So many people are entitled to take a bow, from the 150 installation volunteers who contributed more than 1,000 hours to the project, to the Natvik design team (including Mathis Natvik, Rob Stephens, Masha Kazakevich and Alex Fawcett), and the Metro Central Steering Committee (including Marlene Etherington, Volunteer Chair; Stephanie Uren, Staff Chair; Dedric Nelson, General Manager, Metro Central, and Al Freeman, Facility Manager, Metro Central).

Every person at the celebration seemed to have their own special connection to the project, their own reason to rejoice in this wonderful new facility. Metro Central member Fredelle Brief, who helped with some planting and weeding, says “This was my dream. I just love this roof.” Seymore Applebaum, a member of the Y’s Leadership Council, adds, “I’ve been especially happy to promote this project to the community. Look at the concrete that surrounds us! The downtown has lost so much green space, and here we are, creating green space that will be accessible to all.”

Dedric Nelson, Metro Central’s general manager, sat by the water feature and smiled a great big smile. “I’m very happy! This is a wonderful new space for the community to enjoy, and it was such a pleasure to work with Mathis Natvik and his company. They’ve had the skill, the passion for the environment, and the respect for our community that made them a perfect fit with the Y.”

(L to R) Metro Central member Fredelle Brief, Mathis Natvik (standing) and Metro Central general manager Dedric Nelson admiring the pond, with its three jets bubbling water over the river rock (hiding the child-proofing pond blocks below).

This green roof is significant in other ways as well. First, unlike many, it integrates human space with the green space. This roof is for people as well as plants, and you'll be able to use the space for YMCA classes as well as your own leisure and fitness activities. Again, unlike most similar projects, this green roof will be open to the public (who must first ask at the main desk for a pass). In fact, ours is the largest publicly accessible green roof in all Toronto.

Participants enjoy a yoga class on the green roof.

Come and be part of it! The time for installation volunteers has ended and the time for maintenance volunteers has arrived. All season long, we’ll need committed volunteers to help us care for what we have created. For more information, ask at the membership desk. Come join our green roof community!

First, two days of soil-blowing. This was a job for the professionals, using technology that just five years ago didn’t even exist. Until then, any roof-top soil had to go up by crane. Now, trucks with powerful blower systems can snake their hoses up the wall and onto the roof, where the crew positions the hose nozzle and blows in the material, section by section.

Our roof took 100 cubic yards of this growing medium — an inorganic aggregate that, with proper fertilizing for the first few years, provides the best possible start for the plants. (By then, the plants themselves will have helped create the organic mix in which they’ll thrive thereafter.)

Santiago (foreground) and Rafael (rear left) help their father Maurico Muñoz prepare the soil for planting – surely our youngest volunteers, at ages 8 and 10, respectively.

Next came the planting, with several days of intense effort by shift after shift of eager helpers. In all, some 1,800 plants went into the waiting beds, two-thirds of them native species and all of them selected for their ability to live in shallow soil (just six inches deep), withstand drought, and survive the annual freeze/thaw cycle. Our list includes such choices as Little Bluestem grasses, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis (type of daisy), Black-Eyed Susan, Upland White Aster, Wild Onion and Wild Chives (all in the irrigated areas); and Blue Spruce and Dragon’s Blood sedums and Side-oats Grama (in the non-irrigated areas). The Shubert chokecherries chosen for the five planter boxes are just as tough: they grow right up toward the arctic, and can even survive on rock.

Some of the Saturday morning team: (L to R) Mimi Charmanis, Stephany Becerra, James Watson, Sheelagh Tait, Terry Tator and Shauna Palmer.

Now it’s just a matter of final details: finish covering the benches and planter boxes, put the chokecherry trees in the boxes, lay the river rock over the pond blocks in the water feature, connect all the systems and tidy up. Then we’re ready to go!

Régine Guyomard (left) and Masha Kazakavich are busy planting wild onions along the western edge of the outdoor studio.

Decking, pathways and edging are now complete, and black root barriers and filter fabric are being installed in the areas soon to be covered with plants. These protective layers are important; they keep soil and root systems where they’re supposed to be, and prevent any downward migration that could damage the roof.

This protective layer of black root barrier will protect the wooden sleepers (on the soil side of the deck and pathway edging) from damage.

Some last details we’re taking care of include covering the bench and planter box frames with Trex cladding, completing the pond, putting in the wiring and irrigation systems and installing the remaining screen sections around the outdoor studio. Last but not least, we’re temporarily covering all the hard surfaces to ensure no dust or growing medium filters down between the planks and provides a place for unwanted vegetation to thrive.

We're coming into the home stretch! Check back soon for more updates.

When you’re finally up there enjoying the green roof, please take a moment to admire the way a pathway snugs into the north-west curve of the running track. It’s just a small detail, but the roof is full of them — little things we won’t even notice, yet make all the difference to our safety and enjoyment. That track/pathway join, for example, took Chris Jones several hours to calculate and finally complete. Why? He had to cut that final skinny triangle of planking to: (1) drop the pathway level down to that of the track edge (paths and decks are slightly higher); (2) accommodate the running track curve; and (3) allow for the slope of the track’s banked edge. Tricky indeed, but now that it’s done, it looks simple.

