Reading, Writing & Rooftops: New Albany-Plain Local Schools Take Learning to New Heights with a LiveRoof Vegetated Roof
New Albany, OH (PRWEB) April 15, 2015 -- With the completion of the New Albany-Plain School District’s new 1-8 school and the arrival of warmer weather, students and staff will soon have an opportunity to explore the district’s newest learning lab, located on the school’s roof.
“New Albany-Plain Local Schools has a long-tradition of incorporating environmental stewardship as a major interdisciplinary strand in our district’s K-12 Course of Study,” said Michael Sawyers, Chief of Operations and Strategic Development. “From our Nature Preserve, incorporating Rose Run Stream and Swickard Woods, to our innovative summer camps and trips, teachers, students and community members use the nature preserve to learn through hands-on, inquiry-based and authentic experiences.”
To keep this vision growing, district leaders and community members through the design process chose to incorporate the LiveRoof® Hybrid Green Roof System and a greenhouse into the plans for the new school building as it was designed in 2013. The 2500-square foot garden was designed by the architectural firm Moody Nolan and installed by Meade Construction. The living roof features native plants grown by Corso’s Perennials.
“I think the living roof is an excellent way for students to develop an understanding of energy conservation,” said District Environmental Science Coordinator Sandra Willmore, who was named a 2014 Outstanding Green Educator/Program Director by Green Schools. “For example, I envision teaching students how pioneers also used living roofs, or sod homes, because they were well-insulated. The same insulating value is true for our new school.”
The planted roof will also provide opportunities to explore native plants and conduct soil testing, Willmore added.
Green roofs provide natural function and beauty. A patented, subterranean modular system unites the soil and plants creating a naturally beautiful meadow-like aesthetic. The roofs offer benefits in addition to energy conservation, including:
- Creating a habitat where students can study plants, insects and songbirds
- Protecting local waterways by absorbing and filtering rainwater.
Financial benefits can also be achieved from a growing roof including: extension of roof life, energy conservation, enhanced public relations, and conservation of municipal septic systems.
LiveRoof systems can influence several Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED®) credits, including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality.
PHOTOGRAPHERS/VIDEOGRAPHERS WELCOME --
Please contact: Dan Cartell, 216.408.9611
About LiveRoof® Global, LLC
LiveRoof Global, LLC (http://www.liveroof.com) is the horticultural science company that developed the LiveRoof® Hybrid System, whose natural function and natural beauty offer the highest level of green roof performance at the lowest level acquisition-installation-maturation-maintenance costs. Combining the best elements of proven green roof technologies, LiveRoof establishes a seamless vegetative surface rooted in a continuous layer of soil. This design maximizes environmental benefits, energy savings and rooftop aesthetics. Regional growers in its global network adapt LiveRoof plants for local conditions and customize plant selection for every project. The proof is on the roof showcased in LiveRoof projects that stand out as signature elements on commercial, public, university and school buildings throughout the globe.
About Corso’s Perennials
Located in Milan, Ohio near Sandusky, Corso's has been in business since 1941. Originally a retail greenhouse, Corso’s has grown to include seven acres of greenhouse, three acres of outdoor production, retail Flower Shop, Garden Center, and Landscape Department.
In the mid 1980's Corso's began to grow Perennials for their own retail market and for a few wholesale accounts. Today, Corso’s Perennials is the wholesale division supplying perennials to supply garden centers throughout Ohio, Michigan, Western Pennsylvania, Indiana, northern Kentucky, and Buffalo, New York. The company grows over four million plants per year for a variety of garden centers.
Corso’s has created its own brand of perennials called “Perennial Perfections®.” This brand is sold to other independent nurseries as well as on their Milan Road retail lot. Corso’s objective has been to nurture Perennial Perfections as the highest quality perennial produced. Several other national brands, including Herb Herbert Herbs™, Stepables®, and Proven Winners®, are also grown and supplied through Corso’s.
Third and fourth generation Corso family members currently manage the business along with a talented and committed staff. The company presently employs sixty people year round and 150 employees at peak times.
Corso’s Media Contact:
Gus Corso
888.816.8608 x219
liveroof(at)corsosperennials(dot)com
About New Albany-Plain Local Schools
The New Albany-Plain Local School District (NAPLS) is located 20 miles northeast of downtown Columbus, in the city of New Albany. The school district serves approximately 4,850 students, kindergarten through twelfth grade, and covers an area of 23 square miles, including the City of New Albany, Plain Township, and neighborhoods within a small portion of the City of Columbus. NAPLS features a unique learning environment for its students, with all of its schools and support facilities located on an 80-acre college-style campus.
NAPLS has set a goal to become one of the nation’s top-performing school districts and it continues to build a legacy as one of Ohio’s most respected school districts. All of the district’s schools have earned an “Excellent” rating on their State of Ohio Report Cards, and the district has earned the state’s top rating for nine-consecutive years. Ninety-five percent of the district’s graduates attend college, with eighty-seven percent of those attending four-year colleges or universities, including some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions.
The successes that have been realized by NAPLS are a result of the unique partnership that has been formed on the part of the school district and the entire learning community. This partnership has yielded benefits for not only today’s students, but for generations to come.
NAPLS Media Contact:
Patrick Gallaway
Director of Communications
New Albany-Plain Local Schools
614.413.7112
http://www.napls.us
Amber Ponce, LiveRoof Global LLC, http://www.liveroof.com, +1 (616) 935-1964, [email protected]
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