Seeds were planted on the new green roof and covered by protective mulch, which would naturally degrade.
Dr. Kim Thompson authored a story headlined Green Roof Offers Learning Opportunities at Ohio University in the Living Architecture Monitor.
Thompson, associate professor of instruction in Environmental & Plant Biology, also leads the Sustainable Living Hub at OHIO.
In the article, she describes how the green roof project came together on campus and the extensive student involvement in the project. “Our educational mission was bearing fruit well before the plants arrived.”
…Long before plants were selected and a design was developed, students from diverse majors joined faculty and administrators in the effort to envision the new green roof as a means for advancing sustainability literacy. Students started researching the types of plants that might improve air quality or provide pollinator habitat. Once Schoonover was confirmed as our site, students used the still unplanted rooftop as a source of material for photographic essays, a short story television piece, and inspiration for community outreach. A student group formed to promote green infrastructure on campus and beyond. Students built small models that allowed local youth attending STEM events to compare temperature and water runoff between shingled and planted surfaces. One senior mechanical engineering class undertook a year-long capstone project to design large stand-around models complete with instrumentation to support scientific discovery. Education majors wrote lesson plans to accompany the models, scheduled for donation to eight regional middle and high schools this Spring….
Read the whole story in the Living Architecture Monitor.
Funding for the project came from PepsiCo Zero Impact Fund and Ohio University Academic Innovation Accelerator.
Schoonover Green Roof in August 2020. Photo: Maddy Salyer (Scripps College photojournalism major)
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