Green Roofs Aren’t Just for the Environment Anymore - They Also Support Healthier Students
Advertisement
Green roofs provide not only additional classroom space, but also reduce energy consumption. Photo: Vicki Sando
Green roofs have educational value for students in STEM. Photo: Vicki Sando
“As long as you have a roof over your head, everything will be okay” is an expression that conjures the image of safety and practicality. For many, roofs are merely a practical architectural feature, but for others, they are much more. My Bronx-born grandfather often spoke of his roof as an urban oasis. He played on it with his siblings because, somewhat ironically, his mother thought it was safer than being on the streets. He slept on it when the August nights made his apartment sweltering. He recalled the laundry flapping in the wind on clotheslines strung by women in his building. And his family used their roof as a backdrop for their family photos since they were lacking in beautiful bucolic backdrops in his neighborhood. Today, we are still thinking of creative and beneficial uses for rooftops beyond storage of mechanical equipment and a place to mount cell phone towers. One of them is building green roofs.
Green roofs, also known as living roofs, involve the design, installation and maintenance of a system to support the growing of vegetation on a rooftop. Green roofs provide shade, remove heat from the air, capture airborne pollutants, and reduce stormwater runoff, among numerous other benefits. Perhaps most importantly, green roofs mitigate the heat island effect, meaning that the plants absorb light that otherwise would have been soaked up by the roof’s surface and turned into heat. Moisture trapped in the plants and growing media also uses the sun’s energy to be turned from a liquid into a gas, rather than generate more heat. Therefore, green roof temperatures can be 30-40°F lower than those of conventional roofs, and with enough of them, can even reduce city-wide ambient temperatures by up to 5°F (EPA). In addition to the environmental benefits of a green roof there are many economic benefits, such as job creation (design, installation, and upkeep), lowering energy costs for the building, and adding value to the property because they can be an attractive marketing feature for rentals and sales of residential and commercial space (National Park Service).
Advertisement
A student draws the roof and NYC skyline, showing that green roofs are more than just STEM-oriented. Photo: Vicki Sando
I was fortunate to have attended a New York City public elementary school, the Greenwich Village School (PS41), that had a beautiful green roof. As a student, this green oasis was not only an aesthetic asset, it was a peaceful outdoor classroom for us. I can so easily recall sitting on the roof surrounded by a variety of plants, such as flowers and even vegetables and all the visiting birds and butterflies, listening to my teachers. My first grade science teacher, Vicki Sando, not only championed the school’s green roof project, but still manages it today. She founded the green roof as an offshoot of the school’s ground level garden, a project she also initiated. She would take us up there often and talk to us about what was growing. It wasn’t just a roof to us: it was also a yoga center, a dance studio, an artist’s workspace, an outdoor cafeteria and even a music room. Our green roof was magical. Vicki describes the immense impact of PS41’s roof, “Since the opening of the green roof in 2012, there's been a minimum 25 per cent decrease in building energy use and associated C02 emissions to date, reduced stormwater runoff and heat island effect, a wildlife habitat, and outdoor classrooms supporting students in numerous ways.”
Two summers ago, I asked Vicki, if I could intern with her to help her conduct research regarding green roofs. I assumed that we would be collecting quantifiable data and looking at the green roof’s environmental impact, but I was wrong. We were measuring the social-emotional impact of green roofs, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. We reached out to over 25 East Coast schools with green roofs and asked them a series of questions related to student and teacher experience and perspectives of the roof. These questions were centered around specifically if and how they were utilizing their green roof during the unprecedented and unseen restrictions. Most schools initially installed green roofs for environmental reasons but found them becoming invaluable as outdoor classrooms, fostering student connections during a time of limited interaction.
Teachers report that green roofs provide a happy and peaceful alternative classroom for students. Photo: Vicki Sando
What we found was that green roofs were an invaluable resource during COVID for students of all ages. The environmental benefits were indisputable, but we discovered the roofs offered much more. We learned that green roofs served as a safe haven and escape for many children, and provided space for movement and hands-on learning, which especially helped neurodiverse children such as those with autism and ADHD. Furthermore, for autistic children, green space was directly associated with reducing anxiety symptoms (Larson 2018). Having a place where children could remove masks and practice social distancing during this stressful time was extremely advantageous.
Advertisement
A student uses a magnifying glass to explore new perspectives on plants and flowers. Photo: Vicki Sando
In urban settings like New York City where I grew up, green space is limited relative to the population. Many playgrounds resemble parking lots more than playing fields. Adding green roofs to schools, offices, senior centers, hospitals, libraries, and residential buildings will create so much more opportunity to enjoy and benefit from these spaces. Lower-income populations in urban areas, which often disproportionately lack parks, would especially benefit from reduced energy expenses and the creation of more recreational and educational green spaces. A study conducted by the University of Technology, Sydney showed that those who visited a green roof for 30 minutes or more at least once a week reported greater social wellbeing. Accessible green roofs can benefit all, not just students: Expectant mothers residing in areas with abundant green space recorded a reduction of 18–23 per cent in depressive symptoms compared to those with limited access to green areas (Sun 2023). In the case of elderly communities, green spaces, such as green roofs, offer extensive possibilities for connection, social engagement, and physical activity, thereby enhancing both mental and physical well-being (O’Hara 2022).
Although the skyline has expanded exponentially since my grandfather slept on his Bronx rooftop, what has not changed is the necessity for the creative utilization of space, in particular outdoor spaces. Green roofs are great for the environment, but we need to broaden our perspectives on how they can help society. My school’s green roof is very different from my grandfather's concrete haven, but I think we would agree that, “As long as you have a green roof over your head, everything will be okay…”
Advertisement
Lucy Stott is a freshman at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, and was born and raised in the West Village. She is an environmental studies and quantitative economics major.
Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) reintroduced the Public School Green Rooftop Program Act in June of 2023 which would allocate federal resources towards implementing green roofs at public elementary and secondary schools. These roofs offer a sustainable, energy-efficient way of bringing green space to urban areas and have myriad educational benefits for students and the community at large. Click here for more details.
References
“Using Green Roofs to Reduce Heat Islands.” EPA. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/using-green-roofs-reduce-heat-islands.
“Green Roofs on Historic Buildings.” National Parks Service. Accessed February 26, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1739/green-roofs-on-historic-buildings.htm.
O’Hara, Aprelle C., Amelia Christine Miller, Hailey Spinks, Alexandria Seifert, Tirzah Mills, and Amy R. Tuininga. “The Sustainable Prescription: Benefits of Green Roof Implementation for Urban Hospitals.” Frontiers in Sustainable Cities 4 (May 6, 2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2022.798012.
Sun, Yi, John Molitor, Tarik Benmarhnia, Chantal Avila, Vicki Chiu, Jeff Slezak, David A. Sacks, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Darios Getahun, and Jun Wu. “Association between Urban Green Space and Postpartum Depression, and the Role of Physical Activity: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Southern California.” The Lancet Regional Health - Americas 21 (May 2023): 100462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2023.100462.
Larson, Lincoln R., Brian Barger, Scott Ogletree, Julia Torquati, Steven Rosenberg, Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Jody Marie Bartz, Andrew Gardner, Eric Moody, and Anne Schutte. “Gray Space and Green Space Proximity Associated with Higher Anxiety in Youth with Autism.” Health & Place 53 (September 2018): 94–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.006.