Understanding how to deliver biodiverse green roofs

Project details

Full project title: Understanding how to deliver biodiverse green roofs

Duration: September 2023-December 2024

Funder: UWE Bristol

Project Leader for SPE: Dr Heather Rumble

Research partner/collaborator: Green Roof Organisation

Project summary

Green roofs (i.e. vegetated roofs) have the potential to deliver much needed biodiversity within the footprint of a building. In dense, urban centres, this is a space efficient way to provide multiple ecosystem services and contribute to biodiversity conservation. There are numerous examples of green roofs that contribute meaningfully to biodiversity. Yet the majority of green roofs installed are extremely limited in terms of their provision for biodiversity.

This small project aims to better understand why more biodiverse green roofs are not being installed and to gain insights into how academia could support the industry to deliver more biodiverse green roofs. The objectives are to:

1. interview green roof professionals (those who commission, design and install green roofs), asking them about facilitators and barriers to delivering more biodiverse green roofs and to identify contributions academics could make to this agenda
2. identify key developments that could drive forward biodiverse green roofs
3. share these findings with industry and academia.

Project contact

For further information on the project, please contact Dr Heather Rumble (heather.rumble@uwe.ac.uk).