Green Roof Organisation Celebrates Successful Members Event

GREEN ROOF industry experts recently gathered for the Green Roof Organisation’s (GRO) members event on 5 June at The Open University in Milton Keynes.

The event attracted a diverse range of industry professionals, including representatives from manufacturers and suppliers to ecologists and architects and specialist contractors from the roofing and landscape sectors.

Facilitated by GRO Associate Member, Tessa Tricks, the World Café-style event included discussions on green roofs for a changing climate, increasing awareness of green roofs at local and national government levels, and raising standards across the sector.

Image credit: Factotum.Film

GRO Members Event

Chris Bridgman, Vice Chair of GRO and Chair of the GRO Training & Education Working Group, kicked the day off with a message on the importance of sustainability, which GRO made sure to implement in all factors of the event, from compostable lanyards to recycled planters serving as table decorations.

Chris was followed by Maggie Beckett, Youth Mayor of Milton Keynes, on how the consequences of climate change are affecting young people and the importance of apprenticeships and ways in which industry can connect with young people.

Dr Julia Cooke, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Associate Dean External Engagement and Enterprise at The Open University, then spoke about how more green roof research projects would open the door for collaboration between industry and academia with a key focus on the living world, sustainability and tackling inequalities.

GRO members also heard from Fran Rolfe, Senior Green Infrastructure Officer at Natural Resources Wales, on the huge opportunity for greenscaping in cities, and specifically how the organisation is working to tackle climate change in Swansea.

The last of the morning’s lightning talks was delivered by Giles Donald, Chair of GRO, who focused on the importance of education – the theme of World Green Roof Day – and the industry’s ability to engage with young people. Giles invited GRO members to consider how industry can engage with primary and secondary school students, proposing a goal to retrofit more inner-city school roofs with roof gardens so students had access to green space where they could potentially grow vegetables and learn about plants and insects.

Image credit: Factotum.Film

The afternoon commenced with members taking part in a series of table discussions hosted by Tessa Tricks centred around both industry challenges and opportunities for growth. This was followed by an address from Mike Webb, Natural Capital Programme Manager at West Midlands Combined Authority, on the financial impact of the heat island effect in built-up areas. Mike spoke about the recent increase in respiratory diseases as a result of climate change and explained how investing in more green infrastructure could help to tackle these issues.

This was followed by Dr Heather Rumble, Senior Lecturer in Healthy Urban Environments at the University of the West of England and GRO Board Member, on how industry can better tackle drought-stressed green roofs by making good practice mainstream.

Living Roof Live Lab

The day’s events were rounded off by Dr Kadmiel Maseyk, Senior Lecturer and Project Lead for the Living Roof Live Lab at The Open University, who introduced GRO members to the two-year research project which is gathering evidence and data on the benefits of green roofs in the UK. Kadmiel invited members to take a tour of the Living Roof Live Lab and shared how the university is working with GRO on the project to address the key issues of green roofs, considering what is working now and what needs to change in the future in order for green roofs to thrive.

Image credit: Factotum.Film

The Green Roof Organisation is an independent not-for-profit trade association representing all elements of the UK green, blue and biosolar roofing industries, including manufacturers of waterproofing systems, suppliers, specialist contractors and associates including other trade associations, NGO’s, insurance companies, academia, ecologists, designers and architects.

>> Read more about GRO in the news