Rockford Park District Installs Rooftop Garden

The Rockford, Ill., Park District has topped off the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens with a 4,300-sq-ft green roof garden. The LiveRoof Hybrid Green Roof System from LiveRoof LLC was selected for the project. Christiansen Roofing Inc., installed the green roof, which was made possible by the financial support of Aqua-Aerobic Systems Inc. A viewing deck, which can accommodate 20 to 30 people, is open to the public during select hours.

“The green roof decreases storm water runoff, reduces energy use by insulating the rooftop, and extends the service life of the building’s structural roof by shielding it,” said Ruth Miller, manager of Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens.

“We selected LiveRoof because it is the system that establishes a green roof as a naturally functioning, living system with a continuous surface of soil,” said Jason Ney, landscape architect of the Rockford Park District. “In addition, LiveRoof is delivered with modules abundantly vegetated with full-grown plants.”

Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens is a LEED Certified facility. The new green roof system increases the Conservatory’s LEED points. 

The 4,300-sq-ft green roof includes 4,190 sq ft of LiveRoof Standard Modules (4.25 in. deep), supplemented by 128 sq ft of LiveRoof Deep Modules (6 in. deep). LiveRoof modules feature the Soil Elevator and Moisture Portal, which establishes a LiveRoof green roof as a unified, naturally functioning ecosystem. Plant roots are free to grow in a natural way from one module to the next. This ecological integration between and above the modules maximizes the cohesiveness of the soil and plant roots to optimize plant health, long-term green roof sustainability, and green roof benefits while minimizing maintenance requirements.