Little Green Roofs is an exciting project from Red Rose Forest, working with local communities to create green roofs on small, uninhabited, communal buildings and structures around Manchester. These green roofs will help to create fantastic roof-top hotspots for greenery and biodiversity and help to reduce the impact of local climate change. Little Green Roofs is a Red Rose Forest project, part funded by Manchester City Council's Carbon Innovation Fund.
What are the benefits of green roofs?
Green roofs are becoming an increasingly important technology in our towns and cities. They can play an important role in reducing the soaring summer temperatures that are predicted to affect our urban centres, known as the Urban Heating Island Effect. They can help to reduce the chances and severity of flooding by absorbing rainfall and stopping it from flowing over the hard surfaces found in our towns and cities. Green roofs can also provide an important refuge for wildlife in the UK urban environment such as the Black Redstart and bees which are declining rapidly.
What will the project do?
Red Rose Forest will work closely with residents, community groups and schools to identify and transform the roofs of small, uninhabited communal buildings and structures, such as sheds, bike shelters and storage containers into havens for wildlife. Community centres, places of worship, colleges, schools and Surestart centres, allotment societies and health centres across Manchester could all be enhanced by the creation of a Little Green Roof. Each green roof could be transformed into a wildflower garden and haven for insects or a herb /or vegetable patch. The design of each Little Green Roof will depend on the building and the requirements of the community group and the actual construction will be led by experts working alongside members of the community.
Kevin from Red Rose Forest says "Having a green roof installed on a shed or container is much easier than you might think, and will be the talk of your neighbourhood. We are looking for small, uninhabited buildings where the roofs can be transformed into eye catching new habitats. So if you know of any suitable community buildings, get in touch with us.
More information
If you think you know of a small roof in Manchester suitable for greening, if you want to get involved in building a green roof, or for more information, please contact Kevin Wigley, Green Streets Project Officer on 0161 872 1660 or at
