Environmentalism and green roofs

GREEN ROOFS AND
BEEHIVES
Becoming a Greener
Planet

By: Frances Garrity and Kurt
Swanson

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Green Roofs and Beehives

Environmentalism and Green Roofs

Environmentalism is by no means a new “trend.” Actually, was it ever really considered a
trend? Some could argue that it’s “rooted in American philosophy,” a “quintessentially
American” ideal (WebEcoist). Henry David Thoreau made note in his book, Maine Woods, that
conservation of and respect for nature and the federal preservation of forests was important. That
was in 1864. However, the importance in becoming “eco-friendly,” a mainstream term, was not
pushed in front of our eyes until Vice President Al Gore informed the United States that our
mistreatment of natural resources is causing global warming, a dire threat, in the 2006
documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” . Thus began our road to becoming extensively “green,”
using earth-friendly resources and recycling them.
A plan to create a friendship between human and nature is the use of vegetation on
rooftops. For hundreds of years, this idea has been in effect, particularly in Europe due to ideal
climate conditions. European home-owners have grown their own produce right on their rooftops
for a long time. This has several advantages: saving money, reducing pollution and rain run-off
by 50 to 95 percent, and supplying homes for wildlife (greenrooftops.com). Now, with the time,
energy, and money spent, this idea has grown significantly and has transcended worldwide. With
help from the government, the market for green roof products and services in Europe is a multi-
million dollar industry. In 1994, 9 million square meters of green roofs were constructed. In
2001, it grew to 13.5 million square meters! Today, the industry is still going strong. In North
America, “thanks to education and policy support,” the green roof industry is now also growing
rapidly (greenroofs.org). Specifically in the U.S., the green building market was up from 2008 to
2010, and “again even more significantly in 2011” (D. Minsky). According to the National
Association of Home Builders, “green homes made up 17 percent of the overall residential
construction market in 2011, and that number is expected to grow to between 29 and 38 percent
of the market by 2016.” Industry professionals report that there will be an even steeper increase
in green home remodeling- “34 percent of remodelers expect to be doing mostly green work by
2016, a 150 percent increase over 2011.”
To better understand why these numbers are so significant, let’s provide the information
of what a green roof actually is and what it can do. Green roof systems involve a high quality
water proofing and root repellant system. It includes a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight
growing medium, and plants. The plants are pre-prepared in movable, interlocking grids. The
grids can be loosely laid or built up to be installed separately. The roofs can provide not only
private benefits, but public benefits as well. Majority-wise, they are installed in public buildings
to insulate and collect water for re-use in heating and cooling, among other reasons. With this,
the economy also benefits from the preservation of energy.
For bigger cities, the green roof industry can have a huge impact on the economy. U.S.
building owners need to pay attention to the following statistics. Buildings account for (D.
Minsky):
- 65% of electricity consumption
- They account for 36% of energy use
- 30% of greenhouse gas emissions
- 30% of raw material use
- 30% of waste output, at 136 tons annually
- And 12% of potable water consumption

By: Frances Garrity and Kurt Swanson

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Green roof technologies not only “provide the owners of buildings with a proven return on
investment,” but they can also provide opportunities for “significant social, economic, and
environmental benefits” (D. Minsky). The down-side to the green roof trend: cost. Consumers
want to be cost-efficient and they want their resources to remain convenient. The extreme cost of
installing a green roof, not to mention the necessity of local government approval in the case of
public buildings remains a barrier to becoming 100 percent “green.”

