UA professor testing ‘green roofs’ on campus
Posted on Wednesday, August 9, 2006
A group of University of Arkansas students is trying to slow the effects of global warming by helping their professor install the first “ green roof” on campus.
“ We’re using this as a demonstration project to see if the university likes it, ” said Mark Boyer, associate professor of landscape architecture at the UA. “ It’s also a test run to see if the plants can survive in such a harsh environment. ”
Creating a “ green roof” means covering a roof with plants that will absorb sunlight and rain.
Boyer and his students began the first phase of the project Tuesday by installing a drainage layer, aluminum edging, lightweight soil and pea gravel walkways on two new campus structures — the band storage building and restroom facility, both located in The Gardens on the south side of the UA campus.
“ In a city, all the roof surfaces get an enormous amount of heat, ” he said. “ It gets radiated off the surfaces and the temperature of the air can actually be 20 to 30 degrees hotter than it would be in a country setting. ”
By creating a green roof, Boyer said, heat from the sun will be absorbed by plants. As a result, he said, temperatures inside the buildings could actually be 10 degrees cooler.
“ We’ll be using sedum plants, which is a succulent type of plant from the cactus family, ” he said. “ They don’t transpire a lot of water. ”
Boyer said he and his students will begin planting various sedum species around September.
“ We’ll plant eight to 10 different species and we’ll constantly be monitoring their growth, ” he said. “ We’ll use sedum plants and some Arkansas native plants. If we have any mortality, we’ll replant with another species that has proven to be successful. ”
According to Boyer, many sedum plants have proven to be successful on other green roofs in Germany, Europe, Japan and parts of the United States.
“ We’re just slower to catch on because we’re not in a critical situation, ” he said. “ Most green roofs are found in coastal areas, but we’re going to see if they can be successful in this area. ”
Although the plants will initially be watered when they are planted, Boyer said he doesn’t plan to use any type of irrigation system in the future.
“ If this project proves to be successful, then we hope to incorporate more green roofs on campus, ” he said. “ Right now, we’re using this as an opportunity to test different plant species. Only time will tell which ones survive. ”
Boyer said the project is strictly a volunteer opportunity for his students.
“ I have about five or six undergrads lined up to work, ” he said. “ They’re not getting a grade for it or earning extra credit. This is something they volunteered to do, mainly for the experience, but also just because they’re good kids. ”
The first phase of the project is slated to be complete by Friday.
“ We touch on sustainability issues in class on a fairly regular basis, ” Boyer said. “ I have a feeling we’ll be doing a lot more of that in the future. ”
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