Green Roof technology is a system of landscaping that has been used in Europe for many years. It is now starting to become popular in the United States because it is very environmentally friendly. In Europe and now in here in the states, the roofs of buildings are covered with speical matreials that allow the roof to be covered with vegetation. By doing so, the rain water is held by the vegetation and the roof of the buildings are insulated from the heat of the sun. The Green Roof also provides a place for people to enjoy "green space" in densely populated urban areas where land is at a premium and there is little space for parks and gardens.

Green roofs require a drainage system. The strange looking gridwork you see is the green roof drainage system that sits on top of the bunker and is used to allow for proper drainage underneath my back yard green space. The drainage panels are 2 feet square and have interlocking tabs on 2 sides which allow the panels to lock together into a single system. Each panel has chanels that collect the water and allow the water to seep through holes in the panels to the supporting surface underneath. There are also pockets that hold water so the roots of the plants can reach down and drink up the water that is held in the pockets.

The panels you see are made from recycled, molded polyethylene. I purchased these direct from the manufacture in Canada and had them shipped into Milwaukee by truck. I tried to purchase drainage panels here in the US, but the only US manufacture would not sell them to me because I was not a landscape company. They protect the landscape company so you have to pay full retail and pay the landscape company to install the drainage system for you. The landscape company quoted $12,000 for the drainage system you see in the photo. Including the shipping cost, I only paid $1300 for the drainage panels you see and with the help of my good friend Chris Erbes we did the work ourselves.
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