ESF embraces technology with eco-roof

While Syracuse University recently opened the new environmentally friendly Martin J. Whitman School of Management building, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry has begun work on their own green project.

For the past three weeks, workers from Lichtenfels Nursery of Johnstown, Pa. have been working on top of Walter's Hall on the SUNY-ESF campus to create a green roof. Green roofs, also called vegetated roof covers, living roofs or eco-roofs, are thin layers of living plants that are installed on top of conventional roofs.

"There are a lot of benefits that come from these types of roofs," said Gary Lichtenfels of Lichtenfels Nursery. "They help in storm-water management. This roof will retain up to 60 percent of the precipitation that falls on it."

This will result in less storm water and debris clogging up gutters and storm drains, he said.

Along with having many environmental benefits, green roofs function as insulators that keep in heat in the winter which results in a lower electric bill. They also reduce noise level inside the building and protect the roofing material. Material that is supposed to last 25 years may last up to 70 or 80 years with a green roof covering it.

The roof will consist of a wide variety of plants including seven varieties of sedum, a plant with a waxy leaf that retains moisture, and talinum, a plant native to the United States. Lichtenfels estimates the current project at SUNY-ESF will cover more than 7,000 square feet, excluding a 2-foot-wide walkway that will run along the edge, and cost $8 to $12 per square foot.

"Yes, it is more costly," said SUNY-ESF President Dr. Neil Murphy, "But we decided that the benefits, like insulation, cooling and storm-water flow were strong merits that mattered to us, and there was a lot of campus interest."

Murphy said SUNY-ESF faculty and students, along with professional landscapers and architects, met about two years ago to discuss putting a green roof on another building on the campus, Baker Laboratory.

However, Baker's roof was found structurally unable to support the green roof. SUNY-ESF looked at its plans and found the next roof on campus that had to be re-done was Walter's Hall, and the project was set in stone when that roof was determined able to support the green roof.

Although the concept of a green roof may be new to many people, Murphy said they have actually been in existence for many years. Native Americans essentially installed green roofs when they used vegetation as roof covering. However, the green roofs of today are more controlled and complicated.

"We actually don't use soil like you would in a normal garden," said Melissa Muroff, an employee of Roofscapes Inc., the green-roof design and installation firm SUNY-ESF hired to plan the green roof. Instead, a granular-mineral composition called gross media is spread over a watertight seal over the area of the roof. Gross media is specially engineered so there is a balance between water retention and drainage. This media will not compress and does not contain organic materials that decompose like regular soil does, ensuring that the roof will need very little maintenance for 50 years or more.

The green roof is scheduled to be completed at the end of this month.