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Photo:Living Roof at the California Academy of Sciences
We love our living roof for lots of reasons, but one that really stands out is its power to inspire. Visitors often come into the Naturalist Center wondering how they can recreate this green design in their own homes.
Luckily, we have some great resources for using your roof, whether you are interested in a full-scale remodel or in just discovering a few things you can do to better utilize this space.
Books
Building Green: A Complete How-to Guide to Alternative Building Methods: Earth Plaster, Straw Bale, Cordwood, Cob, Living Roofs / Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan. New York : Lark Books, c2005. Naturalist Center TH4860 .S63 2005
This book is a primer for owner-designed building and includes more than just living roofs.
Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide / Edmund C. Snodgrass, Lucie L. Snodgrass. Portland, Or.: Timber Press, 2006. Naturalist Center SB419.5 .S66 2006
Intended for a broad spectrum of readers, from architects to home gardeners, this book discusses greenery for a green roof.
Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction / Earth Pledge. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub., c2005. Naturalist Center SB419.5. G73 2005.
For a little lighter reading, take some time to enjoy this book’s beautiful photographs.
Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls / Nigel Dunnett and Noël Kingsbury. Portland, Or.: Timber Press, 2008. Naturalist Center SB419.5 .D85 2008
Comprehensive and a little technical, this book provides an overview of the how and why of green roofs and living walls.
At the Naturalist Center, Academy Members and California teachers can check out five books for three weeks and two DVDs or other media for one week, with one renewal possible. For more information, visit us at http://www.calacademy.org/science/naturalist_center/
Organizations, Businesses and Web Resources
Rana Creek Nursery in Carmel Valley prepared the plants for our living roof, so they may be able to help with finding suitable plants: http://www.ranacreeknursery.com/contact/
The SWA Group (Sausalito) built our roof. Their clients do seem to be mainly on the institutional level, so they may not do work for individuals: http://www.swagroup.com/
Bay Localize, an Oakland-based nonprofit, has resources and a guidebook for a project called Use your roof! They specifically talk about rooftop gardens, capturing rainwater and generating solar power: http://www.baylocalize.org/programs/rooftop-resources
REGREEN is a non-profit that provides guidelines and resources for Green Remodeling projects: http://www.regreenprogram.org/about
Although Chicago Green Roofs provides a guide geared specifically for that city, the advice is adaptable for Californian needs. The site also has a great links page: http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/greeninitiatives/greenroofs/main.htm
Finding More
Most of our books use the term "green roof," but resources are also findable by using the keywords "living roof." In any library catalog, the subject headings "Green roofs (Gardening)," "Sustainable architecture" and "Building -- Environmental aspects" should be useful.
And you can always ask for advice from people sources! In fact, we’d like to hear from you. Do you have any recommendations for resources about living roofs? Leave a comment below!
If you have a question or an unidentified natural history specimen or need some assistance finding an awesome science book to impress your friends with, we’d love to help. You can contact us at Naturalist@calacademy.org