Monday, October 27, 2008

Urban roof gardening



One of the more insightful events within Croydon's EcoExpo was Croydon's 'garden in the sky'. Situated on level 6 of the 'Q' park in the heart of Croydon, this example of what can be achieved in the uber urban environment was very informative. The passionate and driven Paul Richens (Blue Dome Synergies) must have demonstrated the art of rooftop gardening to hundreds of adults and children over the passed week.
I got a chance to have a one to one demonstration as he was keen to convey the potential. Everything is possible: composting, organic herbs and vegetables and even wormeries. We talked about disappearing front gardens and the fact that council's do nothing to stop homeowners paving over their lawns to park their cars. Paul had an interesting take on this: if even the smallest of front gardens are going to be converted to drives then the homeowner should be required to use their roof or another part of their building to compensate for the resulting surface run off.
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2 comments:

Derek Wall said...

I thought this only happened in Havana, very encouraging and thanks for blogging it

Shasha Khan said...

Thanks for your comment Derek. Paul Richens mentioned Havana when he gave me a demonstration. Sadly, this roof garden is only temporary and 8 panels of Sedum roof need a home ASAP! Thankfully, the herbs and vegetable plot have been sent on to a local school.

Standing up for what matters