Lack of plants in urban areas leads to a concentration in polluted air. Due to high property values limited space is available for plants and nature to take a foothold.
Roofs are normally wasted spaces, however seldom accessed and often ignored, they offer an ideal space to incorporate plants into the built environment helping to purify the air and absorb polluting particulates.
Changing one roof to a green roof in a city may have limited impact, however if green roofs became an accepted part of building practice the impact on air quality in cities could be huge.
With the prevalence of concrete, steel and glass in cities, nature is confined to small pockets of green space. Vast areas of roof space are left bare.
By adding green roofs and wildflower roofs in cities we can massively increase the habitats available to birds, bees, butterflies and insects.
Specific plant mixes can be planted to bring local plants back to the environment and other features such as log piles, rocks, bird baths, insect hotels and bee hives can be included to boost the ecological impact of the green roof.
