A maze of hearty, green sedum plants is installed on the rooftop deck that extends over the main terminal of the Rapid City Airport.
The plants require little maintenance and are expected to do well in the regional climate.
But the grid of plants are for more than just looks.
It’s called a green roof, and is a part of Jason Phillips’ civil engineering doctorate degree. Phillips says a green roof has social, environmental and economic benefits. He says countries like Germany have utilized green roofs for the last four decades.
“It’s very sustainable green infrastructure. It’ the one green infrastructure that helps the building envelope and reducing the heating and cooling costs,” Phillips says. “As we were building this there was pea rock everywhere and there was nobody out here. Nobody was like, ‘Oh, let’s go out there.’ Then, once we started getting the plants out here, and stuff, people just started migrating out here.”
It’s not just plants on the green roof, there’s a weather sensor that measures wind direction, speed, humidity and precipitation. That station also monitors the soil temperature and dryness, so watering the green roof is automatic, but only when needed to conserve water.
Dan Mulally is a program administrator with the Western Dakota Water Development District, which
promotes water management, conservation and clean water. That board voted to spend 26-thousand dollars to provide monitoring instrumentation.
He says the project fits with the district’s mission, part of which storm water runoff, which a green roof can help control.
“We’re concerned with water management. One of the things this will demonstrate is controlling water runoff,” Mulally says. “A lot of you have probably heard that Rapid City has a problem with run off. If we can slow that down with things like this, that would fit well within our charter of what we want to promote.”
It’s the second green roof the airport has had. Rapid City Regional Airport experimented with a green roof in 2012, but it ultimately failed. Officials say they’re optimistic and excited about the new green roof.