As we continue to ring in 2010 we hope you enjoyed warm holidays with family and friends and celebrated the New Year with renewed hope for the future.  Can you believe we’ve entered a new decade?  Shall we call it 2K10, Twenty Ten, or just good old fashioned 2,010?  In any case, we’re finally out of the 0’s, now we’re into the 10’s.

Our world economy has been through a lot in the past few years, yet with a promising light hovering just over the horizon.  Although development overall has declined, there is continued desire for green buildings from both the public and private sector, and in general our greenroof & greenwall industry has weathered quite nicely.  Many of us are taking time to reflect on this passage of time and make New Year’s resolutions (another topic altogether!), and I was thinking of how far we have come since the German experience entered our architectural radar and into our collective consciousness in the 1990’s.  Literally thousands of vegetated roofs and walls have been constructed since then in every continent except for Antarctica, with ever growing support from forward thinking multidisciplinary professionals: designers, government officials, organizations, companies, universities, students and other advocates looking to make Earth a little more sustainable.

Sadly, one of those special, innovative people passed away last November 27, the indomitable architect Malcolm Wells.  Regarded as “the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture,” he was a staunch advocate of living architecture, known for his way ahead-of-the-times underground earth designs with living roofs starting in the 1960’s, see just one example below.  He leaves a legacy of what he referred to as gentle architecture, design that would, in his own words, “leave the land no worse than you found it.”

The visionary Malcolm Wells' design for an eco-gas station, from MalcolmWells.com.

Many inspirational people and organizations have contributed to our current market, and I want to highlight just a few success stories from the past year, personal and global.  So in my review, here are my favorite 2009 Top 10 Milestones and Accomplishments for both Greenroofs.com as a company and our international community as a whole:

10)  In 2009 Greenroofs.com celebrated 10 years of being in business!  We’ve seen a lot of progress and change for the good here as well as across the greenroof world.  The fledgling Greenroofs.com – “exploring the ecology of organic greenroof architecture” started out as 60+ pages in 1999 as the result of an independent research study I did at the University of Georgia.

By 2003 we changed our format and grew into Greenroofs.com – “the international greenroof industry’s resource and online information portal,” and contained 600+ pages at the end of 2009 (not counting the hundreds of .php pages from The Greenroof Directory or The Greenroof Projects Database).  At present, each month Greenroofs.com receives more than 160,000 unique visits and about 400,000 page views, and we’ve also expanded our presence in social marketing, too, so now you can stay connected with us on: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, eNewsletter (our monthly eNewsletter consists of 10,000 opt-in subscribers) & YouTube, as well as our Blog.

9)  The proliferation of living architecture is greatly spreading and permeating into the areas of design, policy, research and education through numerous world conferences, congresses, expos, trainings, tours, and other events.  For example, the World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) – formerly the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network (WGRIN) - held its first CitiesAlive! World Green Roof Congress in Toronto, Canada, with the second scheduled for Mexico City this October, 2010.  The International Green Roof Association (IGRA) hosted the 2nd International Green Roof Congress 2009 in Nürtingen, Germany and the 3rd annual Green Roofs Australia Conference 2009 was held at the University of Melbourne.  Longevity was evident with the 7th National FBB Green Roof Conference in Ditzingen, Germany and the 7th annual Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards, and Trade Show in Atlanta, Georgia.  By the way, look for the 8th annual GRHC conference to occur in Vancouver, B.C. on November 30 – December 2, 2010, rebranded as ”Cities Alive.”  Look for many new 2010 events throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, Singapore, India and more under Upcoming Events, where you can also access Past Events.

8)  For the third year, we published our 2010 Greenroofs of the World™ Calendar.  I’ve already blogged about it, and we’re very proud of our first hard product.  And we thank our Sponsors for their support: American Hydrotech, Barrett Company, Conservation Technology, Express Blower, GREEN ROOF BLOCKS, GreenGrid, International Leak Detection (ILD), LiveRoof, Roofscapes, Inc., Saul Nurseries, Tremco, Xero Flor America, and ZinCo USA.  You can find the Calendar on Amazon.com, but it’s a better deal if you order from us!