Chris Jones double-checks the complex fit between pathway and track at the north-west curve of the oval.

Another detail: keeping the work area tidy. Volunteers Mauricio Muñoz and Will MacGregor have been on clean-up detail. It’s important, says Natvik’s Rob Stephens, because an overlooked connector or nail could work its way down to the roof membrane, and possibly puncture it. Careful housekeeping removes that threat.

Will MacGregor wielding a garbage bag on clean-up detail.

We now have a fountain! The pond frame is complete, liner cut and tested, and safety-feature pond blocks ready for installation. The hard-material stage is getting close to complete. Almost all decking and pathways are finished, edging is about three-quarters done, the pond and bench frames are ready to be covered, and a first section of outdoor studio lattice is in place. Next week the “growing medium” (better for the purpose than soil) should be arriving. After that we’ll be putting in the plants — and our green roof will finally be green!

Alex Fawcett (left), Stephanie Uren and Chris Jones hold a few slats against the first section of frame for the Outdoor Studio. Gaps between the slats will allow wind to blow safely through.

Edging is starting to define horizontal spaces, and the free-standing water feature is dropping into place. This project is like a giant 3-D jigsaw puzzle, with components locking into each other up, down and diagonally, as well as side to side. For example, the Trex edging for the outdoor studio fits over a companion line of wooden sleepers below, which have carefully spaced gaps to accommodate the aluminum T-frames yet to come — whose feet will slide into now-hidden grooves that were cut into position before the decking was even laid. Green roofs are definitely one project you cannot make up as you go along!

Tyler Field positions an angle bracket on a wooden sleeper to attach it to the outdoor studio.

While Rob Stephens and team laid more and more planking and prepared more edging, Mathis Natvik focused on the water feature. The pumping system has had its trial run, and the edging sleepers are in place all around the perimeter. This sleeper system is particularly sturdy, and needs to be: water exerts terrific outward force, as well as downward.

The water feature will have another safety element, also invisible to the eye. Porous black pond blocks will fill the cavity almost to surface level, then be top-dressed with rocks, leaving a pretty — but very shallow — layer of water on top. Why? The hidden depth of water houses the pump and the shallow surface layer ensures children aren’t at risk as they play near the water.

Volunteers Jake Stephens (L) and James Kay, with Natvik’s Hussein Aziz, who is cutting Trex planks to length for the pathway now being laid.

Next steps are to finish the decking and edging, complete the water feature and construct the benches and planter boxes. Then will come the outdoor studio frames and screens, “growing medium” (not soil as we generally understand it), plants, lights and signs. We’re getting close.

Volunteer Julie Adshade powers yet another hideaway clip into place, this time on a main east/west pathway.

This last week marked a big step forward: the rubberized curbing has been installed, and the decking for the outdoor studio is finally complete. As expected, constructing the studio was a long and exacting job. First, the space is wider than the boards are long, requiring very careful butt-end joins. Second, each line of boards had to be installed very tight and absolutely straight, since even a small deviation would multiply into visible crookedness over succeeding lines of boards.

Third, the deck has to be bare-foot friendly, which means no surface screws. The solution is a little “hideaway” clip that connects boards at the subsurface level — very ingenious, but very fiddly to install! The team has the hang of it by now, and good thing too: by the time they finish, they’ll have installed some 8,000 of the gizmos.

Hussein Aziz, Rob Stephens and Alex Fawcett install boards on the outdoor studio area, using the “hideaway clip” system that protects bare feet.

Next, we’ll put down the remaining decking (thankfully none of it requiring any time-consuming joins) and install the benches and planters, made of the same Trex material as the decking. After that, it will be time to install the water feature, which will be a free-standing element inside the decking. 

More decking joists are now in place, and some planking as well. The boards are being laid with a “hideaway clip” system to ensure safety and comfort for toes busy with yoga or other barefoot arts.

Volunteer James Kay cuts wooden edging for the running track; view is from what will be the main entrance at south/west of oval, with the sitting area and outdoor studio visible behind.

On July 31, finishing off before the holiday weekend, volunteers cut and installed wooden edging around the running track. This was in preparation for the curbs (made of 100% recycled rubber) that will keep soil and track separate from each other. Next, the focus will primarily the outdoor studio, says Mathis Natvik.

Volunteer Chris Jones cuts wooden edging for the running track; joists and decking for the outdoor studio are visible behind.

Save the date!

Our green roof celebration party will take place on the roof on September 10, 2009, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. We'll pass on RSVP details in an upcoming post.

Despite lots of rain recently, the team keeps moving ahead. The spray painting was carefully completed with the help of volunteers Terry Tator and Ian Douglas, and then checked by Mathis Natvik from the design firm. “It has to be laser accurate,” he says. “Everything will be positioned according to that outline.” Mathis himself cuts the notches in decking joists that will accommodate aluminum T-frames for the outdoor studio’s cedar-slat lattices — aluminum, he explains, because it’s strong and light, both key considerations with green roofs.

