Keeping It Green in Paradise: Green Roof & Living Wall Research

Andy Kaufman (University of Hawai'i)

Green roof and living wall design, installation, and maintenance are becoming wide spread throughout the world. Unfortunately, these green technologies are only recently being considered in Hawaii. Due to Hawaii’s climate, there has been little research; therefore limited recommendations on what systems, plants, soil media, and care for these systems. After a 2006 Hawaii State Legislature Senate Resolution calling for the University of Hawaii to gauge the feasibility of rooftop landscaping and agriculture in urban districts, a report was generated addressing the basic facts about green roofs and living walls along with the various benefits for use in Hawaii. As a result, there is now increasing interest of the use of green roof and living wall systems for Hawaii. To respond to this increasing need, the Tropical Landscape & Human Interaction Lab has developed the Tropical Green Roof & Living Wall Research Center to research these emerging green technologies in order to test and make recommendations to the green industry, general public, and policy makers. This is being accomplished with the construction of 5 “Ecosheds” which contain a control building with a typical asphalt shingle roof system, along with 2 sheds with modular type extensive green roof systems, and 2 sheds having monolithic extensive roof systems. Two sheds have a mix of native plant species and the other two a mix of tropical ornamental species. Additionally, two of the vegetated roof sheds contain two types of living wall systems on two sides of each of the shed. These are testing different edible crops, Hawaiian medicinal plants, as well native, and non-invasive ornamentals. Evaluation of all systems include: plant material selection and growth, stormwater mitigation, soil moisture retention, heat mitigation and overall system performance. This presentation focuses on the opportunities and barriers of setting up and conducting this innovative research project.