Virginia Wesleyan's green roof on Smithdeal Hall just keeps growing and growing.
Dr. Maynard Schaus on top of the Smithdeal Hall green roof
in July 2007. Sedum coverage is now at 40 percent.
As of July 2007, 40 percent of the 5,000 square foot roof was covered with sedum, a fleshy plant, with small overlapping leaves and yellow, white or pink flowers.
That's a 34 percent increase in nine months, and good news for the three Virginia Wesleyan faculty members monitoring the project – Assistant Professor of Ocean & Atmospheric Studies Dr. Elizabeth Malcolm, Associate Professor of Mathematics/Computer Science Dr. Margaret Reese and Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Maynard Schaus.
The project stretches back to 2005, when Virginia Wesleyan installed their first green roof plots in front of the Hofheimer Library, the result of a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. While green roofs have been known to reduce the volume of water runoff, little research has been done on the quality of the runoff.
As in most instances, the plots in front of the Library were fertilized to help with growth. Research from water samples showed a decrease in the amount of water, but an increase in the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus – proving that while green roofs do reduce runoff volume, they do not necessarily reduce pollutants.
Skip forward to the summer of 2006. Virginia Wesleyan installs a second green roof on the roof of Smithdeal Hall, the result of a grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation. This experiment, however, has the green roof divided into three different sections with three separate drains to collect water samples.
Schaus explains the breakdown of the green roof as portions – one portion treated with fertilizer; one portion not treated; and one portion treated with PhosFilter, a substance known to lessen the amount of phosphorus in runoff.
"When it rains, students and others involved in the project take water samples," said Schaus. Later, they'll compare the water samples to determine if green roofs can in fact lesson water pollutants in storm water runoff, thus decreasing the high levels of anthropogenic nutrients loads in watersheds.
Over the summer, two students continuously took water samples from the green roof after rain showers. This fall, two courses, ecology and environmental chemistry, will take what they've learned inside the classroom and collect water samples from the green roof.
In a research agreement between the College and Jerrold L. Miller, president of Earl Industries, Virginia Wesleyan will take their research findings from the Smithdeal green roof and make suggestions for Earl Industries to design and install an effective green roof on a company building.
In addition, research from Smithdeal Hall will be used on the LEED-certified platinum green laboratory science building, a $17.3 million project the College is planning to build as part of the Key to the Future Campaign.
Looking toward the future, Schaus says that the green roof on the new science building will incorporate what the group has learned from the Smithdeal Hall roof.
"We've taken this project in steps," said Schaus, reminiscing over the past two years.
And like the sedum on top of Smithdeal Hall, it just keeps growing.
09/26/07