Vienna is our destination in late November. John will be speaking at the First European Urban Green Infrastructure conference in the Austrian Capital. Dusty will also be there as he is one of the co-organisers.
Small scale green roofs can play an important role in delivering green infrastructure in cities. Especially on sheds, garages, extensions etc. So we are looking forward to telling our story to an international audience.
Talking Social Housing – Vienna
John will also be talking about his work on the Clapton Park Estate. This is now quite well known in the UK. Through his company the Grass Roof Company, John has transformed this social housing estate into a small green infrastructure paradise in Hackney. Wildflowers, especially poppies, bloom throughout the estate. John has also helped establish urban food growing on the estate for the residents. Vienna, itself has some great examples of social housing with green roofs and community engagement .
Talking Shelters – Vienna
We we also be talking about work with Green Roof Shelters. The company’s small installations can make a real contribution to delivering green infrastructure and ecosystem services. GRS makes bin sheds and bike shelters. Other structures include bird hides and other buildings made out of freight containers. All of these have green roofs. They also include habitat panels for pollinators, bees and other wildlife.
Talking Green Infrastructure – Europe
As the President of the European Federation of Green Roof and Wall Associations, Dusty will be a keynote speaker at the Vienna event. Dusty sits on the European Green Infrastructure and Ecosystems Services working group in Brussels. His focus will be on how European cities should embrace green infrastructure.
By then we would hope that green roof training will have been translated into a number of European languages. This will hopefully reach out to other people in Europe to make the small green roof revolution happen.
So the last week of November should be a good week. And hopefully we will meet a lot of like minded people.
Vienna here we come.
