If you live in the Jacksonville, Florida area, you are in for a treat!  The TEDxRiversideAvondale selection committee’s goal was to build an inspiring roster of the region’s great minds and storytellers for a full day of fascinating talks centered on the theme of Collective Genius.

After reviewing a large pool of submissions from impressive individuals eager to share their stories, the organizers selected Kevin Songer, J.D., ISA Certified Arborist & Municipal Specialist, LEED AP BD+C – and Greenroofs.com‘s own Tropical Green Roof Editor – as one of the speakers at the first ever TEDxRiversideAvondale held in northeast Florida.

With backgrounds ranging from music to medicine to aeronautics, the roster at the conference next week is full to the brim with people who, in the tradition of the TED conference, will share ideas worth spreading.

This is what TEDxRiversideAvondale has to say about Kevin:

“Development of the urban environment has led to the removal of volumetric green, triggering significant storm water and pollution issues, prompting the disappearance of wildlife communities and eliminating the lifestyle benefits commonly associated with agriculture.  Kevin will share his vision and advances with sustainable, nature-irrigated green roof systems, explaining their critical importance to the future of our communities.”

The Friday Musicale in Jacksonville is the venue for TEDxRiversideAvondale 2012. Founded in 1893 it’s the oldest musical organization in Florida.  If you wish to attend TEDxRiversideAvondale, you must complete and submit the application form.  The audience is limited to 100.

Back to Kevin – he serves as green roof expert for MetroVerde, a Florida based vertical green design company.  He was awarded the 2011 ‘Green Hero’ of the year award and the 2009 Innovation in Landscape and Water Conservation recognition by the Northeast Florida Chapter of the USGBC.  Kevin has spoken of the economic and ecological benefits associated with greenroofs at numerous functions and seminars.

Kevin also writes a daily green roof blog, Living Green Roofs, and contributes greenroof notes to the Native Plant and Wildlife Garden web project.

You may recall his name from last year’s inaugural 2011 Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit where he was part of the excellent panel “Wind. Water. Heat. Grow. Greenroofs.” with Dr. Bill Retzlaff, David Aponte, and Joe Webb. They gave an awesome presentation, which you can see on demand – just click below:

Kevin is also our newest editorial contributor here on Greenroofs.com – look for a new column from him soon!  Until then, go see him if you can – you’ll enjoy it and learn a lot in the process!

Happy Greening,

~ Linda V.