7) Green walls are firmly becoming entrenched in sustainable design, evidenced by high media attention, as much for their green properties as for their edible gardening possibilities. We’ve had tons of news articles posted in NewsLinks, our huge database of global articles, concerning living walls and green façades!  In fact, they were listed as #31 in TIME’s 50 Best Inventions of 2009 and Triple Pundit recently proposed: ”Gardens Grow Up: Are Vertical Landscapes the New Green Roofs?“ - both featuring the works of Patrick Blanc.  In our business you’d have to be living under a rock not to know who the renowned French botanist is; his often fantastical “murs végétalisés” designs stretch the limits of horticulture and design.  Since 1994, he has created over 140 public vertical gardens as well as many private installations, including his most famous, the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, shown below.  Read more about green walls from Treehugger, Daily Telegraph, Daily Commercial News, The New York Times, Times Online and CNN.com, just to name a few.

Quai Branly Museum photo courtesy and by Jean-Claude Lafarge on http://www.jeanclaudelafarge.fr/paris.html.

In 2009 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the North American professional association, established greenwall research projects at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland, and GRHC has included an award category for Green Wall Excellence in Design for a couple of years now.  In 2008 Greenroofs.com added our 8th Contributing Editor, George Irwin - aptly titled The Green Wall Editor - to cover this growing vertical gardening field, and new for 2010 we have altered the title of our Greenroof Projects Database to reflect the inclusion of these:  The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

6) Investing in green building and infrastructure makes good economic sense by integrating green building policies into wider economic development goals, and creates a new job market. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has prompted a gigantic increase in federal green spending, providing new money to all levels of government, aimed at stimulating the economy, promoting job growth, and lowering energy costs, providing an unprecedented opportunity for advancing green building and sustainability efforts in the U.S.  And last December, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported at least 138 U.S. cities with populations over 50,000 people have green building programs in place (compared to only 92 in 2007).  Referring to the economic recession, the AIA said “The downturn has had a devastating effect on construction generally, but sustainable building design continues to maintain and improve its market share.”  Read their 2009 in depth study “Green Building Policy in a Changing Economic Environment” to learn more.

American Institute of Architects 2009 Study of Green Building Programs by Cities

U.S. economic stimulus efforts encompass green energy and construction, including greenroofs along with other forms of green building, and just one such example of Recovery Act funds benefit Washington D.C., where the Washington Business Journal says “Nearly $4 million would go toward building more than 100,000 sf of green roofs on city buildings, including libraries, firehouses and a demonstration project atop the parking garage deck at University of the District of Columbia.  The stimulus funds would also expand the city’s green roof rebate program to allow residents and small businesses to afford another 20,000 sf of private green roof space.”

And importantly, many green building programs are also creating “green collar” jobs.  In late 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Booz Allen Hamilton conducted a study and stated “Green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 billion into the American economy – including $396 billion in wages – over the next four years (2009-2013).  The study also determined that green construction spending currently supports more than 2 million American jobs and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages…The full report can be downloaded at www.usgbc.org/greeneconomy, where one can also find other research, resources, tools and information about green building and its role in the economic recoveries of professionals, businesses and the nation.”  According to an analysis by American Rivers and the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Natural Resources Defense Council reports that a $10 billion nationwide initiative to install greenroofs alone would result in almost 200,000 jobs – the Senate is expected to consider its own version of the bill in early 2010.

Some U.S. leaders offering hope and opportunity by creating greenroof/greenwall-specific green collar jobs through training include Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) and their various programs, i.e., “Green the Ghetto” and “Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training (BEST)”; D.C. Greenworks; Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative, and the Urban Farming Food Chain.

5) Green Roofs for Healthy Cities launched the Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation  for North America.  The GRP is a measure of knowledge of established best practices and although a voluntary program, with the designation professionals can distinguish themselves in the marketplace.  This association milestone was at least four years in the making!  Currently with more than 250 GRP’s in 2009, GRHC hopes to add more professionals in 2010.  Check their website for future testing dates, and consider attending one of their Green Roof Boot Camps to refresh and get you ready.  See my interview with Jeff Bruce, president of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Chair of GRHC and the GRHC Training and Accreditation Committee, which developed the Green Roof Professional program, to learn why the organization felt this accreditation was needed, how it evolved, and where it’s heading.  For more info on the GRP, see “A Video Introduction to the GRP Program” from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

4) Within the U.S. industry, major contributions were made in the area to develop best practice wind and fire standards for greenroof design.  Since 2007, leaders from various organizations have been working hard on prescriptive standards, and in 2009 standards were inserted into the International Building Code from members of GRHC and Single Ply Roofing Industry (SPRI).  Read “Green Roof Wind & Fire Design Guidelines: After Three Years, Half the Battle is Won,” written by one of our Contributing Editors, Kelly Luckett, The Green Roof Guy, to learn about this winding road’s development of RP-14 and VF-1.  And stay tuned for updates with his column here on Greenroofs.com.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUe) Wind Tunnel Testing in June, 2009.

