Coming soon to Boston Latin School: An interactive and educational green roof

BOSTON, U.S. -- EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Coming soon to Boston Latin School; classes outdoors, REAL fruits and vegetables, and . . . clean energy? With the assistance of Studio G Architects the Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network (BLS Youth CAN) has proposed a bold plan for a Sustainable Roofscape Learning Lab, a lot more than your average green roof. This means outfitting 80,000 sq ft. of the school roof with a greenhouse and outdoor gardens, a multifunctional science and technology learning laboratory, vegetated roof systems, solar thermal panels, and photovoltaic panels.

In plain English, that even the most non-technologically advanced person can understand, they are incorporating different aspects of eco-friendly technology into one community friendly, interactive, and educational green roof that “can lower the school’s carbon emissions and we could even bring the community together by sharing it with all grades and possibly neighboring schools,” said Janice Bautista, Youth CAN Member.

Streaming data sets, web cams, and access from the outside will allow it to be used by different schools and programs benefiting more than just BLS. This aspect of using the green roof as a tool for the whole community, and not just BLS students, has been a goal for Youth CAN right from the beginning. Plans also include a Science and Technology Learning Lab that could be divided and used into three separate rooms for teachers that would want to have a class outdoors or use the green roof as part of their lesson.

One excited Youth CAN member expressed some of the uses of the Sustainable Roofscape Learning Lab. “What excites me about the green roof is that it will give an opportunity to teach the children in our community about sustainability. I think it is important for youth to know what needs to happen to help the environment, and what options are out there to do so. The green roof will have such a great variety of sustainability and environmental features (greenhouse, hydroponics, wind turbines, solar panels, etc.) that it gives a great chance to learn and explore all the possibilities,” said Julia Holtzman. This attention on using the green roof as a learning tool is extremely important, faculty advisor Cate Arnold said. “We are most excited about designing a green roof around teaching sustainability.”

Educating about sustainability is only just one perk of the green roof. It will also have many features like solar thermal panels for hot water and wind turbines and photovoltaic panels for energy production. Vegetated areas would decrease temperatures in the warmer months and double as insulation in cooler months. Also, several other add-ons mentioned on the Youth CAN website include “gardens supplying food for the BLS cafeteria, a weather station, CO2 and other data collection devices.”

These additions would cut utility cost and reduce Boston Latin School’s carbon footprint, the amount of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide from fuel or methane from cows, produced to support human lifestyle. The green roof would also be a great inspiration to local schools and establishments to do their part in helping the environment with this very real crisis of climate change.

According to Youth CAN, 2011, students have already raised “more than $11,000 to install 350 trays of vegetation on the roof . . . won a $10,000 dollar solar tent, and succeeded in getting a small solar array.”

However, this is not a point-shoot project that would be completed any time soon. It will take help, fundraising, time and most of all patience to get this ambitious project accomplished.