GREEN ROOF AND URBAN AGRICULTURE PROGRAM
Growing Food for People or Pollinators
Who We Are
Led by Professor Jennifer Bousselot, the Colorado State University Green Roof and Urban Agriculture Program is exploring new and innovative ways to improve the productivity and aesthetics of modern urban spaces by harnessing the twin powers of the sun and plantlife. With a roster of graduate students and researchers, the team is pushing the boundaries of horticultural science with numerous pieces of published research and scientific discovery every year.
Urban Agriculture Across Colorado
The team’s agricultural research lives at a growing number of Colorado State sites across the Front Range. On the main campus in Fort Collins, the Nutrien green roof was installed in 2022, directly adjacent to a ground-level research garden planted with the same species. The CSU Foothills Campus in the greater Fort Collins area is a peri-urban rooftop agrivoltaic system, and in May of 2021 a simulated green roof system was installed under existing solar panels.
At the CSU Spur campus and learning center in Denver, two green roof systems (Hydro and Terra) and an expansive greenhouse show how abundant and unused roof spaces in urban areas can be used for plant and food production where little other agricultural land is available. And further to the south in El Paso County, the Duckwood Community Garden houses a CSU research plot where exciting experiments on native plant growth are being conducted.
Watch Dr. Bousselout’s TedX Talk
Professor Jennifer Bousselot was invited to present on green roof research in 2020 at the TedX Cherry Creek event. This 9 minute video outlines the basics of rooftop agrivoltaics, the impact of green roof spaces on urban spaces, and what individuals can do to make green roofs part of their life.
Collaborators
Engage With the Research
The Latest
Meeting with Gov. Polis to discuss a new $500K agrivoltaics grant (December 2024)
A vegetable that grows really well on a Colorado green roof? Garlic! (June 2023)
Take a look: Wildflowers exploding in color on the green roof at CSU Spur (May 2023)
In the News
Denver Adopts One Water (Flipbook link)
Olivia Emmer, Headwaters. Fall 2023.
The Ultra-Efficient Farm of the Future Is In the Sky
Matt Simon, Wired. November 2, 2023.
A Conversation About Green Roofs (Video)
Rocky Mountain PBS. August, 2023.
Science Takes the Stage at CSU Spur
Anthony Lane, CSU Source. April 19, 2023.
You Can Turn Your Backyard Into a Biodiversity Hot Spot
Matt Simon, WIRED Magazine. February 27, 2023.
More Bad News For Fossil Fuels: Rooftop Solar Meets Agrivoltaics
Tina Casey, CleanTechnica. April 7, 2023.
Native-Colorado plants can be hard to come by as more people want water-conscious law
Conrad Swanson, Denver Post. March 30, 2023.
As Denver pushes to green its rooftops, a CSU professor takes agrivoltaics to new heights
Emma VandenEinde, Colorado Public Radio KUNC. November 9, 2022.
How does this CSU professor’s garden grow? On a Denver rooftop
Judith Kohler, Denver Post. September 16, 2022.
It’s Time to Make Cities More Rural
Matt Simon, WIRED Magazine. September 8, 2022.
Research green roof thriving at CSU Spur campus
Anthony Lane, Colorado State University Source. August 30, 2022.
Cities mandate green roofs to capture stormwater, cool environment and support biodiversity
Elizabeth Ruiz, ABC News (Channel 7 and National TV). June 14, 2022.
The process of building a green roof
9 News. May 24, 2022.
CSU Online Horticulture Degree Shows Remarkable Growth.
Lyn Dean, Colorado Green Magazine. July/August 2020.
Publications
Characterization of Agrivoltaic Crop Environment Conditions Using Opaque and Thin-Film Semi-Transparent Modules. Uchanski, M., Hickey, T., Bousselot, J. and Barth, K.L. Energies, 16(7), March 2023, p. 3012. (DOI: 10.3390/en16073012)
Green Roofs in Shortgrass Prairie Ecoregions (Chapter). Dvorak, B. and Bousselot, J. Ecoregional Green Roofs: Theory and Application in the Western USA and Canada, 2021, pp.143-200. (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-58395-8_4)
Theoretical development of ecoregional green roofs (Chapter). Dvorak, B. and Bousselot, J. Ecoregional Green Roofs: Theory and Application in the Western USA and Canada, 2021, pp. 41-79. (DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-58395-8_2)
Observations on the survival capacity of 118 plant taxa on a green roof in a semi-arid climate: 12 year update. Schneider, A., Landis, M. and Bousselot, J. Journal of Living Architecture, January 2021, 8(1), pp.19-40. (DOI: 10.46534/jliv.2021.08.19.001)
Green roof research in North America: a recent history and future strategies. Bousselot, J., Russell, V., Tolderlund, L., Celik, S., Retzlaff, B., Morgan, S., Buffam, I., Coffman, R., Williams, J. and Mitchell, M. Journal of Living Architecture, 2020, 7(1), pp.27-64. (DOI: 10.46534/jliv.2020.07.01.027)
Photovoltaic array influences the growth of green roof plants. Bousselot, J., Slabe, T., Klett, J. and Koski, R. Journal of Living Architecture, 2017, 4(3), pp.9-18. (DOI: 10.46534/jliv.2017.04.03.009)
Evaluating a natural zeolite as an amendment for extensive green roof substrate. Bousselot, J.M., Klett, J.E. and Koski, R.D. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 2012, 30(4), pp.201-206. (DOI: 10.24266/0738-2898.30.4.201)
Moisture content of extensive green roof substrate and growth response of 15 temperate plant species during dry down. Bousselot, J.M., Klett, J.E. and Koski, R.D. HortScience, 2011, 46(3), pp.518-522. (DOI: 10.21273/HORTSCI.46.3.518)
Extensive green roof species evaluations using digital image analysis. Bousselot, J.M., Klett, J.E. and Koski, R.D. HortScience, 2010, 45(8), pp.1288-1292. (DOI: 10.21273/HORTSCI.45.8.1288)