Today we have the pleasure to air the “Green Roofs Without the Hype” Panel Presentation with Patrick Carey, Dr. Robert Berghage, Charlie Miller, and Ed Snodgrass from our inaugural 2011 Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit on greenroofs.tv and our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube.

Since Earth Day is coming up, I felt this panel of industry leaders and experts would make a great choice to honor the occasion!

Two of these gentlemen have been long standing editorial contributors to Greenroofs.com – Ed Snodgrass as The Plant Editor (2004) and Patrick Carey as The Architecture Editor since 2005.

Ed’s an accomplished nurseryman, author, proponent of sustainable business practices, and an all around affable guy with a big heart, and writes the (very occasional!) column “Ask Ed.”  We had the pleasure, along with our attendees, of having Ed as one of our Keynote Speakers at our Virtual Summit last September – look for his video “Right Plant, Right Place” coming up soon.  Read my in-depth interview with him at his family farm, Emory Knoll Farms, here.

Speaking of both Earth Day and Ed Snodgrass, make sure you see or record Ed’s appearance on the Martha Stewart Show this Friday, April 20, 2012.  In honor of Earth Day, Martha invited Ed to talk about – what else? greenroofs!

I have known Patrick Carey since 2000, when we corresponded about research and greenroofs (or greenruffs, as he says!).  He is very near and dear to Aramis and me, and is a brilliant (yet mental) philosopher, architectural/greenroof designer, and excellent writer, albeit in a rambling, existential kind of manner.  His column, “A View from the Sky Trenches,” has also come only occasionally, which can be expected of people who have to work for a living instead of writing for us in a consistent manner.  I asked Patrick to lead the panel discussion as the moderator, and in fact he chose the other three panelists to be on his team.

As you know if you read my blog posts, I hold Charlie Miller very dear to me as an inspiration and mentor since I’ve known him for years – I also asked him to be one of our four Keynote Speakers for our 2011 Virtual Summit – you can see my blog post about it here and see the Episode #1 “A New Place” video listed below.

Dr. Bob Berghage is a newer acquaintance, my having met him finally along with the late, wonderful, Dr. Dave Beattie in Nuertingen, Germany in 2004 at the inaugural International Green Roof Congress sponsored by IGRA.  He’s extremely knowledgeable, outspoken, and friendly – a great combo for a professor!

I think the four made an excellent and very smart panel, and I’m sure you’ll agree:

Patrick Carey, GRP, lives in Seattle, WA, USA and has a degree in architecture and is principal of hadj design, a green roof design-build company.  Patrick is also director of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild’s Green Roof Project and a trainer with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities where he facilitates the Green Roof 101, 201, 301, & 401 Courses.  Patrick is also a contributing editor on Greenroofs.com (2005); he is the Architecture Editor (2005).  He writes an occasional architectural column entitled “A View from the Sky Trenches,” where he selects and discusses pertinent greenroof industry topics.

Patrick was the Moderator for “Green Roofs Without the Hype.”

Dr. Robert Berghage lives in University Park, PA, USA.  Robert D. Berghage, PHD is an Associate Professor in Horticulture and Director of the Center for Green Roof Research at Penn State.  He has been a member of the Penn State faculty since 1994 and was a member of the Faculty of New Mexico State University from 1989 to 1994.  He received a Ph.D. and MS in Horticulture from Michigan State University and a BS in Botany from the University of Michigan.  He conducts research in phytoremediation and plant growth in modified environments.  Current projects mainly focus on green roofs where Dr. Berghage, along with colleagues in engineering and graduate and undergraduate students have been working to evaluate green roof materials, plants, and systems and to quantify the beneficial functions of green roofs.  He teaches Plant Propagation, Herbaceous Plant Identification and Use, and Eco-roof Technology classes in Horticulture.  He is state Floriculture and Greenhouse Crop Production Extension Specialist and the serves on the Penn State Stormwater Management Advisory Committee.

Charlie Miller, P.E. lives in Philadelphia, PA, USA and is the Principal of Roofmeadow. Charlie Miller has 30 years of experience in projects related to civil and environmental engineering.  In 1997, Charlie formed Roofscapes, Inc. (now Roofmeadow) to introduce green roof technology as a new tool for managing stormwater in urban and developing areas in the United States.  He has written four new ASTM standards that are specifically intended for use by the green roof industry, and is currently at work on the new ASTM Standard Guide for Vegetated Green Roof Systems.  Charlie’s firm provides project delivery services, including feasibility studies, design consulting, preparation of construction documentation, construction management, and long-term maintenance and support for green roof installations.  Projects have included the design and installation of the well-known green roof for Chicago’s City Hall.  Roofscapes, Inc. supports and supervises a national network of landscape contractors that specialize in green roof installation.  It also partners with several national roofing manufacturers in order to offer complete green roof assembly packages.  Over 200 green roofs have been installed by Roofmeadow contractors. Consulting services offered by Roofmeadow focus on providing affordable green roof options for controlling stormwater and nurturing green space in cities.

Edmund Snodgrass lives in Street, MD, USA and is co-owner of Emory Knoll Farms/Green Roof Plants. Edmund Snodgrass started the first green roof nursery in North America and has collaborated on green roof research with colleges and universities.  He is co-owner and president of Emory Knoll Farms Inc.  Ed speaks and lectures widely on green roofs and has presented in England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada and the US.  In 2009, Ed was the recipient of the Spencer P. Ellis award from the Maryland Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects and is the 2011 recipient of the G.B. Gunlogson Award from the American Horticultural Society.  Ed is the co-author of Small Green Roofs: Low-Tech Options for Greener Living, 2011; The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening, 2011; The Green Roof Manual: A Professional Guide to Design, Installation, and Maintenance, 2010; and Green Roof Plants, A Planting and Resource Guide, 2006.

Ed is also a contributing editor on Greenroofs.com (2004): the Plant Editor where he answers reader questions, writes occasional articles, and features seasonal greenroof plants in “Ask Ed.”

The premise of the “Green Roofs Without the Hype” Panel Session is:

Here are four people with the knowledge to speak frankly about the current state of affairs in green roofing.

This panel focuses on the designation and evaluation of expertise, appropriate background and training, roadblocks to research and education, design origination and control, chain of custody issues, installation, and the residential market.

After the panel presentation on the second day of the 2011 Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit, Patrick Carey, Dr. Robert Berghage, Charlie Miller, and Ed Snodgrass were available for the live Q & A session; the transcript was available archived for 30 days for participants of the Virtual Summit – unfortunately, we do not have it available now – one of the reasons to participate in 2013’s Virtual Summit!

Note: Due to technical and other difficulties from the second party vendor who filmed our illustrious panel of four, this video does not have our standard 2011 Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit branding, including the shots from Google Earth.

Enjoy!  Visit greenroofs.tv to see “Green Roofs Without the Hype” or click below:

Watch earlier videos on our exclusive Virtual Summit greenroofs.tv play list, or see the following Virtual Summit videos now available on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Check back next week on GreenroofsTV for our 20th installment from the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011!

~ Linda V.