About The Project

In 1980, the CGC purchased an old Sohio gas station immediately north of our site to provide a place for storage of materials for the Neighborhood Gardens Program and expand our limited parking facilities. The site has been repaved and landscaped and the building has served the storage needs of the CGC.

The CGC, which has long wanted to expand "demonstration facilities" nearby, has committed its energy and resources to building a demonstration "Green Roof" on the old gas station building and creating a classroom space within. The intent of the "Green Roof' project is to provide a visible example of this new environmental stewardship technology, by encouraging energy conservation with the building and deploying advanced storm water management techniques on the roof and adjacent parking lot. The project was initiated and designed in 2006; it is being implemented in 2007.

How You Can Help

If you would like more information on how you can help make this project a reality, please contact Vickie Ciotti, 513.221.0981, ext. 12.

To make a contribution:

Cash Donation Form

In-Kind donation

Vision

The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati's vision is to inspire individuals, developers and businesses to create green roofs. The Garden Center will do this by building a prototype Green Roof Garden on one of its existing buildings.

Green roofs have been shown to improve the environment by reducing storm water run-off, reduce heat and air pollution in the surrounding area, improve energy efficiency and create wildlife habitat. Green roofs also beautify the urban environment. The Garden Center will staff and operate the model as an interactive laboratory for teaching the creation, operation and maintenance of green roofs.

Ancillary demonstration areas will be developed to show best practice models in the area of environmental stewardship. The importance of water conservation, water recycling and flood control - storm water management - will be demonstrated through "the journey of the raindrop."

The Garden Center is designing a curriculum that it will use for school tours. The curriculum will utilize the state science content standards. The tours will be led by trained volunteers. Signage will be developed to allow visitors the opportunity to take a self-guided tour when our volunteers are not available.

In the Journey of a Raindrop the visitor will follow water as it moves across a shingle roof and through three types of green roofs (extensive, intensive and semi-extensive), across pervious and impervious paving and into a cistern. Monitoring devices will allow visitors to quantify the amount and speed of runoff going into the stormwater system.