Green Landscaping

Team 7

Define Green Roofs:

Green Roofs are plants growing in a thin layer of soil on the roof of a building.

Types of Green Roofs:

Intensive: More resilient with deeper rooted vegatation and more soil
Extensive: Shallow root systems with less soil

Cost of Green Roofs:

According to the EPA, it will cost $30 per square foot to install an intensive Green Roof, and $10 per square foot for an extensive Green Roof [1]
Mainentence will cost between $0.75 and $1.50 per square foot regardless of type [1]
Can be installed in place or as modules

Environmental Benefits of Green Roofs at a glance:

Stormwater

Retain stormwater
Rainwater can be collected
Absorb pollutants from runoff

Air Quality

Reduce the emissions of harmful chemicals
Nearly as effective for air quality as planting trees

Cooling

Lowers indoor and outdoor temperatures
Insulates buildings with Green Roofs
Reduces energy use

Green Roof at the University of Delaware

First Green Roof on a classroom building installed in 2012 on Colburn Lab
Total cost was $72,000 [6]
Recieved $40,000 from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative program administered by the Delaware Departement of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Division of Energy and Climate. Another $10,000 was donated from the DuPont Clear into the Future Program. $5,000 from both the University of Delaware Energy Insitute and the University of Delaware Sustainability Fund [6]

Colburn lab was chosen because indoor temperatures reached 86 degrees because of heat transfer from southern exposure, large glass windows and flat roof.
Other measures such as reduced wattage lights, ventilation maintenace and other measured railed to reduce temperatures to low enough levels to resume instruction
Two foot by two foot plastic tray modular system was chosen instead of membrane system for installation.
Plants chosen were several varieties of colorful sedum, plus chives and crocus.

References:

“Learn How Much It Costs to Install a Green Roof” 2022 Green Roof Cost: Installation Costs Per Square Foot, 2 Mar. 2022, https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/roofing/green-roof/.
Lindell, Jim, et al. “Green Roof Systems.” The Military Engineer, vol. 100, no. 651, Society of American Military Engineers, 2008, pp. 49–50, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44531410.\
“Green Roof Benefits-Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/tps/sustainability/new-technology/green-roofs/benefits.htm.
Yang, J., Yu, Q., & Gong, P. (2008, July 18). Quantifying air pollution removal by green roofs in Chicago. Atmospheric Environment. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231008006262
Mirzababaie, Mohammad Javad, and Mohsen Karrabi. “Implementing Green Roof Technology: An Investigation of the Effects on Energy Demand, Fuel Consumption, and Pollutant Emission.” Clean Technologies & Environmental Policy, vol. 21, no. 9, Nov. 2019, pp. 1873–81. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-019-01742-9.
Thomas, Adam. “Green Roof.” UDaily, https://www1.udel.edu/udaily/2013/oct/colburn-green-roof-100212.html.
Bassi, Andrea M., et al. “Typologies of Green Infrastructure for Urban Water Management.” Sustainable Asset Valuation Tool: NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), 2019, pp. 18–24, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep21999.6.
Rowe, D. B. (2010, November 13). Green roofs as a means of pollution abatement. Environmental Pollution. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749110004859
Dinardo, Kelly. “The Green Revolution Spreading across Our Rooftops.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Oct. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/realestate/the-green-roof-revolution.html.
Sá, Thomas Schatzmayr Welp, et al. “Assessing Rainwater Quality Treated via a Green Roof System.” Clean Technologies & Environmental Policy, vol. 24, no. 2, Mar. 2022, pp. 645–60. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02144-6.

Image Citations

All stock images were found on the free image site https://unsplash.com/

Photo of Green Roof on Colburn Lab taken by Danielle Quigley

Green Landscaping by Skyler Cunningham, Bobby McCulley, James Demirakos, Matt Advocate is marked with CC0 1.0

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