Mounds Park Academy Research Roof Garden

I am currently a senior at Mounds Park Academy and I am working on research roof garden to gather information about run-off water quantity vs. type of plant. I am in the process of building a small garden (12' by 3') 3' from the ground. It will be divided into four sections, one control, two with sedum mixtures, and one with native prairie species (still to be determined). Students will be responsible for collecting the data, allowing them to be introduced to new conservation techniques.

My original plan for the project was to build a garden on the actual roof. I worked with structural engineers, architects, and city officials to create a plan. However, when i presented this to the school, it was vetoed because it was not accessible to students and it would be too difficult to maintain. Instead, the school is looking at the idea of putting a garden on the cafeteria roof that will be built in the next phase of construction. My current project is collecting information that will hopefully be used in the design of that roof.

I'm currently working on buying the lumber for the garden frame. I hope to complete this by the end of this week and build soon after. After this is completed, i will be working with the Roof Bloom project to implement the garden.