ASLA Green Roof Opening Draws Press and Politicians
Political dignitaries and heavy press coverage mark opening of ASLA’s important demonstration project. LAND Online has exclusive audio of the week’s events.

The ASLA green roof landscape was officially dedicated during National Landscape Architecture Month on April 26, the birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted. That afternoon, a distinguished panel of guests arrived for the official green roof dedication. The Honorable Linda Cropp, Chair, District of Columbia City Council, helped to cut the ribbon. Michael Van Valkenburgh, FASLA; Dennis Carmichael, FASLA; Steven Peck, President of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; and ASLA Executive Vice President Nancy Somerville made remarks. Drew Becher, Washington’s Associate Director of Parks and Recreation, was on hand for the dedication, as was Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords, Honorary ASLA. Several ASLA members who donated funds to the green roof also attended the event, as did representatives from companies who donated products and services to the project.

ASLA green roof draws heavy press interest
In conjunction with the dedication, a press release was released that afternoon over the national wire, and a media-only preview of the green roof was held on Tuesday, April 25. Eleven members of the media attended, including reporters from The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, Governing magazine, Home & Design magazine, Chemical & Engineering News, The Kiplinger Letter, Greenwire, USA Today, and American Gardener magazine. Reporters participated in a guided tour of the roof, followed by lunch and presentations by Chris Counts, ASLA, of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., John Fritz of Forrester Construction, and Somerville.

So far, major media coverage of the green roof includes USA Today, the blog, Garden Design, and Planet Save. An AP story that was released over the international wires has had numerous hits, including coverage in India, The China Post, and MSNBC.The AP article also ran on CNN’s home page under "Latest News" as a top story.

Anticipated coverage includes another AP story for the domestic wire, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Kiplinger Letter, Garden Design magazine, House & Garden magazine, and much more.

In addition to this heavy print coverage, Valkenburgh and Counts participated in a radio media tour on the morning of April 26. Interviewing stations included KVNU AM (Logan, Utah), KNUS AM (Denver, Colorado), KCCK FM (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), KINK FM (Portland, Oregon), USA Radio (National), KRLD-AM (Dallas), and Talk Radio News Service (Washington, D.C.). Approximately 713,400 listeners were reached through the series of interviews.

For exclusive audio content from the dedication ceremony listen to this week’s LAND Online podcast.

The ASLA green roof was dedicated on April 26, with the Honorable Linda Cropp, Chair, District of Columbia City Council, and ASLA President Dennis Carmichael, FASLA, cutting the ceremonial ribbon, and Michael Van Valkenburgh, FASLA, discussing the project. Approximately 50 members and invited guests came to celebrate the opening of the roof.