talk
february 2009
10:00am - 10:50am
From Pest to Guest
Sun 22nd February 09 | 10:00am - 10:50am
Design tent
hosted by | Green Roofs Australia
For the first time in human history, more people are living in cities than in rural areas. As cities continue to grow, more and more land is disappearing under new roads and buildings. The amount of land available to support agricultural production and local biodiversity is shrinking, which also reduces the capacity of natural systems to filter our water, clean our air and regulate local temperature extremes. Australia’s low-density urban sprawl covers hundreds of thousands of hectares, requiring hundreds of millions of dollars per year to maintain those systems that operate in nature for free. In response to this problem, people in cities around the world are starting to replace the land they have lost by adding soil and plants to the roofs and walls of their buildings. This eco-infrastructure known as ‘green roofs’, ‘eco-roofs’, ‘bio-roofs’, and/or ‘sky-gardens’ is improving building insulation, reducing summer temperatures, cleaning the air and water, increasing available habitat and providing locally grown food for city residents. From high-end corporate buildings to backyard sheds, its now Australia’s turn to grow up and get into green roofs and walls.
Ben Nicholson
Since leaving the farm where he grew up, Ben Nicholson has been seeking new ways to connect the rural landscapes of his youth with the urban landscapes of his adult life. Ben’s passion and dedication eventually brought him to Melbourne, where he completed an honours degree in town planning at RMIT in 2006, investigating the benefits of and barriers to green roof and wall eco-technology in Melbourne. This lead to an invitation to become a foundation member of Green Roofs Australia and Ben’s successful nomination as the Victorian Co-ordinator of GRA in February 2007. In early 2007, Ben also established Groof Consulting - the first dedicated green roof and wall consultancy in Australia. Ben provides interviews for print and radio media and has presented at numerous conferences and seminars to raise awareness of the benefits of green roofs and walls in Australia. His efforts were acknowledged in 2008 by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust when he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study green roof and wall designs around the world. Ben has now been appointed as the Vice-President of Green Roofs Australia, with the next GRA conference to be held in Melbourne in September 2009.
Green Roofs Australia was established in 2007 as a not-for-profit organisation to raise awareness of the benefits of green roofs and walls and to support the emerging industry players in Australia. GRA’s growing membership base reflects the range of people with the skills and knowledge required to successfully design, construct and maintain this eco-technology: property developers, building engineers, architects, town planners, landscape designers, horticulturalists, substrate suppliers and waterproofing specialists. GRA also has an expanding membership of people who simply believe in the benefits of green roofs and walls and wish to provide their support to the organisation in achieving its mission. The emergence of national green roof organisations around the world over the past decade lead to the creation of the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network, with GRA joining as an affiliated member in 2008. In 2012, GRA will host the annual WGRIN conference, providing Australians with an opportunity to showcase local green roof and wall designs that are suited to local climates and indigenous plant species. For more information on GRA or to join as a member, visit the GRA website at www.greenroofs.wordpress.com
vice-president@greenroofsaustralia.com.au