by Holly Chapman | 17 Jun 26 | Nature & Biodiversity, News, Sustainability
This year’s Green Roof Organisation (GRO) National Conference was held in recently awarded with Biophilic City Status, Swansea.
Chosen to celebrate the city’s urban greening achievements, Swansea was also picked to improve accessibility for members across the UK.
Attendees began the day with a Welsh language primer, before the chair of GRO, Chris Bridgman, officially opened the conference, followed by a series lightning talks from guest speakers including Penny Gruffydd from Swansea City Council, Helena Cuciaranu from Swansea University, Kate McCabe from Urban Foundry and ecologist Gary Grant.
Delegates were taken to Wales’ largest rooftop park and BIOME, a social housing scheme centred on biophilic living, before planting wildflowers on roof terraces, viewing various green walls and sustainable drainage systems.
They also heard from numerous names across the industry, including the Cloud Gardener and BBC presenter Jason Williams, international green roof ambassador Dusty Gedge and BRO board members.
Penny Gruffydd, landscape and green infrastructure principle officer from Swansea City Council, commented on the day:
“This is a unique opportunity to talk to the industry and find out what motivates them around Green Roofs, enabling us to build high-quality nature-based solutions in Swansea City Centre.”
Other key insights included the launch of a new GRO podcast and website.
by Holly Chapman | 12 Feb 26 | Landscape Architecture, News, Sustainability
The City of London has given the green light for the transformation of London Liverpool Street Station intended to uplift the area’s green qualities for a more resilient and sustainable building.
Led by SLA, the landscape and public realm design features new and improved pedestrian and cycle connections, step-free access to all platforms and a major expansion for the station concourse and forecourt.
The project also delivers the largest green roof in the City of London, with fluid plans to “strengthen local green connections” explains SLA.
Rasmus Astrup, design principal and senior partner at SLA comments on the planning approval:
“It is a big and important step – not just for Liverpool Street Station, but for how London rethinks some of its most complex places: the major transport hubs that serve hundreds of thousands of people every day. At SLA, we have worked to ensure that landscape and City Nature are not simply a supplement, but one of the driving forces behind the transformation.”
He also says “this project signals that nature-based, landscape-led design is incredibly recognised as essential.”
While the station’s last redevelopment was in 1991, the new proposal, with the support of Network Rail, intends to futureproof it for decades to come.
by Holly Chapman | 05 Feb 26 | Landscape Architecture, News, Sustainability
The planning proposal for the Rainbow development in Raynes Park in London transforms a closed, rail-rounded industrial site into a landscape-led residential neighbourhood.
Designed by Rolfe Judd Architecture, the plan organises itself around a generous, vehicle-free public realm known as the Green Heart.
With plans to remove a basement car park, the neighbourhood will be able to enjoy a fully accessible, pedestrian-first landscape with open spaces from Raynes Park station through to quieter residential edges.
Also featuring key sustainable elements, the design includes a fabric-first approach, communal air source heat pumps, rooftop PVs and green roofs.
Circular economy principles have informed the demolition and construction strategy, with materials such as crushed foundations, blockwork and brickwork reused within new groundworks where feasible.
Designed for Fairview New Homes, the neighbourhood will include 271 new homes in the London Borough, with help from landscape architects Exterior Architecture.
The scheme was informed by pre-application engagement and public consultation, with resolution approval being secured subject to S106 and GLA stage 2 being signed.
Later this month, Pro Landscaper Premium Plus is hosting a Landscaping the Housebuilding Revolution in London. Featuring key stakeholders across policy, planning, developers, landscape architects and contractors, visitors will understand the opportunities around housebuilding and placemaking ambition for the UK landscaping sector. See the full programme and speakers here – Landscaping the Housebuilding Revolution | London 2026.
by Holly Chapman | 04 Jul 25 | News, Sustainability
Eco construction company Eco Green Group says “now is the time to act” and prioritise green infrastructure, since The Met Office recorded temperatures at the end of June reaching 33°C, just shy of the hottest on record.
While approximately 80% of the UK population live in built-up urban areas, conditions can become very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.
Green infrastructure, for example green roofs and living walls, can help reduce urban temperatures by combating the urban heat island effect.
Not only do these solutions naturally cool sites, but the nature-based interventions help to improve the air quality for surrounding communities as well.
Keith Hills, founder of Eco Green Group explains the recent heat waves are a warning of what’s to come, adding:
“Now is the time to act, as we need to urgently rethink how we design and manage our urban environments.”