It’s Not Easy Being Green

With the ever-growing demand in natural and economically-driven products, it’s no
surprise that hotels are trying to drive the force of being “green” by finding new, exciting, and
innovative ideas to take going eco-friendly to the next level, including pushing the boundaries of
the green roof system further. How about a green wall to go with that green roof?
Chicago, Illinois is known for its green roofs, but only has a handful of green walls. The
rarity is due to cost and climate. Currently, a “boring” tower standing 26 stories high with few
windows resides on North Michigan Avenue. However, the chief executive of Strategic Hotels
and Resorts, Laurence Geller, plans to “re-vamp” what is known as the InterContinental Chicago
hotel by putting up a 9,800 square foot green wall. This wall has to be approved by the City
Council. Alderperson, Brendan Reilly, whose ward includes North Michigan Avenue, said that
he would bring up an ordinance authorizing the wall (among other improvements requested).
Should the City Council approve the idea, a frame will be finished winter of this year, and the
plants will be hung by spring.
The green wall would be the largest in North America. It would be wrapped around 10 of
the 26 stories, and be covered in thousands of plants that would grow year-round in “concealed
trays hung perpendicular to the wall” (M. Harris). The wall is also planned to be lit up at night.
With all the improvements being made to the hotel, Geller expects the cost to range from 2 to 3
million dollars. The landscape designer hired to build the wall is Anne Roberts, who has never
actually built a green wall before.
Roberts hasn’t finalized the plant hybrids to be used, but she has stated that evergreens
and native plants will be part of the mix. The need for tolerant plants is extremely important as
the wall faces west, which means it’ll be extremely hot in the summer, and it’s also near the lake,
which creates high winds. The first year is expected to be “trial and error and effort” (M. Harris).
Roberts is also working with Green Living Technologies (New York), which has experience with
green walls and botanical gardens. The plants will grow indoors, and will be slowly rotated over
several months to orient them to the condition they will be placed on the wall.
The really interesting thing about the wall is that the irrigation system is driven by an off-
site computer. And when the temperature drops below zero in winter, the system will be drained.
Maintenance will be required 2 to 3 times a year.
Geller’s goal is to attract more tourists, make more money from the publicity, and lower
electricity costs. The issue is that the water bill will likely increase, as the rain collected on the
room will not be enough to meet the needs of the wall. Geller’s final point was stated as, “We’re
going to do it because it’s right, and we may make a lot of money. All I need is a quarter-point
more of market share to get a 20 percent return. And if I don’t get it, I don’t get it, but at least I’ll
have made the building better.” As a financially smart, well-informed businessman with a highly
skilled team, I’d say North Michigan Avenue will gain in popularity, and InterContinental
Chicago hotel will be a prime Midwest tourist destination, as long as the plants remain alive.


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While the green wall pushes the boundaries of the green roof downward, another trend is
sitting right on top: apiaries, or bee yards. Hotels are finding yet another innovative way of being
eco-friendly on the roof by placing beehives for multi-purposes. The beehive phenomenon is
even more current than the green wall. Hotels are now employing beekeepers to collect honey for
several uses, like in their spas and restaurants. The importance of this comes from the recent
alarm that was sound by the United Nations in March. Bee colonies have declined as much as 85
percent in some areas, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Pesticides, air pollution,
parasites, and the loss of flowering plants are the main causes of this epidemic. What should be
noted is that 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, over 70 percent are
pollinated by bees. However, despite the interest to save bees, the colony numbers continue to
decrease.
The “beekeeping movement” serves 2 purposes: save the species, and bring hyper-local
honey to guests staying at the hotels implementing apiaries. Even the President and First Lady of
the U.S. jumped into the trend by serving Honey Ale, which was home-brewed with honey from
the White House beehive. Nonetheless, it’s the hospitality industry that has taken the reins on the
movement. Hoteliers are the ones who understand the importance of localized sourcing.
18 Fairmont Hotels have added apiaries. Most of them reside on the roof, but some are
located on other ledges and balconies as well. A few “sweet” facts on certain Fairmont Hotels
are as followed:
- In Washington, D.C., the on-site hives are named Casa Blanca, Casa Bella, and Casa
Bianca
- In Newport Beach, executive chef Chad Blunston works with beekeepers to extract
honey for use in his restaurant, Bambu
- In San Francisco, 50,000 bees produce honey for the afternoon tea service
Rosemary McClure, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times experienced first-hand what it was
like to stay at a Fairmont with an apiary:
“Last month I stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia, where I
could look down from my 20th-floor room and see six hives- and about half a million bees- in the
center of a third-floor balcony herb garden. The bees quietly went about their business within 20
feet of the hotel pool and within 50 feet of the mammoth Vancouver Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, I snacked on a selection of the hotel’s delicate honey truffles, Bee’s Knees. In the
dining room, I found a small jar of honey on the table at breakfast.”
Something that was not brought up in McClure’s article was the implications of having
bees near guests. How often are people stung by the bees? What about the hotel guests that are
highly allergic to bee stings? I suppose the highly allergic type would steer clear of a hotel
housing an apiary, but then that’s a loss of business for the hotel, which could be a substantial
loss of money. Rooftop beehives are the best option, but there’s a great concern for those hotels
that place the hives lower and within 50 feet of a crowd.
With those concerns set aside, the bottom line was put down by the editor of Bee Culture,
Kim Flottum, “The hotel wins, the bees win, beekeeping and beekeepers win, the local flora
thrive, folks who never thought about where their food comes from get a little insight into that
side of the business. It’s all good” (R. McClure).
In regards to rooftop apiaries, there are other types of businesses besides those related to
hospitality that have benefited. For example, Chicago’s City Hall helped pave the way to the
widespread trend by having 2 beehives for Italian honeybees on their green roof. Michael
Thompson, the beekeeper would collect approximately 200 pounds of honey annually. The


