Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
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Green Roofs By Steven Peck and Damon van der Linde Restoring Urban Water: Philadelphia Takes the Lead W ater is a crucial aspect of the urban ecosystem and one that is gaining attention in cities around the world. When outdated or sub- standard management systems are used, they can produce run-off that negatively impacts lakes and rivers, increases the urban heat island, and puts costly strains on a city’s aging infrastructure — requiring massive amounts of new investment. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated urban run-off as one of the main water quality problems. CitiesAlive: the 9th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference in Philadelphia is the only conference in North America dedi- cated to the green roof and wall industry, and this year it will focus on using green Green Roof Professional Training Courses Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Green Roof Design 101: Introductory Course Green Roof Design & Installation 201 Calgary Green Roof Boot Camp Green Roof Design 101: Introductory Course Green Roof Design & Installation 201 Green Roof Waterproofing & Drainage 301 Green Roof Plants & Growing Media 401 Sept 23 Sept 24 Sept 29 Sept 30 Oct 1 Oct 2 Toronto Green Roof Boot Camp Green Roof Design 101: Introductory Course Oct 8 Green Roof Design & Installation 201 Green Roof Waterproofing & Drainage 301 Green Roof Plants & Growing Media 401 infrastructure to preserve and revitalize urban water. Green roofs and walls are key components in restoring vital water re- sources in the urban environment, and im- proving the health and well being of communities. CitiesAlive is an annual multi- disciplinary conference dedicated to grow- ing new business opportunities for green roofs and walls through the latest scientific research, innovative design practices and products, and novel public policy development. Municipal governments throughout North America are realizing the value of improving urban water through green in- frastructure. CitiesAlive co-hosts, the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Hor- ticultural Society, have developed a multi- billion dollar plan to develop an integrated water management system that will in- clude green roofs and walls, as well as other forms of green infrastructure. They plan to invest more than $2 billion over the next 25 years to produce over 9,000 “green acres” to manage their stormwater. “Here in Philadelphia, we have made a serious commitment to sustainability,” said City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nut- ter. “Green roofs and green infrastructure are an important part of that commitment.” The EPA is also connecting citizens Oct 9 Oct 10 Oct 11 New York Green Roof Boot Camp Green Roof Design 101: Introductory Course Oct 20 Green Roof Design & Installation 201 Green Roof Waterproofing & Drainage 301 Green Roof Plants & Growing Media 401 San Francisco Green Roof Boot Camp Green Roof Design 101: Introductory Course Nov 3 Green Roof Design & Installation 201 Green Roof Waterproofing & Drainage 301 Green Roof Plants & Growing Media 401 Oct 21 Oct 22 Oct 23 Nov 4 Nov 5 Nov 6 throughout the country through its Urban Waters Movement by empowering com- munities to learn about their local water- ways, share ideas and solutions, and act to clean up and improve access to those wa- ters with tools like green roofs and walls. In April, the EPA launched an initiative to promote green infrastructure, partnering with 10 cities across the country: Austin, Texas; Boston; Cleveland; Denver; Jack- sonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Ange- les; Puyallup, Wash.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. and some neighboring communities. CitiesAlive will feature the launch of its second installment of the Introduction to In- 8 Landscape and Irrigation July/August 2011 tegrated Water Management course series, which focuses on case studies that strive to reach the “Net Zero Water” performance goal. Through the effective implementa- tion of green roofs and walls, this course approaches strategies to significantly re- duce the consumption of potable water on buildings in order to deliver sustainable living systems to the urban environment. This course is one of many education ses- sions being offered at CitiesAlive, as well as a Green Roof Professional (GRP) accredi- tation exam. “With the growing demand and initia- tives dedicated to restoring urban water, the need for specialized, professionally de- veloped education in this field is becoming increasingly vital,” said Jeffrey Bruce, chair of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. CitiesAlive will explore the full poten- tial of living green infrastructure through expert panel discussions and meetings with green roof and wall industry experts high- lighting the latest science on green roof and wall performance research. It will also feature tours of extraordinary green roof and wall projects, an industry trade show, and award-winning green roof designs. For more information about CitiesAlive, which will be held in Philadelphia, Nov. 30 – Dec. 3, 2011, visit http://citiesalive.org. LI Steven Peck is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), a membership-based industry as- sociation developing the green (vegetative) roof and wall indus- try in North America. GRHC’s mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roofs and green walls, and other forms of living architec- ture through education, advocacy, professional development and celebrations of excellence. Visit www.greenroofs.org for more information. Damon van der Linde is the communica- tions manager at GRHC. www.landscapeirrigation.com