Mark Winterer, Recover’s co-founder and owner, and Emily McKeen, Director of Horticulture and Maintenance, discuss the stacking benefits of green roofs in this educational short film from Turnaround Films and Trillium Studios.

The film also also features Recover’s recent project Powderhouse (CALA) in an interview with architect and developer, Sebastian Mariscal.

Green roofs create oases in cities where green spaces are often lacking, not only for us, but for much needed pollinators like bees, ladybugs, butterflies and birds. Replacing hot, black roofs with soil and plants helps keep buildings cooler in summer. Green roofs also help manage stormwater runoff as they catch rainwater and release it slowly into a city’s drainage system.

In this episode, Mark Winterer and Emily McKeen of the Boston area’s Recover Green Roofs demonstrate how they create living environments on rooftops and discuss how we can use green roofs to reduce the problems caused by overbuilding impervious surfaces.

At the CALA apartment and office complex in Somerville, MA, architect and developer Sebastian Mariscal talks about why green roofs are attractive to a community, and how using them attracts buyers and tenants.

What happens when we move land and plants to the roof? Watch this video.