It is no secret that white reflects heat, and that is true for your roof as well. In fact, many hot climates around the world have been utilizing this knowledge for centuries.

“The darker the surface, the more the heating. Fresh asphalt reflects only 4 percent of sunlight compared to as much as 25 percent for natural grassland and up to 90 percent for a white surface such as fresh snow.” Yale

Other places have also started catching on. For example, even in 2012 in the USA, volunteers started painting tar roofs white in New York. 1 However, this is not something trending everywhere. Some places are accustomed to dark colored roofs, so even in hot climates, they are slow to change.

This change will of course be easier in places where flat roofs are more common and ready to paint, but slanted roofs have options too. For example, metal roofing is more environmentally friendly2 than shingles, is more durable, and can last longer. What is more, the reflective properties of the metal can also help cool your homes.3

#GreenLiving #BetterBuilds #Construction #homes #houses

Why City Greenery Matters

Greenery is not just visually appealing, it also has many benefits for both us and wildlife.

For example:

• Helping Insects. Even a small patch of greenery can help native insects [1],
• Removing cancer causing toxins,[2],
• Removing rainfall microplastics, [3]
• Reducing city temperatures [4]

Creating Paths for Wildlife

Cities might have large expanses without any greenery at all, and that can create habitat fragmentation. Habitat fragmentation is when the natural paths and territories of a living creature is broken up. This limits the area animals can forage, can limit mating options, and can completely disrupt migration patterns. Due to this, habitat fragmentation is showing to have world-wide consequences. [5]

Even the smallest of creatures matter, which is why some locations are starting to think about paths insects can take through cities. [6]

Unique Ideas

Moss

Since moss can absorb 6x more C02 than other plants[7], some, like Gorespyre, are working to add more moss to cities.

Vertical Meadows:

If a city does not have the space to plant trees or shrubs, some cities are instead choosing to grow greenery up the sides of buildings. This can reduce building heat loss,[8], and when paired with the correct native plant, can help local wildlife. [9]

The main key to this is to choose native plants that can handle the harsh weather a building might endure, while also not having a very large root system. This typically means no trees.

Building For Greenery

Some architects build with including greenery in mind. A great example of this comes from Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who worked both greenery into his creations.

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One thing all cities should enforce for future builds(especially for skyscrapers), is bird-protection on windows.

In Canada, 16-42 million birds[1] are killed by window strikes, and in the USA, that number goes up to 365 million-1 billion. [2]

Sadly, one or two of those bird-shaped decals do not help, since the decals have to be no more than 2-inches apart.

“Window decals may help, but they must be placed no more than 2-4 inches apart in order to be effective. Birds will try to fly through larger gaps. This means that on large windows, many closely spaced decals may be necessary to deter bird collisions.” Audubon

Luckily, the fix for this window problem is easy. For the first example; there are bird-safe decorative window films and decals(they must go on the outside of the window).

The most common design is made up of several small white dots, while others are more decorative.

If decals will not work for you (they sometimes don’t last in cold climates), you can opt for permanent (and more expensive) window etchings.

Need an even less expensive option? You can make your own dots or designs using a Uni-Posca pen. The markings can be scraped off if needed. Just remember that the markings must be on the outside part of the window for them to work.

• 

  Trellis Bird Safety Film

• 

  Etched glass

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Roads can cause major problems for wildlife, and not just from the danger of being truck by vehicles. With busy enough traffic, wildlife may avoid crossing at all, causing habitat fragmentation. Habitat fragmentation is when the natural paths and territories of a living creature is broken up. This limits the area animals can forage, can limit mating options, and can completely disrupt migration patterns. Due to this, habitat fragmentation is showing to have world-wide consequences. [1]

In order to stitch habitats back together, wildlife overpasses, underpasses/tunnels, and viaducts are all used. They not only protect the wildlife, but also help drivers and passengers by limiting the chance of a collision with an animal. Considering roads are the biggest source of human-caused wildlife death in Canada's national parks [2] , a change can make a big impact.

Proof They Work

Wildlife crossings are not a new idea, so some of our oldest crossings have provided many years of data, showing their worth.

“In 2012, eleven species of large mammals have been recorded using wildlife crossings more than 150,000 times since 1996. This includes grizzly and black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and more recently wolverine and lynx.“ Parks Canada

When paired with fences to keep animals off the roads and help encourage them to use the crossings, areas can see a reduction in animal-vehicle collisions by more than 80%, and that number jumps to a reduction of 96% for just elk and deer. [4]

What Wildlife Crossings Look Like

There are a wide range of different crossings that might be built for animals. Some are large overpasses that span over roads and are covered with greenery to make them seem more like hills. Others are large tunnels that pass under the roads, and some are barely wider than a basket ball or baseball, and are used for our smallest critters. An example of one of these small paths is in Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada) where care was taken to ensure Salamanders have a safe path. [5]

Typically, overpasses work better than underpasses for most wildlife, since not all wildlife is comfortable traversing into a dark tunnel which is often loud with traffic vibrations. In comparison, the overpasses are typically made with soil, grass, and trees, to feel like a hill for wildlife.

Where We Also Need More

As cities continue to spread outward, one place more care in creating these would be within cities themselves. Typically, they are only found in wild spaces, but they make a big impact in cities as well.

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