It is well known that green roofs attract bees, and photos of bees are often used in advertising by companies that offer them (we do this too, by the way). But behind the beautiful images lies something much more important than good marketing—the survival of entire ecosystems.
A number of research projects on green roofs and invertebrate biodiversity provide important data on the diverse fauna finding not just refuge but habitat on green, living roofs. The most common green roof inhabitants, however, appear to be the bees. Scientists say we have lost more than a million beehives in the last 20 years, and the number continues to grow daily. Many of us might say “so what, I’m less likely to be stung in the summer”. However, the problem is far more complex.
Albert Einstein said that without bees the Earth could survive for 4 years at most.
The planet would not perish completely without honeybees, but they are perhaps nature’s most important reproductive mechanism and therefore the most important insect in the human food chain. Bees pollinate almost all the flowers, fruits and vegetables that humans eat. Their disappearance could prove fatal to food security for future generations.
A study of bees on green roofs in Switzerland shows that green roofs planted with a mixture of wildflowers and sedums are used throughout the foraging season (April to September). The Swiss study recorded 77 different species of bees visiting the green roofs surveyed. This means that a green roof with a variety of flowering species of sedums and wildflowers is an ideal home that provides important habitat for pollinators.
Therefore
A green roof or living roof is a creative way to create foraging habitat for bees in an urban environment,
especially when space is limited. In the struggle to provide space for nature with ever increasing populations and varying environmental demands, green roofs or living roofs can help provide a living space for our bees. There are so many creative ideas – from green roofs on buildings, to putting a green roof on garages, signposting or advertising boards, sheds and bus shelters – that there is plenty to be inspired by.
One example of inspiration is the UK city of Leicester, which converted thirty bus stops into ‘Bee Bus Stops’ with green roofs.
In 2021 Leicester is working hard to install a new network of bee bus stops. The network, called ‘Living Roof’, consists of 30 bus stops that are covered in sedum and wildflowers favoured by pollinating insects, whose numbers have been shown to be declining in recent years.
To combat the declining bee population, the City of Leicester is turning bus stops into bee havens. These green sanctuaries are essentially bus stops with green roofs – with sedum and other flowering species – that are designed to encourage pollination. Green roofs on bus stops will contribute positively to biodiversity and climate resilience, absorb rainwater falling on the roof, help reduce the urban heat island effect, capture particulates from the air and help make the city a cleaner and greener place.
“It’s great to see the first of Leicester’s new living roof bus shelters appearing across the city,” says Leicester’s Deputy Mayor Adam Clarke, who heads up the Environment and Transport department. – We’ve already had fantastic feedback from people who are as excited as we are to see these bee and butterfly friendly green roofs taking shape. But this is just one of the many benefits of the citywide revamp of our bus shelters. The new bus shelters will be great for passengers, and the mix of solar power and living roofs is another step forward towards our ambition and strategy to be a carbon neutral and climate adapted city by 2030…We plan to equip all remaining bus shelters with solar panels that will power smart lighting to manage energy use.”
The living roofs at the bus stops – Bee Bus Stops – are part of a new 10-year contract between Leicester City Council and Clear Channel UK.
Similar bus stops with green roofs have already been installed in the Dutch city of Utrecht, where bus stops are also being transformed into green havens.
The green roof is not just an architectural trend. It is a gesture towards nature. In a world with a growing population and increasingly limited space, every roof area can become an opportunity—an opportunity for more life, more colors, and more buzzing above our heads.
