Imagine walking onto the rooftop of a building to discover grass and Minnesota’s native plants growing in tussocks, flattening in waves with each gust of wind, and the breeze carrying the scent of fresh growth. This landscape would be the beginning of a new, clean, and healthier environment. If the Upper School installed a rooftop garden during renovations, the community would benefit academically, socially, and environmentally.

It’s true that building a green roof is not as simple as pouring dirt and planting seeds. Architects must first decide whether the building structure can support and be sufficient enough to hold the weight of the green roof.  The initial cost of structural support, a drainage system, and proper roof accessibility is extremely expressive.

Still, a green roof option was considered as part of the Schilling construction. Sadly, “[even though] a green roof was taken into account in the design process for Schilling…it just was not financially feasible,” said Mark Dickinson, Director of Operations and Security.

However, that doesn’t mean that we cannot create some environmental benefits with a community garden or pollinator garden. Environmentally friendly places such as these would provide an area for students to spend their free time especially in the midst of the construction and faculty to stress the importance of pollinators.

Although the addition of a green roof to Schilling or any other current building is impossible, SPA should keep the idea of environmentally friendly places —  especially green roofs — in mind for future renovations or building.

Green roofs can lead to many positive environmental outcomes and are installed for several purposes: they absorb rainwater and lower the amount of storm runoff, provide insulation which results in a reduced need for air conditioning, and create habitats for wildlife, like birds.

Controlling stormwater is the main benefit of installing a green roof. According to the Atlantic, many cities find stormwater to be a colossal challenge with trillions of gallons of untreated stormwater flowing from parking lots, streets, and roofs of the city. From here it streams into connecting bodies of water like lakes, rivers, and canals.

“A green roof would be great because it helps control water runoff. The stormwater is absorbed by the green roof membrane to water the plants,” said sophomore Niko Liepins and founder of the non-profit organization Bee Kind.

Liepins is not alone in his statement. Many cities, like Chicago and Minnesota, are trying to support more green roofs as a possible solution to their stormwater. For example, according to MN green roofs, Target Center prevents 1,000,000 gallons of untreated stormwater from reaching the Mississippi River annually.

Social benefits are also recognized as an advantage for green roofs.  Many hospitals are building green roofs to administer patients the opportunity of healing through horticulture therapy, a method employed by hospitals to help regain new and lost skills, as well as helping staff relieve stress. Students should be able to enjoy the benefits of stress relief too. The addition of a green roof would also allow for some new classes focusing on botany or entomology. Teaching classes on the green roof would keep students active and engaged in the class while being in the outdoors.

“A would provide a hands-on facility for science classes such as Environmental Science,” Liepins said.

No matter what type of vegetation is planted, green roofs require heavy and consistent maintenance. Even if SPA planted the easiest and most manageable plants, it would still require work to keep the weeds back and making sure the plants are watered enough. As Mary Lincoln, Upper School mathematics teacher and adviser of People for Environmental Protection said, “the school has to be behind it. It can’t be one individual human that may not be here the next year or the year after because it is going to have to be sustained over time. SPA itself has to commit to it.”

While students may try, they alone could not maintain a green roof. There needs to be an organized system: a schedule would need to create and SPA’s mechanical team would have to monitor the water usage. If there is a leak, they need to catch or else serious problems could arise. Since SPA does not have any more planned renovations currently, students at SPA should work together to create a community garden, another rain garden, or possibly pollinator garden.