In 2011, when DTE’s Traverse City Service Center needed a new roof, environmental supervisor Chris Paquette knew he didn’t want to just do more of the same. Instead, he saw an opportunity to make a decades-old building more energy efficient while enriching local wildlife by installing a green roof at the northern Michigan site.
A green roof – also called a vegetated roof system – takes otherwise unused space and turns it into more of a garden, integrating plants into structure. The roof at DTE’s Traverse City site is nearly 2,000 square feet and provide plenty of benefits beyond just sheltering the building below.
“The idea behind it is to alleviate the heat absorbed through the roof into the building,” Paquette said. “Instead, it’s absorbed by something natural that has a natural insulating factor as well.”
Now, more than a decade later, the roof is thriving. It’s home to insects, a lunch area for employees and even a nesting duck this summer, improving the space for humans and animals alike.
A duck nests on the green roof at the Traverse City Service Center.
The team planned the roof meticulously, selecting species that were low maintenance, non-invasive and supportive of local pollinators. The end result is a roof that supports local wildlife, filters rainwater and saves energy.
As an added bonus, the roof requires very little maintenance. After the first few years, the mix of various sedum doesn’t need much attention. When the region has a dry spell, the watering system helps keep things healthy. When something like a duck decides to call the roof home as it did this summer, the team ensures the ducklings will be safe when making the journey to the ground (something that needed no human intervention this time, the team was happy to say.)
Even with all the benefits, there were some challenges to making the roof happen. First was the price as installing a green roof is more costly than a standard one, something that’s always a hurdle, even if the benefits are greater. There were also some structural concerns – a green roof weighs more than a standard one, meaning that the building had to be modified to handle the new addition.
The payoff, though, has been worth it for employees and animals alike.
“Several people have used it for years to go up and have a break or eat their lunch,” Paquette said. “It gives them a spot to get away from the busy part of the office and get some fresh air.”
The impact has gone beyond the building itself. The service center project was one of the first green roofs in Michigan, paving the way for other businesses to add green roofs to their own sites.
For Paquette, making a difference makes all the planning and work to set up the green roof worth it.
“We have millions of people that rely on us for power,” he said. “That comes the ability to help in some ways. And I think it’s important that we give back to the community when we can, even in small ways that make it a better place for people that use our services and live in our neighborhoods and communities.”