2024 Highlights: Building Green Infrastructure
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2024 Portland, Oregon GRIMP trainees and green roof mock ups. Photo: Steven Peck
Introduction
In 2024, we planned to celebrate our industry development progress together and we did! We also continued to strengthen policy support, roll out ongoing professional development and increase our communications capacity and reach.
We celebrated with Grey to Green in person events in Chicago, Illinois and Portland, Oregon culminating in the successful Twentieth Anniversary of CitiesAlive in Toronto, Ontario. Our partnership with the City of Toronto was key to our success at CitiesAlive in early November. We raised the profile and importance of green infrastructure at the City of Toronto, and we exceeded our sponsorship and attendance targets while providing attendees with exceptional networking opportunities, through for example the VIP Industry Pioneers Gala at Avling. Thank you partners, speakers, exhibitors and sponsors for making this so special.
Other notable achievements in 2024 include the following:
Launched a brand new digital training course on the Living Architecture Academy focusing on green roof and solar integration. (Now 25% off due to our Holiday Sale until January 15)
Delivered hands-on multi-system Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Professional (GRIMP) training 42 professionals on green roof maintenance and installation practices.
Accredited 16 new Green Roofs Professionals (GRPs).
Grew the readership of the Living Architecture Monitor magazine to more than 24,000 unique readers per issue from the year previous at 17,000.
Engaged more than 75,000 listeners on discussions about innovative approaches to green infrastructure, resilience planning, and sustainable design through the Sustainable Futures - Designing Green Communities and Buildings Podcast Series.
Organized virtual symposia on topics including Biodiversity, Urban Agriculture & Rooftop Farming, Solar & Green Roof Integration, and for the first time ever, Innovative Products on behalf of our members.
Engaged more than 600 attendees through our in person and virtual events.
Produced more than 24 informative bi-weekly E-newsletters which average 10,000 readers per issue and profiled our advertisers in each issue.
Worked with more than 20 Association Partners to market and promote green roofs and walls through their networks and to help us promote all of our events.
Introduced a new Regional Academic Center of Excellence: Texas A&M University The Regional Academic Centers of Excellence (RACE) program and facilitated 7 new student GRPs through the PREP Fellowship Program in tandem with the Regional Academic Centers of Excellence: an international pre-professional development and training program helping students and emerging professionals gain knowledge and experience through professional training.
Helped the Roofing Contractors of Association of British Columbia to develop and roll out the first ever, green roof warranty program, as a result of the GRIMP Training program launched in 2023.
Helped to secure important changes to New York’s proposed $4 million Tax Abatement for green roofs to make the funds more accessible.
There were 269 new students enrolled in the Living Architecture Academy (LAA) in 2024, bringing total enrollment to more than 2,328, up from 2,059 in 2023.
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Congratulations to the 2024 Jeffrey L. Bruce Awards of Excellence Winners
The 2024 Green Roof and Wall Awards of Excellence celebrated innovative design and implementation of green roofs and walls and recognized the achievements in our collective industry, and celebrate the people and organizations pushing the envelope of innovative, dynamic, and resilient design, exploring what can be achieved when we think holistically about living architecture and the environment. This year’s Awards ceremony took place in Toronto, Ontario on November 8, 2024 at the CitiesAlive Conference. Visit greenroofs.org/awards for more details
Research Award
Dr. Jennifer Bousselot, Colorado State University
Board Chair Award
Christian Mahlstedt, President, Ginkgo Sustainability
Lifetime Achievement Award
Joe DiNorscia, President, Skyland/Rooflite
Corporate Legacy Award
Carlisle SynTec
Corporate Legacy Award
Living Roofs Inc
Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award
Michelle Hesek
Outstanding Master Thesis
Amanda Salerno
Outstanding Master Thesis
Armando Villa-Ignacio
2024 Awards of Excellence Winners include the following:
Extensive Commercial/ Industrial/ Institutional Award
Belt Line Center - Detroit, MI
Winner: Inhabitect
Intensive Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Award
800 Fulton St - Chicago, IL
Winner: Omni Ecosystems
Multi-Unit Residential Award
The Wharf Phase 2 - Washington, DC
Winner: Prospect Waterproofing
Urban Agriculture Award
Henry Street Farm - Cambridge, MA
Winner: Recover Green Roofs
Small Scale Residential Award
Dune Dwelling - Long Island, NY
Winner: New York Green Roofs
Special Recognition Award
Skylawn at POST Houston - Houston TX
Winner: Hoerr Schaudt
Civic Award
Jane Welsh, City of Toronto
Professional Training
The Living Architecture Academy brings you the best, most up to date professional training information on design, installation and maintenance practices for green infrastructure. Start your professional development journey today during our Holiday Sale! Enjoy twenty-five percent of all courses and lectures until January 2025.
