Living Roof Receives Annual Trim

Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Convention Centre’s ‘living roof’ is now receiving its annual trim with landscapers hard at work mowing the six acres of elevated grass. This is the only formal mowing conducted on the roof each year and it will take approximately two weeks to complete.

With more than 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses from 25 different plant species of the Pacific Northwest present, as well as a large spectrum of different insect species taking residence, the living roof is a pillar in our organization’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Photos of the trimming can be viewed and downloaded here.

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BACKGROUNDER

Annual Mowing Fast Facts

• Takes a crew of up to five landscapers

• Less than two weeks to complete

• Equipment: one lawnmower, three line trimmers and one blade trimmer

• No chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides used

• Some clippings will be left on the roof to be composted back into the soil as fertilizer

Living Roof Fast Facts

• Six acres (2.4 hectares)

• Largest green roof in Canada

• Largest non-industrial green roof in North America

• One of the ten largest green roofs in the world (source: Engineering News Record)

• Landscaped with more than 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses from 25 different plant species of the Pacific Northwest

• Irrigated in the summer with water recycled through facility’s black water treatment plant that collects and cleans water from washrooms

• Acts as an insulator, reducing heat gains in the summer and heat losses in the winter

LEED Facts

• In 2017 the Vancouver Convention Centre was awarded LEED Platinum certification (version 4) for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance

• Coupled with its 2010 Platinum certification for New Construction, the Convention Centre is the first double LEED Platinum convention centre in the world

• Platinum is the highest level of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Honey Bee Facts

• The Vancouver Convention Centre is home to four beehives that are populated with European honey bees (apis mellifera)

• These hives are managed by Hives for Humanity, a local non-profit that creates meaningful opportunities for connection to nature through the supportive culture of the hive

• The beehives were installed on the six-acre living roof in April 2009. The living roof is designed to create forage and habitat for indigenous wild species of bees, as well as the (non-indigenous) honey bees

• The excess honey that the bees store over the season is harvested and extracted, bottled and shared. It is primarily used for client gifts and in the Centre’s “scratch” kitchen for exclusive pastries and treats, including a vanilla gelato sweetened with honey and a honey marinade

About the Vancouver Convention Centre

Located on Vancouver’s downtown waterfront with a dramatic mountain backdrop, the world’s first double LEED® Platinum certified convention centre offers one of the most beautiful settings in the world. The award-winning Vancouver Convention Centre features two connected buildings with a combined total of 466,500 ft2 (43,340 m2) of flexible meeting, exhibition, ballroom and plenary space. The facility is committed to environmental sustainability as well as unparalleled service, technology offerings and culinary excellence.

The Vancouver Convention Centre is a part of BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Provincial Crown Corporation of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture.