Living roofs for bugs

With many brownfield habitats being lost to development, this project will help to pioneer new 'homes in the sky' for the bugs that are being displaced.

Bugs will soon be moving up in the world, with an exciting new Buglife project to create a bespoke home for bugs on a roof. 'Green' or vegetated roofs have been around for centuries, particularly in Scandanavia, where they provide much-needed insulation against the elements. More recently green roofs have been used as a visual enhancement to buildings.

Green roof on Swiss hospital © Matt Prescott

People have also begun to see the potential of green roofs as a home for wildlife. Experts now believe that they have an important role to play in providing new habitat for the animals made homeless by development - especially invertebrates. However more research is needed, to get a better idea of which bugs will colonise green roofs, and what substrates and types of flower are needed to attract them.

Living Roofs for London's Wildlife

The new project will be looking to provide some of the answers - as well as creating a showpiece roof for bugs. It will design and install 1,500m² of green roofs, recreating a range of habitats suitable for invertebrates in the Thames estuary. To distinguish these roofs from the sedum-based systems commonly used, a new name has been coined: 'brown roofs'. This reflects the important role that these roofs can play in helping to mitigate against the ongoing loss of brownfield wildlife sites to development. Once installed, the project will then monitor them over a three-year period. This will help to provide crucial evidence on the ecological performance of brown roofs, that will contribute to existing knowledge on managing habitats for brownfield invertebrates (including a number of BAP species), as well as helping to inform the development of a regional mitigation strategy for the conservation of the invertebrate resource.

This project is one component of a larger initiative - All of a Buzz in the Thames Gateway - which is providing advice and guidance on the installation of green roofs and other aspects of biodiversity design to planners, developers and other professionals throughout the region. The project will include activities to raise awareness of the biodiversity importance of brown roofs - including a leaflet, bug hunts and talks - and for the first time a brown roof designed for wildlife will be open and accessible to the public, enabling schools and other groups to view this exciting new technology at close quarters. The project will be undertaken in partnership with Dusty Gedge of green roof experts livingroofs.org If you want to know more about the project, contact Jamie Roberts.

The high life: Why green roofs are good for wildlife (and people too!)

Green and brown roofs already play an exciting role in providing new habitats for displaced wildlife, particularly in countries like Switzerland. Closer to home, brown roofs have already been designed in London to recreate the brownfield habitat of the Black Redstart, an endangered species which is a government priority for conservation. Invertebrates such as spiders, beetles and bees are also benefitting from these new high-rise nature reserves.

Green roofs can also make a significant contribution to sustainable development, through absorbing rainwater, helping to improve thermal efficiency and reduce the heat island effect. For further details on these benefits click here.