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GRIN GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK ASSOCIATION

GRIN promotes sustainable green roof infrastructure to enhance urban biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and improve community health. They advocate for green spaces that support pollinators and foster environmental stewardship through education and community engagement.

Our August tour celebrates the integration of pollinator habitat within water-sensitive landscapes and the built environment. This 500 m walking tour starts at Point Grey Road Park and concludes at Volunteer Park, taking in two pollinator meadows and the daylit Tatlow Creek. We&#39;ll have bee identification tools on hand, and members of the Native Bee Society of BC to point out details we might normally miss! 🌸🐝🌸The two locations include:<ul fr-original-style="text-align: start;" style="text-align: start; box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">An all-<a fr-original-style="" href="https://ecotone-biodiversity.com/meadow-work-bee-2026-learning-by-doing/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">native pollinator meadow</a>, seeded 3 years ago and maintained in spring 2026</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a fr-original-style="" href="https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/first-creek-restored-as-part-of-tatlow-park-renewal-july-2024.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Tatlow Creek </a>and its meadow planting (completed spring 2024)</li></ul>The tour will conclude with a bring-your-own picnic at Volunteer Park, for which GRIN will provide some refreshments (watermelon, water).&nbsp; This event is FREE and open to all. Donations help us offer these tours, so if you value what GRIN does, please make a donation.&nbsp;

Getting Personal with Pollinators

GRIN, with the support of MicroHabitat, is hosting its first green roof tour focused on urban agriculture! This tour visits TELUS Garden, which features green infrastructure, including green roofs, a rooftop forest integrated into its design, with an urban farming project as the cherry on top. See how ecological rooftop farming is elevating the skylines in downtown Vancouver. This building highlights climate resilience, food security, and smarter urban design.&nbsp; We will be joined by MicroHabitat and their farming experts, who will tend to this farm on a weekly basis. You will see how MicroHabitat grows up to 45 varieties of vegetables and herbs in a space that would usually be underutilized!&nbsp; Regrets: This green roof is not mobility-inclusive; access is by 3 flights of stairs. However, our post-tour GRIN social will take place at the Vancouver Public Library.&nbsp;

Urban Agriculture and Amenity Spaces

June 6 is World Green Roof Day, our favourite day of the year! Since it falls on a Saturday, this year&#39;s green roof tour is on Tues. May 26. This means participants who engage in social media will be able to prepare original content (pictures, videos) and represent Vancouver in #WGRD2026. Multi-award-winning Marine Gateway was completed in 2015 as a global showcase of transit-oriented development, and the green roofs are the cherry on top. We&#39;re stoked to collaborate with Reece Rehm, from the City of Vancouver&#39;s Green Rainwater Infrastructure Team, who supervised the installation. This exclusive tour delivers stunning views of Vancouver and the Fraser River. RSVP essential! By attending this event, you will automatically be added to our mailing list. Thank you for supporting our mission, your support is invaluable.

World Green Roof Day at MARINE GATEWAY

Join this training to explore how climate risk and green infrastructure intersect in our cities. This course will provide participants with information about and practice with climate change risk assessments, using green infrastructure, particularly green roofs, as a solution to reduce climate risk in the built environment. This course equips you with the analytical frameworks and practical tools to conduct rigorous climate risk assessments and to design or evaluate green infrastructure strategies that serve as front-line climate responses.&nbsp; The course will be led by technical experts at The Green Roof Infrastructure Network (GRIN). The GRIN network is the interdisciplinary voice for green roofs and green infrastructure in BC.

Climate Change Risk Assessments & Green Infrastructure - Training

<a fr-original-style="" href="https://rootsontheroof.ca/" id="isPasted" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Roots on the Roof</a> is a student-led AMS (Alma Mater Society) club at UBC, working to connect students with how food is grown through hands-on learning in our rooftop garden space. This green roof tour explores an edible rooftop space with the hardworking folks who maintain the garden. Green roofs that grow edible plants are rare in Vancouver, so this will be a great opportunity to see a thriving one in action!&nbsp;

Roots on the Roof UBC Tour

Roofs occupy 25-30% of any typical North America city, yet are underutilized assets. Vegetated rooftop assemblies - or green roofs - create opportunities and add value to occupants, investors, community and environment alike. Because of their multiple benefits, green roofs may be touted as the Swiss Army Knife of Sustainability. They are indispensable to any climate action plan. Our presenter, Fai Hui, installs and maintains green roofs for <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.ginkgosustainability.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Ginkgo Sustainability</a>. After describing the basics, he will examine the key components &nbsp;of green roofs, and how they work together as a system. With selected projects, he will demonstrate how proper design, construction and maintenance go hand-in-hand to achieve long-term success.

Webinar: Introduction to Green Roofs

As our cities and towns age, the costs incurred by essential infrastructure are increasing. The cost of maintaining existing grey infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, civic buildings, water and sewer lines) is in the $100s of millions. Any new infrastructure required to service projected housing needs will drive those costs to over a $trillion. Given these are essential community services, they cannot be value engineered out. Kim Fowler is the Principal of<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.sustainabilitymakescents.com/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">&nbsp;Sustainability Makes Cents Consulting</a>, with over 35 years&rsquo; experience working with local governments across Canada. In this webinar, Kim will show how green infrastructure can save $millions in infrastructure costs, while also providing social and environmental benefits. She will explain the economic logic of investing into green roofs and other natural assets. Using case studies, she will paint a clear picture of how such investments can ward off crises, while also paying our debt forward to future generations.&nbsp;

GRIN GREEN ROOF INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK ASSOCIATION

Events

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Climate Change Risk Assessments & Green Infrastructure - Training

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Roots on the Roof UBC Tour

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Webinar: Introduction to Green Roofs

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Webinar: Green Infrastructure is Better Infrastructure

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