3)  The global Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database surpassed the 1,000 mark in December!  So where are all these greenroofs and greenwalls anyway?  Let’s continue to work together to grow, update, and share valuable case studies for our communal benefit, for free.  Even in today’s openly transparent society (think Google Earth), some people worry about confidentiality issues, and we only post information that is submitted to us by owners/project principals or that which is openly available through various media channels, and we always list owners as “private” when requested.  The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database is now searchable by 24 fields, including specifically for green walls.  After our Home Page, the Projects Database is the next visited page on Greenroofs.com – make sure your projects and valuable experiences are included here.

2)  My albeitly biased personal favorite, Greenroofs.com inaugurated our first episode of the Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World ™ WebTV series.  Premiering at Boston GreenFest in September, our new venture followed on the GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube, and next on our own greenroofs.tv, where you can now see it in its entirety at just under 37 minutes.  By the way, you can also view our video offshoot, ”Greenroofs 101 from Greenroofs.com” (4:50) in Greenroofs 101 or directly below, which is a great way to introduce the concept to newcomers.  Coming soon is episode 2, highlighting the gorgeous Cook+Fox Architects corporate offices in Manhattan, NY.  Our third episode is in the works, and more are being scheduled, so stay tuned!

1) 2009 saw some serious support for greenroofs, championed by professional organizations and governmental bodies alike. Global industry support has grown over the years, and many advocates continue to actively promote them worldwide.  For example, the City of Chicago, certainly the U.S. leader in greenroofs, now has over 7 million square feet of vegetated roofs completed or under development.  New support in 2009 includes:

North America:  In addition to offering eco-incentives for greenroofs, currently Toronto has the most progressive policy in North America – last May Toronto became the first city here to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of greenroofs.  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%.  Working with a program budget of $800,000/year, owners of industrial and commercial buildings can apply for grants worth up to $100,000 (Canadian) to build a greenroof.  Mayor David Miller predicts the rules and incentives will create 50 to 60 green-roofed buildings per year, in addition to their current 135 vegetated roofs.  Green Roofs for Healthy Cities supported the by-law against pressure from developers opposed to the policy.  See more details under Industry Support and at the City of Toronto website.

Here in the U.S., in late 2009 ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects, worked with Congress to include the Green Act into the House-passed climate change legislation.  The Act would require the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to employ greenroofs, tree canopy coverage, and other site planning techniques to help reduce heating and cooling costs in certain HUD facilities.  Still pending before the Senate Finance Committee, last January Senator Maria Cantwell (WA) introduced the Clean Energy Stimulus and Investment Assurance Act of 2009 (S.320), legislation geared toward creating high-wage green-collar jobs and revitalizing the economy through clean energy investments.  ASLA worked with Senator Cantwell’s office to ensure that a section of the bill was dedicated to green roof tax incentives, and GRHC provided technical support.  Under section 506 of the bill, residential and commercial property owners will receive a 30% tax credit for qualified greenroof expenditures.

As you may recall, Congress enacted Section 438 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) to require federal agencies to reduce stormwater runoff from federal development projects to protect water resources and in October of 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 on “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance” calling upon all federal agencies to lead by example and address a wide range of environmental issues, including stormwater runoff.  Federal agencies can comply with Section 438 by using a variety of green infrastructure / low impact development techniques including living roofs.  Prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with other federal agencies, the “Technical Guidance on Implementing the Stormwater Runoff Requirements for Federal Projects under Section 438 of the Energy Independence and Security Act” PDF is highly detailed and instructive.

State and municipal governments also provided policy support:  Former Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine signed three bills promoting incentives in 2009: HB 1975 and SB 1058 authorize localities to grant regulatory flexibility and incentives to promote the construction of vegetative roofs on private homes and businesses.  The incentives or regulatory flexibility could include a reduction in permit fees, a streamlined process for the approval of building permits, or a reduction in any gross receipts tax on greenroof contractors as defined by the local ordinance.  The third bill, HB 1828, allows water authorities to offer rate incentives for vegetative roof construction, based on the percentage of stormwater runoff reduction.  In late fall, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC), and the Office of Environmental Quality created a Green Roof Loan Program utilizing money from the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund.  OEPA has made $5,000,000 available for linked deposit, below market rate loans to install green vegetative roofs within the service area of MSDGC on residential, commercial and/or industrial buildings.

