Green Roofs have been popular in Europe for many years and have increased significantly in popularity over the last few years in the UK.
If you are a regular viewer of Grand Designs and similar TV programmes, you will have noticed that a green roof (also known as a living roof) is often a feature of innovative property developments.
And if you have viewed London from The Shard, The Sky Garden or another skyscraper, you may have been surprised at the number of green roofs you could see. In fact, London has at least 700 living roofs, giving 17 hectares of vegetation – that’s the equivalent of more than 25 football pitches in the sky!
Being an environmentally-friendly gardening design company, green roofs are right up our street here at Genesis Gardens. Our team is currently undertaking extensive training and will offer living roofs to our clients in early 2023.
In the meantime, this post explores the benefits of opting for a green roof. More than just benefits for your garden, a green roof can be of benefit to you personally and have a positive impact on the local environment.
1. Green roofs improve air quality and reduce air pollution
If you live in an urban or suburban environment, or near a busy road, you may be concerned about air quality. Poor air quality has an impact on health, particularly respiratory health.
We all know that plants and trees remove carbon dioxide from the air and increase oxygen for us to breathe. Plants also remove other pollutants, including smog-forming compounds and particulate matter. So it makes sense that installing a green roof will improve air quality. Evidence from various studies supports this, with studies finding that green roofs can result in up to a 30-57 per cent reduction in air pollution.
Pollution is reduced particularly well if the roof is planted with hyperaccumulator plants. We’ll explain more about the best planting for green roofs in a future post.
Basel in Switzerland believes so strongly in the benefits of living roofs that it is the first city in the world to make green roof spaces mandatory on new builds with flat roofs!
2. Living roofs help insulate your property
Green roofs are brilliant insulators. This means that, after properly installing a green roof, your house should be warmer in the winter. Of course, insulation works both ways, so in the summer your house should remain cooler.
With the combination of sky-high energy costs, cold winters and increasingly hotter summers, this seems to be a no-brainer to us!
We should also mention the urban island heat effect. This is simply that energy from people, lack of vegetation and large amounts of materials such as glass and concrete found in urban areas mean that these areas end up being several degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas. Well, green roofs are effective at reducing this too.
3. Green roofs are good for wildlife and promote biodiversity
This one pretty much goes without saying! Birds, bees, bugs and insects will love your living roof! At a time when green space is being eroded and people across the country are sadly laying down artificial surfaces in their gardens, every metre of green space we add makes a big difference.
Additionally, to make your green roof as wildlife-friendly as possible, we can advise on the best planting schemes to create a true wildlife habitat.
4. Living roofs help protect against flooding and minimise storm damage
In our modern environment, heavy rainfall can quickly overwhelm sewers and drainage systems. In part, this is because of the lack of anything to soak up the rain. So water simply runs off roofs, buildings and pavements and the drain inlets are small so the water literally can’t drain away quickly enough, causing very large puddles or flash floods.
You can see, then, how a patch of vegetation or a roof can help by soaking up some of this rainwater. To ensure this is all properly planned, installing a green roof is not something you should do yourself, as drainage may need to be incorporated.
5. Green roofs are good for mental health and wellbeing
This is possibly our favourite point. Green is good! It’s not only good for the environment, it’s not only good for our physical health (see above about reduced air pollution), but it’s good for our mental health, too.
We find that entering a green space makes us take a deep breath in. It’s as if it stills us and grounds us. We slow down. We breathe more deeply. We feel restored.
Well, a green roof is just one more way to access those brilliant benefits.
Contact us to discuss your green roof
Our team are super excited to be training in the planning and installation of green roofs. Full expert training is underway and we will comply with all recommended standards and certifications. Please do get in touch to find out more about the feasibility of a green roof on your property.