Living Roofs for London’s Wildlife

Buglife’s Living Roofs for Wildlife project has created six ‘Living Roofs’ for bees, butterflies and birds in some of London’s most densely populated areas.

As we progress, we’re getting a better idea of which bugs will colonise living roofs, what types of flower they prefer and the best substrates to use for planting in.

We are working with Dusty Gedge of green roof experts livingroofs.org. Living roofs are a vital step towards reversing the decline of urban wildlife caused by the ongoing loss of habitats such as brownfields and gardens.

Wildlife likely to benefit from the presence of the roofs includes the endangered Brown-banded carder bee and birds like the Black redstart.

The three-year project was funded through SITA Trust’s Enriching Nature Programme, and installed Living Roofs on buildings including Lewisham Town Hall, the Abbey Hive community centre in Camden, DuFour House residential building in Soho, Transport for London headquarters in St James Park, 222 Upper Street in Islington and the University of East London (Stratford).

Each roof, designed by green roof experts The Green Roof Consultancy, includes wildflower meadows, sandy areas and shingle patches, to re-create the habitats used by threatened species.

Roof roll-out

We hope to find what works and what doesn’t, so we can play a useful role in the expansion of this new aerial habitat for wildlife.