Already a city offering several greenroof incentives, in October Portland’s city commission approved a Climate Action Plan which calls for a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2050.  According to the Portland Business Journal, “The Plan calls for the city and county to take 93 actions over the next three years.  City bureaus must immediately begin implementing 15 of the new climate-related initiatives, such as establishing a tax credit for businesses that install ecoroofs and solar panels together.”  And last month, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District invited governments, organizations, school districts, and businesses within the 28 communities it serves to participate in their 2010 Regional Green Roof Initiative Program.  Among other prerequisites, proposed projects must minimize impervious roof area and maximize the reduction in the rate and/or volume of stormwater runoff.

Dubai Municipality launched a greenroof initiative in line with a Dubai law on green building specifications.  The Municipality’s strategic goal is to raise per capita green area to 23.4 square meters by the end of 2011, with the green building project coming under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirate Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.  A public awareness campaign for greenroofs was announced last month, committed to the “development of laws and regulations to keep pace with international standards in the field of sustainable development by planting green roofs and facades in the Emirate of Dubai.”  Traveling display models and educational publications will circulate residential neighborhoods and shopping centers and markets for a 12-month period.  Read more on the Dubai Municipality Portal.  One spectacular greening project currently on the boards in Dubai is the self-sustained system “Food City” below, designed by Green Concepts Landscape Architects (GCLA):

The proposed Dubai Food City, conceptualized by landscape architecture firm GCLA.

 Well, those are my thoughts on the important highlights of 2009, and while on the topic of Top 10 lists, Haven Kiers – our Design Editor - and I are compiling our 4th annual Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof Designs for 2010, and we welcome your input with ideas and project example submissions, as usual!  Send comments to Linda@greenroofs.com or DesignEditor@greenroofs.com.

So here we are at the start of a whole new year – we hope you’re excited and optimistic about it, just as we are!   Whatever 2009 offered you, we hope you embraced new friends and opportunities and experienced great personal and professional growth, and we thank you for your readership.  What’s in store for our new decade?  We’ll see, but as the green building industry continues with positive signs of sustained growth, let’s also continue to collaborate and create a more sustainable world with eco-architecture embracing greenroofs and greenwalls as part of the overall green living architecture strategy.

“I woke up one day to the fact that the earth’s surface was made for living plants, not industrial plants.”  ~ Malcolm Wells

Here’s a gentle toast to continued health, love, and prosperity for you, your families, and all of our greenroof associates in 2010!

Happy Greening ~ Linda V.

 I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Bruce, president of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Chair of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and the GRHC Training and Accreditation Committee which developed the Green Roof Professional – or GRP – Accreditation program, last week on May 19, 2009.  Jeff and many others have devoted countless hours to developing a rigorous and comprehensive offering to the marketplace, and I wanted to learn more about the program itself as well as Jeff and his company.

Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company has been around for close to 30 years and has a strong reputation with projects involving landscape architecture, comprehensive master planning, site design, recreation planning, urban design and more – offering design and specialized technical support including irrigation engineering and green roof technology.

Linda:  Jeff, please tell us about your Company’s program as a professional firm – its overarching mission and goals, and how sustainability fits in?

Jeff:  Well, we’re a bit of a unique firm in so far as in the past we’ve incorporated scientists and particularly agronomy in our practice area which gave us a bit of a technology focus.  So we supply other landscape architectural groups, as well as architects and engineers, highly specialized services and green technologies, greenroofs and things of that nature.  We have a nationwide practice that helps support that little niche we’ve been fortunate to find.

Linda:  I did notice that you’re definitely national in scope and your company has been involved with many award-winning greenroof projects such as the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, Soldier Field, and more.  Can you briefly describe some of these experiences?

Jeff: Yes, they’re some of the more rewarding projects we’ve ever worked on.  At Lurie Garden we were the irrigation consultant and did some soil consulting for Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd., the lead landscape architects.  That was a very beautiful project, as well as the North Burnham Park renovation at Soldier Field where we did all the soil consulting, turf consulting, and green roof consulting for Peter Schaudt’s office.  We’ve also had three other greenroof awards for projects we’ve been fortunate enough to work on, so we’ve been able to find the right clients that allowed us to work on these exceptional projects.

Linda:  You’ve had a lot of wide array of awards and honors, so kudos to you and your firm.

