The University of Idaho Argonaut

More than 1,600 square feet of the Student Union Building’s roof is undergoing maintenance — vegetative maintenance.

Mark Miller, assistant director of operations for the Idaho Commons and Student Union, is spearheading the SUB Green Roof Project at the University of Idaho. The sustainability project will replace part of the building’s roof with assorted plants and soil.

The project will help eliminate the “heat island” effect many buildings produce, Miller said.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, heat islands can make temperatures 2 to 10 degrees hotter in cities than nearby rural areas and can impact communities by increasing peak energy demand, heat-related illness and air pollution levels.

“A green roof can diminish that effect,” Miller said. “It makes it easier to cool buildings and keep them cool. It adds insulation in the summer and winter to maintain cooling.”

The roof will act as an insulator, which will also protect the roof’s actual materials from the sun and other weather conditions.

The roof can also become more environmentally sustainable by offering a small habitat for insects and birds, Miller said.

“The hope is that the roof becomes its own growing environment,” he said.

Miller said the project would reduce the amount of water flowing into the university’s sewer system.

The project will be nearly self-sufficient and will include a storm water run-off mitigation system that will collect and store run-off water. The run-off will have a higher water quality and will be stored in a series of 550-gallon containers to be irrigated back up to the roof to be reused to water the plants, he said.

The water and other aspects of the roof can be used as a research tool, Miller said. Students and faculty from many different departments can monitor and test water quality, rain water, plant varieties and soil.

“Students can observe and professors can grab on to these ideas to teach about them in classes,” Miller said. “As far as changing plants and that type of stuff, we want as much student involvement as possible.”

Native plants will not be used in the project because they usually don’t survive on green roofs because of the type of mineral-rich soil that must be used, he said. Instead, the project will utilize a variety of non-native sedum plants that are drought-tolerant.

The project will be constructed on top a series of layers of flat materials including a thick, waterproof plastic mat as the bottom layer that protects the actual roof from leaking water, and a felt layer that is designed to act as a root barrier.

A catwalk will be installed over one section of the plants for public viewing of green roof project.

“We started working with landscape architecture and architecture students for a sustainable green building design,” Miller said. “These green designs … are the future. This project is designed to be a learning and research experience for students, staff, faculty and even the community.”

Miller is interested in expanding the project to other sections of the SUB’s roof, and may look to other buildings on the UI campus for green roofs in the future.

Students interested in volunteer opportunities for the SUB Green Roof Project can contact the ASUI Center for Volunteerism and Social Action.