Do you have an eco-roof in your municipality?
The Miistakis Institute is a not-for-profit environmental applied research institute based out of Mount Royal University in Calgary. The institute is a partner of AUMA on various projects, including the Community Conserve website, designed to build environment and conservation capacity for municipalities.
The role of Miistakis is to get science and information into the hands of decisionmakers related to land conservation and environmental stewardship. One of the projects currently underway is the Eco-Roof Initiative and the development of an eco-roof guide for Alberta municipalities. Eco-roofs provide a variety of public benefits related to improvements in air quality, such as:
- reduced urban heat island effect;
- increased capacity for stormwater management; and
- building energy savings, biodiversity and habitat creation, urban agriculture opportunities, and access to green space.
This guide intends to provide a starting point for municipalities interested in exploring an eco-roof program and encourage the implementation of eco-roofs (also known as vegetated roofs or green roofs) in their community.
Miistakis is reaching out to municipalities for their input on what needs to be included in an eco-roof guide. If your municipality is interested in providing input, please contact Kelly Learned (Eco-roof Project Lead, Miistakis): kelly [at] rockies.ca (kelly[at]rockies[dot]ca). A short brainstorming worksheet and eco-roof fact sheet will be provided if you are interested in participating.
