Blog  August 20, 2012

Green roofs are sprouting up all over EBW

A new green roof! (Photo: Stuart McPherson)

By Stuart McPherson, Urban Ecology Project Manager at EBW

In early August, two new gardens were added to Evergreen Brick Works; a brand new garden planted on the 5th-floor balcony and the infrastructure for a green roof on top of a newly-constructed pump house for Chimney Court.

Green roofs can be a little bit tricky. Special attention is needed with regard to soil depth and drainage, the plants’ rooting depth and their ability to weather a drought and winter, not to mention the engineering surrounding weight loads and other matters.

For these reasons, alvar species are often chosen for their ability to do all of the above in shallow soils over limestone plains. This group of plants is accustomed to chronic stress, which makes it particularly suited to life in the harsh climate of our city’s rooftops.

The benefits of green roofs are well-recorded but with these two new additions, we’re especially looking forward to increased pollinator habitat and green space, harvesting plants for teas and some extra help with stormwater management.

It’s not often that simultaneous green-roof projects are in progress at EBW, so special thanks is due to Evergreen’s site stewards (Ivan, Godfrey and Sookdeo) who built the pump house, as well as to our reliable planting crews from Green City Adventure Camps and the Gardening and Stewardship group.

Take a look at the photos below to see the implementation in action, or better yet, come down to EBW for a visit. Chimney Court is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am–4pm, and the 5th-floor balcony is open seven days a week, Monday to Friday 9am–5pm, Saturday’s 8am–4pm and Sunday 10am–5pm.