Fenway Farms
Boston, MA, USA
7,000 sf. Greenroof

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: July 30, 2018

While enjoying the summer here in the suburbs of Atlanta, I remembered back three years ago when Aramis, one of my best friends D’Arcy Goldman, our daughter Anjuli, and our then 6-year old grandson Nicky had the pleasure of visiting Fenway Farms in Boston.  I figured this would be a great time to replay it.

On July 7, 2015 we were given a wonderful private tour by Brendan Shea of Recover Green Roofs, the company who designed and installed the Red Sox’s Fenway Park rooftop farm.

The early July temperature difference from the street below on Yawkey Way to the lush verdant field of crops above was palpable!  Part of an ongoing campaign by the Red Sox to exemplify and promote healthy and responsible ways of living, it felt (I didn’t actually measure) 10 degrees cooler as Brendan led us through the many rows of varied, colorful vegetables and flowers.

Nicky had a great time exploring the paths and wandering amongst the large leafy greens, and had quite a few questions of his own for Brendan, like how did they get those plants up onto the roof?

Brendan talked about their modular system filled with compost-based growing media, the smart irrigation system, their partner Green City Growers who provide all farm management services including planting and harvesting, and the bountiful harvest already grown since opening day on April 13 of 2015.

The Red Sox ownership is another great example of corporate leadership – a living testament to greening our built environment – this time above the world famous Fenway Park, the oldest baseball stadium in the U.S., and one of the greenest.

Afterwards we were treated to watching some of the Red Sox team warm up, and we ended our visit to Fenway Park with a lively game against our own Miami Marlins (who unfortunately lost).  Thank you again to Mark Winterer and Brendan Shea of Recover Green Roofs for a memorable tour of a fantastic project!

Mini Description & Details

Seeded atop the roof of the Red Sox front office and the Gate A entrance of Boston’s beloved Fenway Park, Fenway Farms is the 7,000 square foot rooftop garden designed to provide over 6,000 pounds of organic produce to ballpark attendees each year.

Since its completion for Opening Day on April 13, 2015, Fenway Farms has invigorated what was once an oddly shaped, unused roof into a thriving rooftop farm.

The transformation was initially conceived by Linda Pizzuti, wife of Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, as part of an ongoing campaign by the Red Sox to exemplify and promote healthy and responsible ways of living.

As such, the project was engineered with sustainability in mind on all levels, is highly visible to ballpark attendees, and has been included as a stop on the official Fenway Park tour.

Covered with a waterproofing membrane from Carlisle, Recover Green Roofs designed and built Fenway Farms using its Recover Aerated Media Module (RAAM) system, which features a series of 5-gallon non-woven fabric-lined crates made of 50% recycled plastic content.

Located long the 3rd base side of Fenway Park, the site is equipped with an automated Weathermatic Smartlink drip irrigation system to conserve water while supporting the farm’s rotating array of vegetables and herbs.  Crops are sown in locally sourced Vermont Compost Company soil, and Fenway EMC Chefs are incorporated into the process of selecting which plants will be grown each season.

More

They then utilize the weekly harvests in salads and fresh side dishes prepared in the EMC Club kitchen, incorporating a range of arugula, snap peas, and rosemary in the spring season to eggplant and potatoes come the summer months.

Fenway officials hope to teach fans and younger folks about the importance of sustainability and healthy living, and Fenway Farms is a tool for that education.

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Year: 2015
Owner: Boston Red Sox
Location: Boston, MA, USA
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Intensive
System: Custom
Size: 7,000 sq.ft.
Slope: 1%
Access: Accessible, By Appointment

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Membrane Manufacturer & Supplier: Carlisle
Membrane Installation: Chaffee Roofing
Filter Fabric Supplier: Root Down Hydroponics
Soil Media Supplier: Vermont Compost Company
Plant Supplier: Natick Community Farm and seeds by Green City Growers (gcg)
Green Roof Design & Installation: Recover Green Roofs
Irrigation Design & Installation: Recover Green Roofs
Irrigation Control System: Weathermatic Smartlink
Irrigation Supply/Consultant: Northeast Nursery
Farming Company: Green City Growers
Modular Greenroof System: Recover Aerated Media Module (RAMM), Recover Green Roofs
Turf Consultant: Scott Koesterich, New England Turf Store

All the Info:

View the Fenway Farms project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Overlooking Fenway Farms at Fenway Stadium. Photo via Green City Growers.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the Fenway Farms Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week 7/30/18 photo credits courtesy of Recover Green Roofs and Green City Growers.

Did we miss your contribution? Please let us know to add you to the Fenway Farms profile.

Would you like one of your projects to be featured on Greenroofs.com? We have to have a profile first! Submit Your Project Profile.

Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!

By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host