New Course Released on the Living Architecture Academy
Introduction to Green Roof and Solar Integration
Green roofs and solar technologies have long been considered to best exist independently of each other, both competing for roof space in the fight against climate change. But what if these technologies worked better together than they ever could apart. Introduction to Green Roof and Solar Integration explores the synergies and efficiencies that can be gained from combining these two approaches, and how we can accelerate urban resilience by expanding the scope of sustainable roofs.
Other popular courses on the Living Architecture Academy Include:
Solar + Green Roof Integration Virtual Symposium Recordings - Multiple Presenters
Introduction to Solar Green Roof Integration - Blaine Stand, Professional Resources Manager
Biodiverse Green Roof Maintenance - Cynthia Pohl, Living Lands Landscape and Design
Biophilic Holism - Elizabeth Calabrese, Biophilic Studies
Green Infrastructure Research Virtual Symposium - Multiple Presenters
Green Infrastructure Policy Virtual Symposium - Multiple Presenters
And many more!
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2024 HOLIDAY SALE
To celebrate the holiday season, we’re running a Holiday Sale of 25 percent off all courses, lectures and proceedings on the Living Architecture Academy from December 1st to January 15th, 2025. Save 25 percent on courses covering biodiverse green infrastructure, urban water management, and urban food production. Or, sign up for the Green Roof Professional Training bundle which includes everything you need to become an accredited GRP, all for the lowest prices of the year!
All courses on the Academy are offered on-demand, do not expire, and are approved for AIA, ASLA, and GRP continuing education, so you can learn at your own pace, on your own schedule, and earn CEUs. Visit livingarchitectureacademy.com and take advantage of the Holiday Sale before it’s over!
2025 Conferences & Events
We invite you to review our 2025 prospective event list. For details on our upcoming virtual and in-person events visit greenroofs.org/virtualevents. Please note that dates are subject to change.
January 16 | Virtual Symposium: Monitoring and the Internet of Nature
April 23-24 | Costa Mesa (CA) Grey to Green Conference and GRP Training
May 30 - June 6 | Nature in the City Week 2025
June 19 & 20 | Toronto Grey to Green Conference & GRIMP Training
August 14 & 15 | Denver Grey to Green Conference & GRIMP Training
October 9 | Texas Grey to Green Conference
November 13 | Raleigh Grey to Green Conference & GRIMP Training
Spring | Chicago GRIMP Training
Summer | Minneapolis GRIMP Training
Summer | New York City GRIMP Training
Fall | Washington D.C. GRIMP Training
Dec. 10 | Jeffrey L. Bruce Awards of Excellence Virtual Ceremony
Sponsorships for 2025 events are now available. Please contact conferences@greenroofs.org or symposia@greenroofs.org
Upcoming Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Professional (GRIMP) Training
For up to date details on our hands on GRIMP hand on training visit greenroofs.org/green-roof-installation-maintenance-professional
Toronto, ON – June 19, 2025
Denver, CO – August 14, 2025
New & Returning Members
Omni Ecosystems: Omni designs working landscapes and invents & supplies engineered growing media, which support environmental, social, and financial benefits beyond a typical landscape.
Siplast: Siplast manufactures a line of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) liquid resin products for roofing and waterproofing applications.
Congratulations 2024 PREP Fellowship Graduates
The Preprofessional Recognition of Excellence and Potential (PREP) Fellowship Program are students who have been nominated by faculty members from the Regional Academic Centers of Excellence (RACE) for their potential leadership and contribution in the field of living architecture.
Casey Benderoth, University of Vermont
Alexis Bernstein, University of Colorado - Denver
Maria Chavez, Colorado State University
Eliza Gross, Colorado State University
Nomin Lyons, Portland State University
Aidan Nowell, University of Colorado - Denver
Achyuth Ravilla, Portland State University
Congratulations 2024 Green Roof Professionals (GRPs)
With the Green Roof Professional Exam now online, it has never been easier to complete your accreditation. Congratulations to our most recent graduates. We look forward to working with you to grow the green roof industry across North America.
Richard Miller
Adnan Mufti
Nadezhda Mikhailovna Pirovich
Benjamin Scott
Benjamin Shea
Josh Stewart
Joanna White
Maria Chavez
Mélodie Desmarais
Steven Foster
Coley Hampton
Steven Hughes
Brendan McKee
Congratulations 2024 Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Professionals (GRIMPs)
Responding to a lack of formalized, independent hands-on installation and maintenance training around green roofing systems and a lack of qualified professionals, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities began the process of developing a new training opportunity to address those deficiencies in the form of the Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Professional (GRIMP) certification program.
Torsten Ball
Blair Bennett
Dustin Brackney
Meghan Canale
Burt Carver
Paul Datoc
Steven Foster
Brandon Goedecke
Ivan Guzman
Stefan Hanelt
Chris Kann
Larry Maguire
Kevin Moss
Adam Runka
Josh Stewart
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