Our story
We are still just at the beginning of the project and learning things every day. We think it's important to be open about how we can improve the circular economy and develop the production of green roof materials that are local. We are currently doing some research into this.
We have a limit to how many people can visit the roof from a health and safety point of view but we have found this beneficial and are able to have more meaningful conversations and tours in small numbers. Getting the creative and tech community involved has been brilliant. The hackathon created a great deal of social media interest.
Our advice
The Green Roof Project on Saxon Court exists to demonstrate the potential of green infrastructure in urban areas. (Saxon Court is at the heart of Milton Keynes, a town that aims to become carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon negative by 2050.)
This project is about more than turning a grey roof green. It is an example of bringing benefits to the environment and also creating green jobs and training opportunities.
Green roofs are part of the solutions they reduce flood risk, improve insulation and reduce energy consumption, capture carbon and support biodiversity alongside improving health and wellbeing.
Our metrics
We worked with a local hackathon group to set up an experiment to measure the thermo and water retention advantages of having a green roof. The data is being fed to a live website.
We will also measure visitor numbers and create a film to share the project beyond its life.
