In celebration of honoring Earth Day 2015 and our planet’s ecology through healthy, regenerative design, we are highlighting each of the 23 awesome videos from our 30+ spectacular speakers from Greenroofs.com‘s Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015 ~ Connecting the Planet with Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design, running through May 31st.

Our hope is that by familiarizing you more with each presentation and its particular benefits, you will be enticed to join us during our wonderfully easy-to-navigate online Virtual Summit!  And, along with the speakers’ input, I will identify 5 Key Learning Objectives or “takeaway” bullet points that each video presentation provides to participants.

Today we are spotlighting the collaborative video “The Great Green Roof Review: Success & Succession” by the soft spoken Jenny Hill, PhD candidate working on an interdisciplinary greenroof study with the Daniel’s Faculty at the University of Toronto and the gregarious Terry McGlade of Flynn Canada.  We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the extremely knowledgeable Jenny Hill yet, but we’ve known Terry for years – probably since about 2003.

He is extremely well known and respected (he’s rather outspoken!) in our industry and before coming on board with Flynn Canada, he headed up his design/build firm Gardens in the Sky which is responsible for thousands of square feet of greenroofs in the Toronto area.

A retrospective, comprising several of the oldest roofs in North America will be presented to consider fundamental issues concerning the post-construction phases of greenroof management including the economic and environmental expenses of weeding, fertilization and irrigation of extensive greenroofs.

Jen and Terry ask: What happens when the manicured aesthetic ideal is rejected either intentionally or through neglect?  What it the long term viability of a greenroof as a piece of ecological urban infrastructure versus its survival as a horticultural canvas?  What can we learn from revisiting old projects and how can we design with the evolution of individual sites in mind?

Toronto, Canada. “Jenny Hill is a member of the Low Impact Development and Groundwater research groups, in Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Her PhD research investigates the relationship between extensive green roof design decisions and their impact on urban hydrology.  Jen’s interest in this research arises from her diverse background including an undergraduate degree in Chemistry, and master’s degrees in Forensic Science and Landscape Architecture.” ~ Read her complete bio here from the VS2015.

Toronto, Canada. “Terry McGlade of Flynn Canada is one of Canada’s best known greenroof experts.  He is a creative, dynamic forward thinking horticulturalist and landscape designer with 30 years of experience and has been designing and building gardens in the Toronto area since 1982.

Terry created his first roof garden in 1985, and installed his first green roof in 1999.” ~ Read his complete bio here from the VS2015.

You will benefit from these 5 Key Learning Objectives as Jenny Hill and Terry McGlade share on the subject:

1) Jen and Terry examine 10-year old greenroofs by Terry McGlade of which 5 out of 6 are high compost roofs and 5 out of 6 were not just sedum-only roofs to consider ecological succession as an ultimate end goal of extensive green roofs; a look at the local legislative framework;

2) Examination of the post-construction phases of greenroof management – the succession of management, the classical ecological succession of how they are changing in terms of plants, soils (including compaction, erosion), etc., the change from the original design intent;

3) Six case studies that Jen surveyed over the last two summers (2013 & 2014) are presented: Earth Rangers East School, Ryerson University, Jackman Avenue School, Toronto Botanical Garden, UTSC Arts & Administration Building, and the Royal Ontario Museum;

4) Discussion of examples of “no maintenance greenroofs” – what to expect; the importance of using local native plants; managing client expectations in terms of change over time;

5) In some cases you can go back and revitalize greenroofs to make them healthier – perhaps every 5-10 years we need to do that, look at plant colonies, soils as they are closed systems.  Ask yourself, are they still working?  We need an ever changing “Green Roofs 2.0” dialogue.

Watch the 31:04 “The Great Green Roof Review: Success & Succession” by Jenny Hill and Terry McGlade now playing at the Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015.  If you have not yet registered (only $49 or 25), please do:

Registration fee:

$49 – special discounted pricing;

$25 for students/faculty and government professionals

All Video Presentations, Q & A Transcripts, & Exhibitor Booths are On Demand +
Networking Live 24/7 through May 31, 2015

Earn CEUs including 10 GRP CEUs.  Register here.

Registration Open through May 31st for the Greenroofs.com Virtual Summit 2015

We hope you will support our work!  Please remember that these video presentations will not be made public for at least one year.

Happy watching and participating,

~ Linda V.

Learn more about these awesome video presentations and their 5 Key Learning Objectives at the Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015:

“A Green Building Should Look Green, Which Means Hairy!” by Dr. Ken Yeang.

“Biodiversity in the Sky – How Green Roofs Can Be Designed as Wild Life Refuges” by Dr. Stephan Brenneisen.

“Green Roofs to New Cities” by Dr. Diana Balmori.

“A Higher Purpose – Benefits to Human Health and Education through Green Roofing” by Elizabeth Hart.

“Beyond Extensive and Intensive: Defining the Comprehensive Green Roof” by Molly Meyer.

“Biosolar Roofs” by Nathalie Baumann and Dusty Gedge.

“From Passive House to the Cold North—How Vegetative Envelope Components Impact Buildings” Panel with Dr. Bob Cameron, Dr. Allen Lee, Dr. Karen Liu, and Chris Wark.

“Greening Rooftops in Alberta: People, Place + Projects” by Kerry Ross.

“Greening the World Inside and Outside” by Mark Paul.

“Greenwalls in Middle Earth” by Graham Cleary.

“Pollinators on the Parapets” by Angie Durhman.

“Small Scale Green Roofs” by Dusty Gedge and John Little.

“Social Healing with Greening” Panel – Part 1 with Patrick Carey, Peter Ensign, and George Irwin.

“Social Healing with Greening” Panel – Part 2 with Patrick Carey and Darius Jones.

“Soil Ecological Processes on Green Roofs: Research and Observation Meet Theory and Intuition” Inspiration Nook video by Christine Thuring.

“Stewardship of Rooftop Ecosystems” by Michael Furbish, Brad Garner, and Dr. Whitney Griffin.

“The Development of Revolutionary Large Scale Vegetated Infrastructure Projects in Latin America and the Foundation of a New Industry” by Pablo Atuesta.