Join us for a conversation on the powerful impact nature has on our and our children’s development and mentality, and what Laura’s organization is doing to support citizens and educators in new and interesting ways to facilitate connections with the natural world.

Extensive green roofs present a potentially novel approach to wildfire resilience, functioning as ember-resistant surfaces that can disrupt fire propagation. By elevating defensible space principles to the roof level, green roofs could offer a scalable strategy for mitigating wildfire risk.

Learn about this free multidisciplinary guide by the World Green Infrastructure Network, the European Federation of Green Roof Associations, GRHC and Solar Power Europe. It is about designing, installing, and maintaining solar green roof projects with best practices, along with multiple case studies and supportive public policies.

This article provides an overview of the many ways that green (living) walls can help cities mitigate and adapt to climate change challenges. This includes energy savings in buildings, a reduction in the urban heat island, and stormwater management.

The origins, function, strengths and weaknesses of the Green Roof Energy Calculator are described in detail as well as the wish list for its future development.

Although succulent monocultures are the default for many green roofs, rewilding green roofs with wildflowers and grasses can enhance stormwater retention and make them more adaptive to extreme climate events. Learn about rewilding green roofs.

The European Water Resilience Strategy emphasizes sustainability but overlooks urban green infrastructure. Cities must be central to water resilience efforts through nature-based solutions like green roofs, permeable surfaces, and water-sensitive urban design.

This episode of Sustainable Futures Designing Green Communities and Buildings sits down with science communicator, policy advocate, and scientist Grace Wickerson of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). Join for a conversation on extreme heat, the importance of science communication, and ways in which FAS is trying to improve our communities.

Learn about how the Urban Heat Island and Social Justice are issues which are fundamentally interconnected and how green roofs and walls can help to address both. 

This episode of Sustainable Futures, features Dr. Kathleen Wolf, a social scientist insert who has spent 3 decades exploring how urban nature impacts human health. She shares insights on integrating nature’s benefits into design, enhancing well-being through green spaces.

In this episode of Sustainable Futures, we feature Dr. Kathleen Wolf, a social scientist insert who has spent 3 decades exploring how urban nature impacts human health. She shares insights on integrating nature’s benefits into design, enhancing well-being through green spaces.

Join Sustainable Futures as we speak with Gail Vittori, Co-Director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, about sustainable healthcare, resilient building, and the transformative role of the natural world in enhancing our well-being.

In this episode, Sustainable Futures sits down with climate science pioneer Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig to discuss the impacts and opportunities of climate change on our urban environments and how we can create more resilient communities.

Green roofs can sequester carbon dioxide, but their contribution is often overlooked. Plants on green roofs allocate more biomass below ground to cope with stress and benefit from symbiotic fungi. This suggests green roofs significantly aid in carbon sequestration.

This paper evaluates carbon sequestration on green roofs. Results suggest shallower beds with native grasses may offset deeper beds, aiding climate mitigation with proper irrigation.

Join us for a conversation on the powerful impacts natural systems can have on our brain chemistry and psychology and the economic implications that has for how we consider and design our spaces.

Ken Yeang talks about the power of natural systems, the growth of ecological design, and hear about many of the stunning and verdant projects Ken has had a hand in over the course of his illustrious career.

In this episode, Sustainable Futures sits down with artist, designer, and thought leader Herbert Dreiseitl to discuss the critical role of water in natural ecosystems, and what lessons can be learned and applied to our urban environments. To cope with climate change, cities need to better use their natural infrastructure assets to manage and treat water before it becomes a problem to the community.

In this episode, Sustainable Futures sits down with educator and research Dr. Olyssa Starry Ph.D. to discuss the part water plays in urban ecology and the physical chemistry of plants and how this can affect the achievement of sustainability goals.

In this episode, Sustainable Futures sits down with Assistant Professor Scott Macivor of the University of Toronto to discuss the critical role of insects in the natural world, how climate change affects insect communities and populations, and the ways in which green roofs and green infrastructure can support and enhance those communities in our urban environments. Join us for a conversation on biodiversity and its role in our society, how insects support and influence the natural environment, and how we can develop comprehensive ecosystems.