly Luckett (our travel buddies from all the Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities conferences and the International Green Roof Congress in Nuertingen, Germany back in 2004), we learned a lot and had a grand time.  And we fully expect the same with hosts the likes of Dusty Gedge, co founder of Livingroofs.org, and company.

I’ve known Dusty now for six years, and for those of you unfortunate ones not to have met him (yet – he’s always making new friends), he’s quite a character – in a good way, of course!  I know everything is relative, but he has quite a thick accent, and when he gets really excited he speeds up, making it a real challenge to catch everything he’s saying.  In fact, Dusty recently told Aramis, “I am practising talking slowly!”

We first started corresponding in 2002, when he was the lead for the Black Redstart Action Plan for the London Biodiversity Partnership, and this was the topic of his first 2003 Guest Feature article for Greenroofs.com.  In October, 2003 Dusty took me on a personal greenroof tour of projects in Deptford Creek in the Thames corridor within inner London, and across several roofs within Canary Wharf, a huge and hugely successful urban regeneration development, and his enthusiasm and knowledge - not to mention his energy, was intensive!  In November, 2004 he contributed “Livingroofs.org ~ A New Independent Green Roof Organisation for the UK” and through all his hard work he has become one of the leading campaigners in the UK on greenroofs.  His commitment to promoting living roofs is genuine and wholehearted and is only comparable to his passion for sustaining and mitigating biodiversity in the built environment by incorporating living architecture.

Back to the Congress – the Keynote address will be given by Richard Blakeway, adviser to the Mayor of London on environment issues; who else will be in attendance?  Many local UK and international professionals will be speaking, and including Dusty, to name but a few are: Dr. Nigel Dunnett, University of Sheffield, UK;  Dr. Ken Yeang, Llewelyn Davies Yeang, UK; Paul Collins, Nottingham Trent University, UK; Dr. Manfred Kohler, University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg, Germany and WGRIN, President; Wolfgang Ansel, International Green Roof Association (IGRA), Germany; Dr. Stephan Brenneisen, Life Sciences and Facility Management, University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland; Kristin Getter & Dr. Brad Rowe, Michigan State University; Peter Lowitt, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, North America; Dr. Elizabeth Fassman, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand; and Dr. Sam Hui, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hong Kong, as well as couple of our own Greenroofs.com Contributing Editors:  Ed Snodgrass of Emory Knoll Farms/Green Roof Plants is presenting “Green roof plant selection and landscapes” and Christine Thuring of Green Roof Safari is just ”going for fun” – after six days from guiding her first Green Roof Safari tour.

I’m planning on blogging while in jolly old England, taking lots of photos and film of presenters, attendees, exhibitors, and local greenroof projects.  So if you can’t go, check back here for some casual interviews and discussions with friends and associates, old and new.   You know it won’t be all work – we fully expect to enjoy a few relaxed, informal evenings with a pint or two in some lovely English pubs with lots of local character(s), too!

Learn more about The World Green Roof Congress 2008.