Jeff:  It’s finding the right client that wants to do the right project and gives us a little latitude to be creative.

Linda:  True, and I always tell people I think that it’s up to us as designers to inform our clients, to let them know all the possibilities that are out there.

Jeff:  We also have a phrase, “You can’t save an owner from himself!”  So having the right combination is certainly a blessing when it comes to assembling a team and getting the right individuals involved in it.

Linda:  The 7th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference is coming up next week, and Atlanta will offer the inaugural Green Roof Professional Accreditation test on June 5.  The ad says that “by 2013, the overall green building market is forecasted to more than double.  Be ready to embrace these changing times and become a recognized professional by taking the Green Roof Professional Accreditation Exam.”  Before we get into the program itself, though, how did you first become involved with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities?

Jeff:  Well, it goes back probably 6 or 7 years – when we submitted an abstract for the Washington, D.C. conference and the abstract at the time was “The Weakest Link in the Delivery of Green Roof Projects.”  It got the attention of the executive director, Steven Peck, who at the time was looking for someone to chair an implementation workshop which was the 201, so he tracked me down and asked me if I’d chair that taskforce to write the GRHC 201 Implementation course.

Linda:  Now that you’ve given me the genesis of your participation, how about a little bit of the process you and the team experienced – the vision and collaboration.

Jeff:  It was quite an extensive process in so far as developing the course work and the manuals, all four courses, and then the first step in the GRP process was an occupational analysis by a task force established in 2005.  I believe about 30 professionals met in Toronto and outlined all of the needs, skills and knowledge base that a green roof professional would require, and out of that came the occupational analysis which ended up weighting the importance of each of those pieces of knowledge that a professional would possess in that process.  Then from that was the actual test accreditation exam committee that was assembled, and another 30 or 40 people at the Baltimore Conference sat down for an extra day with the industry experts and wrote test questions for the exam.  Prometric was the group that assisted us with developing the test.  They did a little training and then they reviewed all of the questions for accuracy and appropriate technical formatting.

The pool of test questions was brought back to the committee, and they went through each question one by one; a couple hundred test questions were narrowed down to the most logical choices.  Final questions went back through another Prometric review.  There was a third review of the test questions with another select group of technical experts, and after about 18 months of development we‘ve gotten to the point that we’re now prepared to roll out the test and have really become comfortable on the validity of the questions and the type of information being used for the exam.

Linda:  Was there any input from other organizations or associations?

Jeff:  There was a large peer review of all of the course material content, which really serves the basis of the GRP exam.  There was also  a number of individual people in particular expertise areas of the industry that were targeted as independent peer reviewers for us.  We looked at the roofing industry, the roofing manufacturing and landscape contracting, roofing consultants and landscape architects, and assembled a team of peer reviewers that went through the process and gave us really good input to further clarify the questions and content.

Linda:  I was wondering if it was hard to get buy in from fellow colleagues, or if you encountered any resistance from any particular contingents in the industry?

Jeff:  Believe it or not, not really.  There is always this discussion and debate about accreditation and self-regulation.  I think everyone in the industry recognized the value of education and having a designation that helps the public understand that this particular individual has a certain understanding of the course material that would provide them a qualification in the marketplace.

Linda:  Here in North America, we’ve been designing modern greenroofs since the mid 1990’s and as a result we have millions of square feet on roofs greened already.  Some people might say this program is unnecessary, especially to those who have been designing these living roofs, and that it’s simply a justification to promote the professional association and make some money.  I know the GRP is a measure of knowledge of established best practices, and that with the designation we can distinguish ourselves in the marketplace as well.  Why do you believe that the greenroof industry needs an accreditation program now?

Jeff:  Green roofs are somewhat unique as a practice area because they entail such a wide variety of disciplines that it’s very difficult or virtually impossible for any individual to be an expert in every aspect of the industry.

Linda:  I agree!

Jeff:  We’ve sort of coined the phrase that the green roof industry is complemented by two halves of the equation – the black arts and the green arts – and so when we’re looking at the accreditation program, we had to look at those skills and competencies that are required in order to understand the delivery process and not necessarily trying to test a roofer on Latin species of Sedums or a horticulturalist on the melting point of a certain asphaltic roofing compound.  So because of this wide range of knowledge, I think the GRP designation facilitates the ability of the public to understand how to apply these types of green technologies.

