Photo by the USDA.

If you attended the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival earlier this month, you probably came across the “People’s Garden” display.  The small demonstration building featured a green roof and a rain barrel irrigation system.

We were very excited to be a part of this demonstration, an appreciate the work that the US Department of Agriculture is doing to promote green roofs to the main stream.  Green roofs offer many private benefits, and en masse can help normalize urban microclimates and protect our waterways from the negative effects of excess stormwater runoff.

Read more about the project on the USDA staff blog []