Eco Green Group urges planners, developers and councils to act immediately and integrate green spaces into new and existing urban developments as a priority.
by Bethany Vann | 06 Jun 23 | Long Reads, Nature & Biodiversity, News, Topics, Website Exclusive
In celebration of World Green Roof Day (6 June), The Green Roof Organisation (GRO) has partnered with children’s author and nature enthusiast Jenny Bailey to release ‘Journey to the Green Roof’, an interactive children’s book, to inspire nature engagement from an early age.
With continued urban expansion, green roofs provide a great many environmental and ecological benefits, offering a sustainable solution to the decline of biodiversity in an otherwise commonly surplus space.
Bailey, who co-founded storybook series Tales from Mother Earth, has penned ‘Journey to the Green Roof’ which follows the story of Freya the Bee and Sarah the Ladybird, two pivotal species in the world’s ecosystem, seeking refuge after being driven from their habitat.
Author Jenny Bailey
“The objective of the story is to connect children with nature, but also to give them a good understanding of what a green roof is and the benefits it can give to nature.
“If we can engage children with a story that captures their hearts, allowing them to see that the characters in the story are doing better for finding a green roof, whilst educating them on the benefits of these amazing structures, then we’ve done something good in that connection.”
As the climate crisis continues, the focus remains on sustainable nature-based solutions. Green roofs allow for urban space to be returned to nature, supporting the natural colonisation of locally arising plants, birds and small animals, including those identified as red listed, or otherwise thought extinct in the UK.
“We need to find a balance, don’t we? Between our buildings, our cities, and our land. Our cities are very hot places because they’re concrete jungles.
“Over the last five years, there seems to be a big campaign to green our cities, which is really good because wildlife needs to be in our cities.”
The reintroduction of wildlife and vegetation in urban areas also offers a unique opportunity to children who potentially have limited access to rural environments.
The Department of Education is now saying that all new school builds need to have a green roof, facilitating another way for children to benefit from nature, while highlighting the importance of early childhood engagement.
“They might see bees going out to the flowers and they’ll realise that it’s a space that’s alive, rather than a space that’s dead with nothing there. They’ll realise that it’s a used space and a shared space.”
Experiencing nature is thought to provide physical and mental health benefits; this holds a potential ecosystem service that could start a positive feedback loop between health, wellbeing, and connection to nature that benefits biodiversity conservation through increased empathy and respect.
“I noticed that my children started to feel better when they were taking positive actions as well. I thought, if we can capture this into a book that can give children that power to feel better about their futures, by connecting with nature, and letting them know what they need to do to help nature, then we’ve done something special.”
Bailey’s Journey to the Green Roof is an inclusive story book for children aged three to 10, with every book under the Tales from Mother Earth banner released with an accompanying audio book via QR code, narrated by ‘Mother Earth’, allowing children of all ages and capabilities to experience the wonders of nature.
“From the ages of a three-year-old to a 10-year-old, there’s something in the book that will keep them alert and learning in the most positive way.”
Bailey founded Tales from Mother Earth in response to the 2019 wildfires blazing across much of Europe and America, as a way to calm both her own anxieties and her two young boys.
“I couldn’t be passive to the information anymore that was coming through the media. It seemed like a real turning point when you saw those fires reaching the skies and people’s homes were being destroyed.
“I’m not necessarily thinking about my generation, but my children’s generation and their mental health, they were getting quite concerned about their futures.
“I want to be able to look them in the eyes and say I’m trying to do all I can do.”
After becoming a member of GRO, the clear call to action for Bailey was to pen a story emphasising the exciting potential of green roofs in a child friendly way to prompt early engagement and acknowledgment.
GRO vice-chair, Chris Bridgman of Bridgman & Bridgman says: “Having written a series of books for children already with music and beautiful illustrations, we were inspired by Jenny’s enthusiasm for green roofs and her ability to tell the story and share the benefits with younger generations in a clear and enjoyable way.”
Already in the UK green roofs have helped increase the declining numbers of the Black Redstart bird, with several species of wildlife recorded to be settling atop green roofs originally thought to be too elevated.
Green roofs hold great potential to ignite significant change in the climate race, offering sustainable and environmental solutions, allowing children to learn from an early age the importance of nature conservation in a bid to extend the longevity of the planet they will inherit.
Journey to the Green Roof by Jenny Bailey is out now, available for purchase here.
