TSA Technical Series: Integrating Plants Into the Building Envelope

Toronto is getting hotter. By 2040 – 2050, the city is expected to experience 66 days with temperatures over 30˚C every year—6 times the historic average—and our built environment is part of the problem. Due to the urban heat island effect, buildings and paved surfaces trap and amplify heat resulting in much higher temperatures than surrounding areas. Luckily we already know part of the solution. Plants play a critical role in cooling urban environments, not to mention countless other benefits including improving air quality, increasing mental health and wellness, and providing habitat and food to countless species. And while street trees, gardens, and parks might be the most obvious places to start, the integration of plants into the building envelope—whether it be roofs, walls, or other—is a lesser understood and utilized strategy in our climate action toolbox.  

This 1.5 hour virtual lecture with Jeremy Wright of ZinCo Canada and Jonas Spring of Ecoman, aims to provide a practical approach to integrating plants into your future projects, with a specific focus on the Toronto context. Our speakers will go through a wide variety of material related to plant integration including technical considerations when designing extensive and intensive green roofs, as well as approaches to developing plant palettes of native plant species even without an in-depth knowledge of plants. We will also review best practices that should be considered on all projects integrating plants during the construction, maintenance, and monitoring phases to not only keep them looking fresh, but to ensure they are performing as expected and helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

TSA MEMBERS: This event is free for TSA Members using the discount code found in the TSA Bulletin and on your Member Dashboard! Not a member yet? Membership is open to everyone and you can join here (student memberships are free!).

OAA MEMBERS: This lecture is eligible for 1.5 OAA Structured Learning Hours and meets the OAA criteria for mandatory climate action education as part of the 2022-2024 ConEd Cycle. When registering, please include your full name as registered with the OAA to ensure your certificate of participation is credited properly. Please also include an email address you check frequently to ensure you receive our certificate in a timely manner.