By: Kathryn Fisher

Kathryn Fisher — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:29:08 +0000

This is a wonderful idea. You could teach children how to grow food, about the nutrition in the food and nutrition in general and how to cook healthy meals with the food they grow. You could also teach them about how much money they could save by comparing the prices for the seeds they grow compared to the cost of buying the same amount of that food in the grocery store. Hope this project succeeds.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:43:33 +0000

Just keep the roof walls high enough so kids can’t fall or jump off. It sounds like a wonderful thing.

By: pjsimsigan

pjsimsigan — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:46:57 +0000

I love this idea…in fact, I logged on to post a very similar one, but from the perspective of a science teacher. I’ve been obsessed with the thought of having students grow/plant greenroof “tiles” for a few years, but it struck me more than ever a couple weeks ago while watching a Science Channel show, “Project Earth”, where Discovery Channel reps explore the validity of wacky ideas hatched by innovative scientists to help combat global warming (e.g. blanketing glaciers, “bombing” tree saplings, making clouds, etc.). Anyway, what could be better than taking this real world issue and putting it into the hands of students (our future, and ultimately the ones stuck with the messes left by us and prior generations). The reason we’re lagging behind the rest of the world in the science & math areas of education is b/c the curriculum mandated by NCLB is stale and boring…little more than memorization and regurgitation. There’s no application being incorporated to capture/harness student’s imagination/attention/innovation. Planting greenroofs on schools provides a real life, hands-on, learning experience that can actually make a positive difference in the environmental crisis that hangs over our collective head like Damaclese’s sword (global warming). And by entrusting such an ambitious project (saving the world) to students, we will in the process empower a generation of activists with a clear grasp of that new buzzword, sustainability. Not only that, but technology could be incorporated to record data and monitor changes (mini weather stations if you will) via live feed cameras and other instruments that could then be manipulated in photoshop, etc. to allow students to create their own movies/powerpoints/art projects, whatever. This is the youtube generation we’re talking about…they love that stuff. The possibilities are endless. This is an awesome idea, and one that I will be exploring as a research project this year in grad school at UW (I’m pursuing for a double masters in Education and Horticulter). I hope you get this project funded, not only b/c it rocks the house, but it would give me a case study to look at. Cheers and good luck.

Comments on: Project 012: A Roof Grows In Harlem

By: Kathryn Fisher

By: Anonymous

By: pjsimsigan