Color our Roof Green

A new "Green Roof" was installed in late June on the east side of the first floor of the Albertson Center for Learning Resources.  It is the first green roof in Central Wisconsin.  The first phase of the project involved the removal of the rock which covered the roof.  A makeshift irrigation system necessary for at least the first year of the project will be installed with hoses running from the loading dock area, attached to sprinklers.  Staff volunteers, coordinated by the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education's Resource Library, will water the roof until the plants take hold.  It is estimated that it will be 2007 before everything really takes hold. 

The installation was done by Weston Solutions of West Chester, Pennsylvania, using their patented GreenGrid™ system.  The system is comprised of modules planted and ready for installation. The interlocking modules, composed of recycled plastics, are placed directly on the roofing membrane.  The nursery that provided the plants is Midwest Groundcovers, from St. Charles, Illinois.

What does a "green roof" actually do?  Green roofs not only have a positive aesthetic effect, but they also help to reduce energy usage and rain runoff as well as improve air quality by trapping and absorbing nitrous oxides, volatile organic compounds, and airborne particulate matter.  They...

• Extend the life of the roof. This system protects the exterior roofing membrane against ultraviolet radiation and extreme temperature. fluctuations, and puncture or physical damage from maintenance.
• Retain up to 100% of a 1-inch rainfall. Excess runoff is reduced and stretched out over several hours, reducing the risk of flash flooding and sewer overflows.
• Reduce machine, traffic, and airplane sound, minimizing the effects of noise on the building’s occupants and increasing the value of the structure.
• Insulate and shade the building, reducing the heat island effect. The evapotranspiration of the plants on the green roof contributes to cooling the atmosphere in their vicinity.
• Reduce heating and cooling, resulting in a net reduction in the amount of energy required for their operation. Less energy means fewer greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. The plants used for the system, specifically sedums, are known to trap airborne particulates and absorb gaseous pollutants.
• Provide an oasis of green in an urban environment.

The concept of a green roof was introduced to the University's Sustainability Committee over two years ago.  The $99,400 project was supported by:

• UWSP's Global Environmental Management Education Center
• UWSP's University Library
• The State Of Wisconsin Division of State Facilities
• UWSP Facility Services
• Wisconsin Public Service (WPS)

Chancellor Linda Bunnell receives checks from Dan Beighley of the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation for projects on campus including $15,000 toward a campus kiosk for renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies and $5,000 to create the green roof on the Albertson Center for Learning Resources.

Photos of the installation of the green roof:

Photos courtesy of UWSP News Services and the University Library.