Again, it is a voluntary program in that those who choose not to participate will still be able to practice in the field, so it’s not an obstacle for them.  From my perspective, it is a celebration of a technical body of knowledge an individual holds.

Linda:  Well, that’s a good way to look at it.

Jeff:  It is sort of a personal badge of commitment that we value this type of technology to the point that we’re willing to sit for the exam and to promote our understanding of it.  If you look at all other accreditation programs, they’ve run into many of the same criticisms that they’re a self-promotion vehicle and that they are self regulating a minority of individuals.  If you follow other programs over a period of time, you will find that the association side and the accreditation side typically become separate organizations at some point in the future.

We have seen that through ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) and CLARB (Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards), and even with the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council); they’ve migrated to two associations as the accreditation program gained momentum.  Programs also gain sophistication and complexity.  In the beginning the association is a strong support component and nurturing component in order to get an accreditation program on its feet and to get it widely accepted into public domain.

Linda:  Yeah, I agree with you.  What types of companies or professionals would you like to see come on board?

Jeff:  We did not try to restrict anyone that is interested and capable of demonstrating sufficient knowledge about this to sit for the exam and become accredited.  I think it would require a certain degree of knowledge and background about the construction industry and the construction delivery process in order to be successful.  It tends to be a logical choice for architects, engineers, roofing consultants, roofing manufacturers, landscape contractors that have an interest in green roofs – or general contractors, building management, those types of individuals that have an understanding and sequencing of the construction process.

This knowledge base that we’re looking at is really specialized applied knowledge, so it’s an overlay of what an individual might already need to understand about contracting law, projects, understanding critical path of construction sequencing and how to measure performance and success in the field.  So, although we didn’t limit who takes the exam, we tried to work off some industry assumptions and direct the materials so that it was specifically for unique aspects of green roofs in the construction market.

Linda:  Getting back to landscape architecture, the profession encompasses a broad field, embracing a wide range of interests, with many of us gravitating towards one particular area, greenroofs, for example.  As a landscape architect, do you feel specialization will eventually kill or possibly dilute our profession?

Jeff:  I’ve been involved in ASLA as a trustee for many years, and have a long involvement in ASLA.  I understand the dichotomy involved in specialization.  Over the years landscape architects have always struggled to define their identity because we are so diverse and we practice in so many different phases in society.  In a technologically increasing community and environment, it is absolutely necessary that landscape architects and other professions maintain higher levels of specialization as certain aspects of the industry get more and more complex.  I think that’s a natural aspect.  When I look at landscape architects, I am very hopeful that because of their common basis of understanding and education, they’ll still be able to maintain a dialogue and a connection with landscape architecture even as the specialties continue to get more granular and complex.

I view landscape architects collectively as contextualists in that we, in solving problems, seek out other professions.  We seek out connections with the past, seek out connections with ecology, place culture and try to mend and heal places.  This reaching out as a popular culture facilitates us working as teams and embraces a recognition of diversity within the profession.

Actually, 30- 40% of our consulting work is with other landscape architects, and it is probably the most rewarding work we do because there is an affinity of understanding.  There’s a similar basis of attempting to resolve the project.  Specialization is the way for us to get better at what we do but still maintain a common core of landscape architecture.  I’m hopeful, so very hopeful, that we will be able to continue to embrace other specializations and keep our identity under the umbrella of landscape architecture.

Linda:  Well, I have to say that was very eloquent!  I can’t think off the top of my head like that!

Jeff:  The way I got to be fellow (FASLA) is I got involved in Missouri licensure of landscape architects, and we fought a very, very tough battle that took close to 12 years to get the legislation passed.  As a result we learned every tactic in the world, politically, every backroom maneuver, and we got so good at it that I was appointed to the registration assistance team at ASLA national.  As part of the registration assistance team, we travelled around and gave legislative workshops for other states.  I was involved with six states that gained licensure.  We dealt with turf battles, strategy of defining work, specializations, and tiered accreditation of licensing.  I’ve been thinking about it for about 25 years.  So my elegant statement has been constructed over a long time.

Linda:  Then you have a good memory!

Jeff:  Well, yeah, and there’s a few things you’d like to forget about that process – I always equated it to getting your cuff caught in a piece of machinery and it just dragged you through the machinery.  During the process it was like I never thought if I’d joined this committee it meant a 25-year commitment.

Linda:  Right, it kind of takes over your life.  I know people on various GRHC committees who would say the same thing!

