How can plants warm community activity? Read on to find out more...

The Eco team at this Norman church have battened down on heating bills by harnessing the technology of a Living Roof, so that users of its vital community rooms can stay warm and dry for another generation.

Using largely-recycled insulation layers produced by Bauder Ltd of Ipswich, and a water-regulating membrane-layer, 17 varieties of Sedum plant have been spread like a turf-carpet. As the plants grow and flower, they will return oxygen to the atmosphere; their roots and soil act as further insulation to the building below.

This future-proofing generates huge smiles from those who must manage the Heating Bills for the Norman church. They know that the Living Roof holds heat inside the building in winter; in summer it regulates impact from hot sun and provides a diverse environment for wildlife from the nearby Fen and Ancient Monument sites.

The Green Roof harvests rainwater as well as energy. To make facilities more robust in the face of Climate Change, the captured rainwater will be stored underground and re-used.

A ‘Zero Carbon Villages’ strategy promoted by South Cambridgeshire District Council, together with overviews from the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, has provided valuable funding so that community activities can continue in the accessible and friendly church room. Matched with this comes an ongoing commitment by the church to honour Creation and to be responsible stewards of it.

Clergy, Churchwardens and Funders are keen to share details of this ‘Duo-Eco’ approach to Energy and Rainwater. One churchgoer [Angela Brown] has created a recycled textile installation [+ LED lights from Starscape] for a display which helps to explain the ‘Living Roof’ gas and mineral exchanges: it appeared first for Earth Hour on Saturday 28 March when, across the world, people switch off electricity as a sign of respect to our planet.

Gratitude to the South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority is felt by all those who have implemented the planning and construction. A special cheer goes to Valiant and Sons, and to Roof Contractors [Cambridge] who battled East Anglia’s wet winter to ensure that local groups could spring back into action as soon as possible. Teamwork by the church Eco team has underpinned every step.