Green Roofs
1
Putting Down Roots: By Cliff Johnson
3
Invasive Plants
5
Watching The “Pine” Tree Die
6
European Sawfly
8
State’s Ash Trees Face Mortal Danger
10
Contacts
11
The Story Terminator
12
With this issue, we’re pleased to announce that TCA volunteers are developing our newsletter. Gary and I welcome the assistance of our new core team, consisting of Marianne Diericks as project leader and Bruce Allen as proofreader. In addition, other volunteers will be contributing talents as needed, including Mary Courteau, Trish Johnson, Mary Montagne, and Marty Strong. We’re still looking for a volunteer with design and layout skills who would be willing to help with future issues. If you’re interested, please contact Dave Hanson.
Green Roofs By Sterling Malcomson
A recent trend for houses in the U.S. has been the installation of green roofs. Green roofs are completely
covered by vegetation and soil and have an impenetrable surface where the soil meets the house. Different types of grass and sedges can be planted on these roofs along with flowers and vegetables. If the roof is strong enough and the soil is deep enough shrubs and even small trees can be planted.
While the U.S. has a pretty small number of green roofs, Europe has many. In Germany, where the idea
of green roofs was invented in the 1960’s, an estimated 10 percent of homes have green roofs! The idea of
green roofs is becoming more and more popular in metropolitan areas and especially popular in Atlanta, Chicago, Portland, and Minneapolis. So what advantage does a green roof have over an ordinary shingle roof? Green roofs have many benefits that the common person may not know about. First off, green roofs re-
duce storm water runoff. Storm water runoff pollutes our local waterways and can cause severe erosion and flooding. Green roofs return about 75 percent of rainwater back to the atmosphere. They filter out metals
and pollutants that may be in the rainwater and return it clean. Another environmentally friendly advantage,