Small is Beautiful – Green roofs on sheds and shelters

Sheds – whether for prams, bins or bikes – electricity sub-stations and other small buildings pepper the urban landscape, especially on housing estates. Though small, they add up to a pretty significant area of roof space in any given city. Greening these can create small pockets of habitat, and provide added visual amenity to green space for urban residents.

Green Roof Shed for prams in London
Small green roof shed for prams, Hammersmith London

Social Housing Opportunities London – Pram Sheds

Today’s Green Roof Beauty contest image is of a pram store, one of a series of green roofs on a housing estate in West London. These were installed as part of a retrofit project to enhance both the visual appearance of the estate and to increase biodiversity. Using native plants and a simple green roof system, the green roofs compliment the estate’s rain gardens and planting at ground level. All across London, there are small scale green roofs popping up on kiosks, sub-stations and outdoor classrooms.

Such small pockets of habitat can be important stepping stones for bees and other pollinators in the urban realm. Whilst the focus of many policy makers, quite rightly, can be on large, new developments, retrofitting onto small buildings can have a positive effect too.

To construct a small scale green roof is relatively simple, whether it is on a new building or an old one. This Small Scale Green Roof DIY guide is the perfect starting point for creating a green roof shed or shelter.

If you have a picture of a small scale green roof, then do enter it into the enter a picture of it into the Green Roof Beauty Contest here.