GROWWEST fosters regional dialogue for encouraging green roof policy; forwarding the design, construction and performance of green roofs in Colorado; and brings together parties united for the green roof cause. As a grass roots organization, it is Growwest’s goal to convince the public and politicians that government policies favoring green roofs are good for the environment and the bottom line.

Green roofs are an integral component of sustainable development in the arid West.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

2011 Green Roofs for the West Symposium

“GREEN ROOFS: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE”

AT DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS

Green Roof Conference and Trade Show at the Gardens

June 16, 2011

DENVER—The third annual Green Roofs for the West Symposium will take place at Denver Botanic Gardens on June 16 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Symposium will feature a full day of in-depth sessions, presented by leading green roof experts and designers who will address green infrastructure and how green roofs fit into sustainable urban, suburban and regional planning. The event will feature a trade show featuring a variety of businesses that cater to the needs of green industry professionals. Also included will be a workshop on Low Impact Design (LID), sustainable landscaping and constructing green roofs and a tour of green roofs in Denver.

Invited speakers from the U.S., Canada, Germany and England include:

Manfred Köhler: In the 1980s, Prof. Köhler saw that green roofs were a chance to integrate more buildings, in particular, residential apartments, into the greenery of the inner city regions of Berlin. He tested the effects of green roofs on urban climate, water retention and biodiversity. Kohler has published more than 100 scientific publications related to green roof and living wall technology. Since 1994, Prof. Köhler has been a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Neubrandenburg, teaching landscape ecology and working on green roof technology. Prof. Köhler is one of the founders of the Toronto-based World Green Infrastructure Network, which counts 19 national organizations as part of its network. Prof. Köhler has been the president since 2008.

Angela Loder is completing her doctoral dissertation on health, green cities, the workplace and green roofs. She works with the City of Chicago and the USDA Forest Service and is a Canada-US Fulbright Fellow. In addition, as an advisor on the Green Advisory Board of the Green Realty Trust (Real Estate Industry), she provides expertise on green roofs, green building retrofits and office worker health and well-being.

Mark Simmons is director of the Research and Consulting Program at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas. He graduated from University of Cape Town with a M.Sc. in Botany, and received his ecology Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His research and consulting projects focus on sustainable and regenerative landscapes include green roofs, native turf grass, prescribed fire, invasive species control and urban green space restoration, with clients including Army Corps of Engineers, George Bush Presidential Center, NASA and the National Parks Service.

Dusty Gedge has a deep and active love of nature. He is as the current president of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations, which has been instrumental in promoting green roofs throughout Europe and most recently in Turkey. Dusty is also founder of livingroofs.org, the UK's first independent green roof organization. Additionally, Dusty is co-founder of Green Roof Shelters, which promotes not only green roofs but also habitats made out of recycled shipping containers.

Paul Kephardt, a renowned biologist, restoration ecologist and expert designer of living architectural systems, is sought after for his skill as an innovator and pioneer in the fields of environmental planning and ecological design. Paul has developed his profound understanding of natural processes over the course of almost thirty years of diverse ecological work including: ecological design, horticulture, botanical surveying, biological assessment, watershed management, mitigation, land stewardship and resource management planning.

The Symposium will also highlight the publication of the new “Design Guidelines and Maintenance Manual for Green Roofs in the Semi-Arid and Arid West.” This publication is now available at http://growwest.org/ for free. The guidelines are a collaboration of the University of Colorado Denver, City and County of Denver, Green Print Denver and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District.

For more information or to register, visit www.botanicgardens.org and click on the “Calendar” link, e-mail registrar@botanicgardens.org or call 720-865-3580.