Thank you for joining us in Boston! Over 900 green roof enthusiasts attended, making the 4th Annual Conference our biggest event to date.   

If you missed the conference and would like to purchase the proceedings (available on CD-ROM), please download the order form by clicking here. 

Conference Highlights: Green Roof Industry Meets in Boston for Biggest Green Roof Conference Yet!

In spite of record rain downpours for five days and five nights, the 4^th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Tradeshow, held in Boston in May and co-hosted by the City of Boston and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, was the most successful green roof conference to date!  More than 850 people participated in the conference sessions, tradeshow exhibition, training courses and tours.  This constituted a growth rate of 25% over last year’s event in Washington, D.C.!  Clearly, the green roof movement is continuing to expand at an impressive rate.  As summed up by Dick Gillenwater, Carlisle SynTec Inc. “The 4^th annual conference built on the growing success of the past conferences.  It offers a venue that is focused solely on this unique roofing concept of living roofs with their many environmental benefits.  Those who attended the conference are there to learn and understand the concept, how it is constructed, and how to maintain the system for the long haul.  Carlisle was glad to be apart of this effort to educate the construction community on Roof Gardens.”

Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino opened the conference with a Welcoming Reception for all delegates on the tradeshow floor, and used the opportunity to announce that members of his administration staff had been directed to review new and existing municipal buildings for the incorporation of green roofs and also had requested that City agencies develop an environmental monitoring system to document the benefits of green roofs on storm water, air quality and urban heat island effects.  “Here in Boston, we are conscious that the decisions we make today have lasting effects tomorrow,” Mayor Menino said.  “And we are implementing plans that reflect our respect for the environment and our desire to become a leader in green building.”

During the course of two busy days, participants had the opportunity to listen to more than 50 speakers addressing such topics as living walls and vertical gardens; selecting plants for peak performance and functionality; and the optimization of energy performance.  One of the speaker highlights included the dinner presentation by keynote speaker Dr. John Todd.  Dr. Todd addressed more than 120 delegates describing his living machines, or ecological engines, for the treatment of wastes, and the production of foods.  Highlighting the works of his mentor, Dr. Malcolm Wells, Dr. Todd inspired those who attended to individually work to make a difference in our environment.

The tradeshow exhibition hours were altered this year to allow delegates and exhibitors the opportunity to enjoy all conference sessions.  Specified tradeshow hours with no competing sessions ensured that everyone could network on the tradeshow floor and see many of the products and services newly launched at the conference without missing any speakers.  One of the conference exhibitors, Doug Burry from rooflite™ commented on the tradeshow:  “As exhibitors, we were very pleased with the growth of the show in both size and quality.  It seems as if the show, from an exhibitor’s perspective, has gone from vendors educating and answering basic questions on green roofs, to now actually selling product.  It is exciting to see the growth of the industry.  The uninterrupted hours on the show floor were a welcome change.”  The tradeshow provided a fair balance of national manufacturers and suppliers as well as local consulting and horticultural firms, and next year’s tradeshow will be structured in a similar manner.

A highlight of the conference was our Green Roof Awards of Excellence Luncheon.  Established in 2003 to recognize green roof projects that exhibit extraordinary leadership in integrated design and implementation, the projects honoured this year exemplified this mission.  Seven awards were presented to residential, institutional and commercial projects for both intensive and extensive gardens.  The Green Roof Awards of Excellence winners for intensive and extensive gardens this year included Eastern Village, Silver Spring, Maryland; Ballard Library, Seattle, Washington; Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Seapointe Village Deck Restoration, Wildwood Crest, New Jersey; Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashantucket, Connecticut; 601 Congress Street, Seaport District, Boston, Massachusetts and 10^th @ Hoyt Apartments, Portland, Oregon.

A new award recognizing Excellence in Research was established this year to honour pioneers in the green roof industry.  The first Research Award of Excellence was presented to David Beattie, Pennsylvania State University.   David is the Founder and Director of the Penn State Center for Green Roof Research.  Established in 2000, the Center’s mission is to promote green roof research, education and technology transfer in the northeastern United States.  Well known to everyone at the conference, Dave received a standing ovation when presented with the Award.

Our one soggy note was the weather’s impact on the pre-scheduled local green roof tours.  However, many delegates braved the elements and had a chance to see some spectacular projects including Harvard Square; Boston Common and Public Gardens; and Kendall Square and MIT.

Bookending the conference were several new courses that are now part of our burgeoning accreditation program -- four new training courses were presented, several of which were sold-out.   The ever-popular Design 101 – Introduction to Green Roof Design was filled for both sessions, and the advanced Design and Implementation 201 had its inaugural debut to an enthusiastic response.  Half day sessions were presented on Biodiversity, ASTM and FLL Standards and Policy Development.  Positive delegate reaction to these new workshops will ensure the return of the workshops at our next conference.

Committee Chairs hosted meetings for members on Corporate Membership; Research and Policy.  All corporate and individual members were invited to participate and discuss potential research projects, policy development in municipalities throughout North America and overall industry development.   Many members networked these meetings and have provided to us at GRHC new ideas to explore on behalf of the membership and industry.  Peter D’Antonio, Sarnafil Roofing, and member of the Corporate Members Committee, emphasized the importance of these networking opportunities:  “The technology sharing at this event is vitally important to develop in North America in this evolving field.  All involved in green design, LEED, municipal policy and planning, and concerns with heat island mitigation issues should attend.  An excellent program and networking opportunity!”

The culmination of this event was the result of hours of work and support from so many individuals on different committees volunteering their time and expertise for the past year.  While too many to name individually, I would like to recognize the committees:  Boston Local Host Committee (Co-Chaired by Peter Lowitt, Devens Enterprise Commission and Bryan Glascock, City of Boston, Department of the Environment); 2006 Awards of Excellence Judges; Speaker Selection Committee; GRHC Policy Committee; GRHC Research Committee; GRHC Corporate Members Committee; GRHC Training Committee; and GRHC Training Peer Reviewers.  Thank you – your commitment is recognized and appreciated.

Of course, our corporate sponsors were critical in ensuring the successful presentation of the conference, and recognition must also be given to The City of Boston; American Society of Landscape Architects; Camp, Dresser and McKee (CDM); Skanksa; American Hydrotech; Colbond; Eco-Structure; Environment Canada; Environmental Design and Construction; McGuire Woods; Garick/Rooflit; Sarnafil; Soprema and the US General Services Administration (GSA).  Our partnerships with more than 30 varied associations – national, regional and local – ensured that we got the word out to you and their on-going support of our programs is most appreciated.

Plans are already underway for the 2007 5^th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Tradeshow in Minneapolis.  Enthusiasm is high and numerous local committee members have begun the plans of making next year’s event our biggest yet!  I hope to see you in Minneapolis in May.

Jennifer Sprout

Director, Conferences and Special Events

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

jsprout@greenroofs.org