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honey would be separated into jars and sold with the proceeds benefitting the Chicago Cultural
Center projects.
In regards to the general use of green roofs, schools have also adopted the system. For
example, Community of Peace, a public school in St. Paul, Minnesota has installed a green roof.
Elk River, Minnesota’s Twin Lakes Elementary School has also installed one. Both schools have
benefited greatly with the immediate improvement they found to the inside and outside
environment. Electricity costs have decreased, and improvements in heating and cooling systems
have been maximized.

Dynamic Duo of Information

Two expert opinions were necessary in obtaining information on the beehive-specific
area, along with the green roof trend area. The first interview was with Diane Klemme, the
director of Family and Consumer Science Education at UW-Stout. Diane also happens to be an
amateur beekeeper with a small amount of honeybees located in her own backyard. Diane
mentioned how important it was to learn about the decline in the honeybee population. Bees play
such an important role in our ecosystem, that it would create terrible repercussions should they
become extinct. She finds that hoteliers adopting apiaries at their hotels create a wonderful
opportunity for honeybees to get attention, and provide an opportunity to learn how important
the bees are to our ecosystem. Her only concern on the matter was the repercussions that could
pop up should guests get stung over and over. She wasn’t positive how widespread this trend
would get, but she was very optimistic that it could positively affect the honeybee population,
and so the idea should be well-adopted nation-wide.
We needed to get an expert opinion on adopting a green roof system. Derek Dachelet, the
director of external relations at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, provided insight on
what it would mean to install a green roof on the Agriculture and Automotive building on
campus. He said the plan of purchase was put into a referendum for the school, but it was found
that the system would be far too costly- almost 4 times that of a standard roof. Also, the drainage
system required for the retaining pond that would have to be put into place was cost prohibitive.
The plan was to get a green roof for insulation and a water collection system to go into a
retaining pond, which the water would then be utilized for heating and cooling purposes. In the
future, Derek was hopeful that with the plans for building expansion, there would be an
investigation of green roof implementation, along with a self-sustaining energy system- a wind
turbine. However, this plan is leading down a road of 10 or more years for now.
After an onslaught of all the information found, it’s believed that “going green” won’t go
away any time soon. Every option will be explored for every product for a new way to preserve
nature’s resources- items sold in stores, cars, houses, etc. People will work through every
possible option to reduce negative effects from our water and carbon footprint. Green roofs and
green walls may very well be the face of every building, every house. Beehives and other
personal ecosystems will exist on every rooftop to save money, to save insect/animal
populations, and save nature itself. These green trends, new and old, are just the beginning. And
it’s up to us, the human race, to pay attention to what’s happening around us. We have to mind
how much water we use, how much resources we use. We have to come to terms with the fact
that global warming is real, but there are ways to slow things down so that we’re not hit by a
meteor that came through a gaping hole in the ozone. Recycling, turning off the sink while
brushing your teeth are a couple things we can do to support the earth, but sometimes we have to


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stop and smell the roses to remind us what we’re here to do. Research and paying attention are
the keys to staying ahead of what’s to come in becoming a greener planet.


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References

Dachelet, Derek. Director of External Relations at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College.
Fennimore, WI. Interview took place on November 12, 2012.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities North America.
http://www.greenroofs.org/index.php/about/aboutgreenroofs

Harris, Melissa. Living green wall planned for InterContinental Chicago. Building Design &
Construction. http://www.bdcnetwork.com/print/26408. Retrieved on November 14, 2012

Klemme, Diane. Director of Family and Consumer Science Education at University of
Wisconsin- Stout. Menomonie, WI. Interview took place on November 12, 2012.

McClure, Rosemary. Hotels get into beekeeping business. Los Angeles Times. November 20,
2011.

Minsky, Deborah. Home Improvement Eco-friendly Trends on the Outer Cape. Provincetown
Banner. http://www.wickedlocal.com/provincetown/news/x586040563/Home-Improvement-
Eco-friendly-trends-on-the-Outer-Cape#ixzz2CQxJUpic. March 30, 2012.

http://www.greenrooftops.com/. Retrieved on November 13, 2012.


Environmentalism and green roofs

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