Jeff:  Exactly.  What attracted that organization to me, I think, was the interesting perspective about licensure and accreditation and what that might mean.  The whole opportunity to look at not a singularly educated vocation, but a very multi-disciplinary organization to establish a knowledge base of information was intriguing to me.  It’s very similar to the USGBC model but not as expansive.

Linda:  What unique attributes do you think landscape architects will offer as a Green Roof Professional?

Jeff:  Good question.  Well, I alluded to it a little bit previously, which was their propensity for team management and team building, working with other professionals.  The rooftop is an extremely hostile environment in which to try and grow vegetation, and more realistically in trying to create sustainable, restorative ecosystems.  I think the landscape architects’ skill set is perfectly aligned with those unique challenges that occur on the roof, working with constructed materials, working with natural systems, working with water, harvesting soils, and all of those things provide very unique attributes for landscape architects.

I think each of the professions that we have targeted and involved in the process also provide those very unique but different attributes.  Roofing consultants – there is an enormous amount of technical data and expertise required in waterproofing of structures, and roofing details and flashing/counterflashing details, for example.

Linda:  Right, and that’s going to be my hardest area to take – the 301!

Jeff:  Well, I can tell you that the trepidation is equally split – if you’re part of the green arts, you fear the black arts, and if you’re part of the black arts you equally fear the green arts.  But I sincerely hope that everyone that comes out of the exam really feels that the material has been well vetted, has been well thought out and then represents a reasonable representation of the skill set we need in the generalist form.  I think we’ll strike the appropriate balance between those two divergent areas of specializations.

Linda: Getting back to the Accreditation Program, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is basing the GRP exam on the four Green Roof Courses, the 101, 201, 301, and 401, but is it a requirement that people have taken these classes already or can anyone just walk in and wing it?

Jeff:  Anyone could, in fact, sit down and take the test if they so desire.  We recognize that some people may not have the opportunity in their schedule to sit for all the courses throughout the year, so the course manuals are also available for purchase if you wanted to read through them.  As part of the legal defensibility of the exam, we had to have citable references for each of the questions and all of the questions came out of the course materials.

Linda: Can you give us some of the specifics of what to expect on the exam, like the number of questions and how it long it might take?

Jeff:  There will be 100 questions, and we’re allowed 2 hours.

Linda:  And Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is using the exam from the launch here in Atlanta as the benchmark of sorts for future tests, is that correct?

Jeff:  Yes, part of the process that we will go through with Prometric is a validation of the test questions by the first hundred or so exam takers.  So there would be, again, another quality assurance process whereby we would look aggregately at all the exam questions and see if there’s an anomaly in answers and responses so that we can make it again as fair and as defensible as possible.

Linda:  Can you give our readers any pointers or last minute advice before we take the test?

Jeff:  Well, I think, again, we tried to focus on those pieces of information that are most valuable for the professional as they facilitate teaming and delivery of green roofs.  One of the very important aspects of that was certainly the best management practices that were called out in each of the manuals.  So the best management practices are areas where we focused importance on, and you’ll see a number of questions that emerge from those particular recommendations.

Linda:  Very good, I haven’t signed up yet, just because I’m always late for everything!

Jeff:  Well, there’s always a percentage of the population that are like that so we’re looking at a really good representation of “first adopters” we’re calling them that are going to come out and represent the profession.  It should be noted that there are going to be three additional exams that will be given around the country. You can check the GRHC website for the locations and times of the other exams.

Linda:  Anything else?

Jeff:  I would just encourage everyone to come down to Atlanta and the conference - we’ve got some extraordinary tracks that we’re looking at, one of which is food production on rooftops – rooftop agriculture – which I think is going to be a significant emerging market for us and it should be a lot of fun.

I appreciate the opportunity!

Linda: Very good, Jeff, and it really has been my pleasure to speak with you today!
 

For more info on the GRP, visit the FAQ’s section from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.  I hope many professionals from multi-disciplinary fields take the challenge and get their Green Roof Accreditation – I’ll be there, too:

The Green Roof Profession (GRP) Accreditation Exam will be held on Friday, June 5, 2009  at the 7th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Conference venue, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in the Hanover Room, C-E.

Happy Greening and Test Taking!

~ Linda V.

I hope many of you are traveling to southern Germany to particpate in the 2nd International Green Roof Congress in Stuttgart-Nürtingen on May 25-27 – it’s sure to be amazing.  Please send us your thoughts, comments and photos for posting afterwards! 

