Indianapolis Goes Green Roof

Cities across America are going "green roof." The Nature Conservancy's new building in Indanapolis boasts native plants and grasses and a unique system that preserves rainwater for watering landscaping. (Pictured: a green roof atop Chicago's City Hall.)

At Franciscan St. Francis Health hospital in Indianapolis, gardens outside patients' windows create a healing environment at its new Southside facility. The Children's Museum features a new ''green'' area outside its second-floor atrium as well as a rain garden.

Going Green Roof Offers Opportunities for Landscape Contractors
More and more cities are embracing this trend, but the number of contractors qualified to do it is low. Opportunity abounds.

Green roofs can extend the life of the roof up to twice as long, save energy costs by providing insulation, create a wildlife habitat, reduce storm sewer overflow and lower urban air temperatures. All of these are facts landscape contractors can cite to entice clients to go green roof.

The budding but promising trend reflects an increased interest by businesses to be environmentally friendly and to save money in the long run.

''We're on the cutting edge of this,'' said Steve Hastings, vice president of landscape development at Becker Landscape Contractors, which has designed 20 green roofs in the area.

''People are going to start understanding the usefulness of these roofs,'' he predicted. ''Once things start to turn around, I think this trend will keep on growing.''

''It's a relatively expensive process because it is so new,'' said Mike Huntington, green roof specialist with AAA Roofing Co., which has installed nearly 20 green roofs. ''But they're beautiful, instead of looking at a dirty, dingy roof.''