The Green Roof Testing Facility is the only long-term green roof research facility in Atlantic Canada. We conduct research on plant ecology related to green roofs. The facility is instrumented, allowing us to collect long-term datasets showing the benefits of green roofs over time. Our two main goals are to quantify the benefits of green roof ecosystems and the impact of plant species and species mixtures on green roof functioning. We do this from an ecological perspective, which is uncommon in the green roof field.
Green roof ecosystem research
Plant trials, roof-performance evaluation, storm-water runoff analysis, time-series analysis — green roof thermal performance, ecological experiments, biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research
- Environmental technologies and related services
Specialized Labs and Equipment
|
Name of specialized lab |
Name of equipment |
Description of function |
|
Lower library green roof facility |
8 heat flux plates;
40 thermocouple temperature probes;
data logger;
weather station;
12 tipping buckets for quantifying storm-water runoff;
16 replicated roof cells |
Quantify thermal and hydrological performance of green roof systems |
|
Green roof modules |
~600 modules with green roof substrate |
Quantify effects of different plant species and mixtures on thermal and hydrological functioning of green roofs |
|
Atrium green roof facility |
28 heat flux plates;
96 thermocouple temperature probes;
data loggers;
tipping bucket rain gauge;
24 replicated green roof cells;
space for modular system described above |
Quantify thermal and hydrological performance of green roof systems; quantify effects of different plant species and mixtures on thermal and hydrological functioning of green roofs |
Private and Public Sector Research Partners
- VitaRoofs
- ELT Easy Green
- Live Roof
Additional Information
|
Title |
URL |
|
Green Roof Research at Saint Mary’s University |
|
|
Atrium Living Wall |