Green Roof Springs up on the South River

Every once in a while you get a unique opportunity you just can’t pass up.  We could not turn down the chance to engage local school children in the planting of a green roof.  Wait, kids on a roof?  Don’t worry, it was much safer than it sounds.  Historic London Town and Gardens received a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to install a ground level green roof over their underground museum.  The South River Federation got involved and was able to recruit volunteer groups to install and plant the roof.  This means we had an easily accessible, and safe, way for students to get engaged to help plant a green roof.

So what is a green roof?  Think of it as a living roof.  A green roof consists of plants, a special growing medium that consists of well draining soils and sand, on top of a filter membrane.  Often, there is a drainage layer under the filter membrane to allow excess water to flow off the roof during larger events and a waterproof or protective layer to protect the roof.  It may sound a bit complicated, but the end result is beautiful and it helps to keep more stormwater out of our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. 

Before the students could plant, we brought in the Maryland Conservation Corps (MCC) volunteers to assist London Town’s Director of Horticulture, Nate Powers.  If you are looking for a skilled, hard-working crew, you can’t get anyone better than the MCCs!  They helped to lay the pea gravel around the border of the roof and place the endless wheelbarrows full of special soil on the roof.  We didn’t want them to only do heavy lifting so they got to relax and plant as well.

To finish up the roof, we brought in two of the best student groups we could find!  St. Andrews United Methodist Day School has volunteered with us many times in the past so they were quick to sign up for the green roof.  The students were also able to remove invasive English ivy in addition to their work on the green roof.  And when we approached the Boys & Girls Club, they were just as quick to jump at this unique opportunity for their Club members.  The members did a great job completing the planting and even had time for a stormwater tour of the site!