The Carleton green roof project began in September 2004 as an independent research project. In May 2005 we finished construction of our first test roof on the Olin chemical storage building. This 666 sq. ft. roof is the first student-designed and built green roof in the state of Minnesota. It is also the first green roof project to use only plant species native to Minnesota. We recently held a Green Roof Conference. Please explore the links below to learn more about our project.

Update 5/18/07:

The green roof survived the summer hailstorm with little damage. After a brief hiatus we are renewing the green roof project to continue research and plan new roofs. We are recruiting new members, so contact us to get involved!

The Minnesota State Fair had a building devoted to sustainability last summer, and one of the exhibits demonstrates the benefits of green roofs (see below)!

Above: A demo at the State Fair shows that run-off from a green roof is cleaner than that from a conventional roof.