GRO Conference celebrates Swansea’s urban greening
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.
