Recovery Mode
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Several years ago, I had an early-model Palm Pilot, one that occasionally required “re-setting.” This process involved finding something very small and narrow – I usually bent a paper clip – and trying to push a tiny recessed button, one that couldn’t be seen, only felt. It was like a microcosmic Indiana Jones adventure: try to press the hidden button, then stand back and see what might happen – would all of my data still be there? Would something be lost that I would find difficult to replace? Sometimes, yes; sometimes, no. And sometimes the Palm Pilot would come back in “recovery mode,” meaning some of my data was accessible, but other data…? Apparently gone away to an adventure of its own!
The “Pandemic World” in which we have all lived for the past year has not been a fun adventure; it’s been harrowing. That the year has been uncharted and unknown, and that our visibility on what the future might bring has barely reached past each day’s sunset, is true for all of us, each in our own ways. Some have made it through the last year probably changed and maybe bruised, but mostly okay. Others have faced hardship, loss, difficulty, and grief.
Rooftop gathering spaces, such as the one seen here on Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, can provide opportunities for people to connect and heal. Photo: Greenrise Technologies
So, with all that has happened, it’s been deeply and especially encouraging to see the early signs of recovery these past several weeks. With every vaccination that goes into an arm, with every office that re-opens, with every construction project that comes back to life, and with every business that begins to stand tall again, we’re pressing that hidden reset button. I hope and pray that we press it again, and again, and that our recovery mode is full, and our comeback legendary. As we all continue to work to safely bring the world back into motion consider the following:
People need green spaces and places to be together. The work we do in researching, teaching, designing, supplying, and constructing green spaces provides those spaces and places for people to connect, and to heal!
Our environment needs our help. Cities still need mitigation of their Urban Heat Islands. Cities still need careful and creative management of storm water, and still need the manifold benefits of green roofs and walls!
We need each other to survive and to thrive in our industry. We know that green roofs and walls are a comparatively very small part of the enormous worlds of architecture and construction – but that makes it even more important that we rally together, that we teach and train new minds and hands in our industry, that we create new green jobs together, that we raise the market levels together, and that we pursue new policy and regulations together!
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Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) continues to offer professional training and accreditation, locally-focused symposia that bolster the markets in city after city, assertive support for green infrastructure policies all over North America, avenues for research to be published and for emerging professionals to network and find outlets for their creativity, and a broad array of opportunities to promote and market your business directly to the communities that need it the most. GRHC wants to be your partner in Recovery Mode. Let’s help each other to “press the reset button,” to build back our client base, our businesses, our teaching programs, our research opportunities, and our push for positive green legislation.
Matt Barmore, GRP, is Chair of the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Board, and Product Manager, Single-Ply Systems - North America at IKO Industries.