First Time in the South

Next up in our Spring line-up of major greenroof conferences is the 7th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards & Trade Show on June 3-5, held for the first time in the southern U.S., here in Atlanta at the lovely Hyatt Regency – Atlanta.

It’s hard to believe Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) has put on this event yearly since 2003, debuting in Chicago – a great city with a great visionary mayor in Richard Daley, Jr.  We’ve participated every year by exhibiting, I’ve sometimes presented papers or a poster session, attended a class (or facilitated one in the case of Portland, OR with the inaugural Green Roof 101 in 2004).  This year we’re really proud to be a Sponsor of the Conference along with The Home Depot Foundation, American Hydrotech, Tremco, Green Roof Blocks and Sweetwater Brewing Company.  I think the industry has come a long way through the hard, dedicated work of many, and although there is still much to do, I’m confident the greenroof community will continue to thrive within the eco-friendly world of planning, design, and construction.

It’s been fun (and time consuming, although I have had to miss some of the meetings) to have participated on the Local Atlanta Host Committee, specifically the Tours Sub-Committee, but it’s been time well spent at Southface Energy Institute.  In fact, I’m attending the last meeting before the conference this afternoon to go over last minute items, including the tours, which I’ll be talking about in detail in a few days – but you should sign up for one of five guided tours, four on Tuesday, June 2 and one on Saturday, June 6 (another option is a Walking Tour at your leisure) – and I should point out that I’ll be your host on Tour #2: Goodbye City, Hello ‘Burbs, on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

Tours, Golf and the Launch of the GRP

The varied tours are a great highlight, as is the first annual GRHC Golf Tournament at the Bobby Jones Golf Course, the many education courses and workshops, not to mention the awesome speaker line-up, and the opportunity to become one of the first to receive your GRP – Green Roof Professional – designation!  The launch of this long-awaited accreditation program will be on June 5, and I plan to take it, too.

In fact, I just interviewed Jeff Bruce, FASLA, LEED, ASIC of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, who is the Chair of the GRP.  Look for his insightful interview early next week, where I asked him about his company, his involvement with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, and specifically the lengthy process he and the team experienced – the vision and initial plan; reasons why we need an accreditation program; overall considerations and requirements; how things evolved…all leading up to the Atlanta Conference and the inaugural testing.

Have you looked at the Agenda yet?  It really is a full line up of experts from across North America and the world.  The three-day conference will consist of plenary and specialized sessions focused on four main topic areas:

1. Policies and Programs to Support Green Roofs
2. Green Roof Design and Implementation
3. Research and Technical Papers on Green Roof Performance
4. “On the Roof With …” Networking & Information Forums on Current Green Roof Topics with Industry Experts

Note:  Make sure to see the 2009 installment of Haven Kiers, our Design Editor and my Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof Design, held on the morning of June 5 in Track 1 – Case Studies and Design, SESSION 4, from 8:00 am – 9:30 am in Room: Hanover C – E. 

The 2009 full-delegate pass includes:

•  Access to over 50 presentations by green roof industry leaders
•  Free pass to the Industry Trade Show featuring more than 75 exhibitors showcasing Green Roof Products and Services
•  Access to more than 15 Poster Sessions
•  One Copy of the Official Conference Proceedings CD-ROM featuring the peer-reviewed Speaker Papers (retail value $75)
•  Browse and Lunch (June 4) and Awards of Excellence Luncheon (June 5)

Missing some classes?  Take your pick here (additional charge):

Wednesday, June 3:  GRHC Training Courses (8:30 am — 5:-00 pm)
Green Roof Design 101: Introductory Course
Green Roof Infrastructure: Design and Installation 201
Green Roof Infrastructure: Waterproofing and Drainage 301
Green Roof Infrastructure: Plants and Growing Medium 401

Friday, June 5: Green Roof Profession (GRP) Accreditation Exam — 4:00 — 6:00 pm

A Trade Show not to be Missed!

Also, don’t miss out on the largest industry Trade Show in North America.  Talk to the experts about their products, projects, benefits and solutions for common greenroof and wall challenges.  And please come by and visit us on the Trade Show Floor at Booth #310.

For a complete overview of the Conference program, and to register for any of the events, please visit the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities website at www.greenroofs.org.  For sponsorship and trade show opportunities please contact Jennifer Sprout jsprout@greenroofs.org or (416) 971-4494 Ext 229.  Come join the learning and celebrations of excellence at GRHC’s 7th International gathering!

More later, Linda V.