Ian Douglas, Rob Stevens and Terry Tator on the edge of what will be the outdoor studio.

After that, Rob Stephens and Steve Latimer, both of Natvik, will start laying in more joists for the roof’s various decking areas. We can now look at fluorescent outlines, and imagine the pathways, benches, water feature and outdoor studio that will rise above them. Very exciting!

Laying out joists for decking.

Last week we completed the drainage boards and got everything in place for the next stage. The team installed the last bits of the drainage board and finished stacking all the planks of Trex decking on the roof. Since the service elevator only goes to the fourth floor, the boards had to be hand-carried after that — first to the right stairway on that level, and then up an improvised skid system onto the roof. Thank goodness for muscles and ingenuity! Meanwhile, we installed conduits under the running track, ready to carry power and water lines to our new roof.

This week’s tasks include:

·        Spray painting an outline of the final design onto the drainage board layer (to guide installation from here on)

·        Cutting pathways for the power and irrigation conduits on the green roof itself

·        Starting the installation of the Trex decking

Check back next week for another update as our green roof continues to take shape.

Volunteer Chris Jones juggling the trex decking into the elevator which will then be transported to the roof.

Volunteers Chris Jones (left) and Evan Fox (right) manhandle some Trex planking up the skid onto the roof.

Mauricio Munoz and Evan Fox share a laugh after hauling up the decking.

Below are photos of our volunteers in action on July 7, 2009, when the installation of the drainage boards began.

Volunteers needed!

If you would like to join the YMCA Green Roof volunteer team and help out with this exciting project and have not had the opportunity to submit your application form, please do so ASAP. No experience necessary — you just need to lift, sweat, and have fun!

Application forms can be found online (www.ymcagta.org) or in person at the Metro Central YMCA sales desk. All forms should be faxed to 416-975-1999 (Attn: Stephanie Uren) or handed in at the desk.

The construction of the Metro Central roof membrane, which began on Thursday, June 11, is going better than expected and we are now ahead of schedule.  The installation of the Green Roof is scheduled to begin now on July 7, 2009, with an anticipated completion date of August 31, 2009. Stay tuned for information on our grand opening and celebration party!  Below are photos taken on the first day of construction on June 11.

On June 11, 2009, CBC was at the Metro Central YMCA and witnessed first hand the beginning of this exciting project.

View the video here:

 http://www.ymcatoronto.org/en/who-we-are/media_gallery/video/cbc_news_green_roof.html

We would like to thank the 2,500 members who participated in the consultation before we announce the selection of our final design. More than 1,000 members visited the project website or stopped at the consultation display and gave us feedback, and more than 100 members have already volunteered to help with the project. This is a wonderful example of our members’ sense of belonging and level of involvement.

Since May, the YMCA and Natvik Design staff have been collecting member comments and suggestions on three different design concepts. Overall, design number three was the most favoured.

We received numerous suggestions, and obviously only so many could be incorporated into the final design. The Project Steering Committee met a number of times to review the feedback. Taking design number three as a starting point, we filtered member suggestions through a two-stage process:

1. YMCA Capital Project Categories
Does the suggestion fall under any of these four categories?

• Health and safety
• A planned refurbishment (element nearing the end of its life expectancy)
• A business case supporting the decision (cost/benefit analysis)
• A feature we would like to have

2. Green Roof Project Design Criteria
(Parameters, constraints and objectives outlined as part of the final decision making criteria.)
Does the suggestion meet the following criteria?

• Does it meet the structural requirements and constraints of the project?
• Will it be safe?
• Does it fit within the assigned project budget?
• Does it require minimal maintenance?
• Does it promote increased use of the rooftop?
• Will it be accessible to all members?

Based on this process, membership feedback shaped and refined the final design of our green roof.

Additional suggestions that were added to design number three:

• More trees
• Wider pathways in some areas to accommodate anticipated traffic
• Increased seating capacity
• Raised track edging for members who are visually impaired

An example of a recommendation that was not included is adding a tennis court. This suggestion fits under the capital project category “would like to have,” but it did not meet the fifth project design criterion of promoting increased use of the rooftop. A tennis court occupies a significant amount of space, yet serves only four members per booking slot.

We are very excited to be proceeding to the next stage of this wonderful project. Roof repair work will begin June 11. Over the next month, we will be sourcing materials and finalizing the budget. Construction is scheduled to start in August.

Once again, thank you all for your continued contribution to making the Metro Central your community YMCA!

Steering Committee:

Marlene Etherington, Project Volunteer Chair
Dedric Nelson, General Manager, Metro Central YMCA
Stephanie Uren, Staff Project Chair
Al Freeman Facility Manager, Metro Central YMCA
Sheldon Hellin, Volunteer Leadership Council Member
Paul Gulessarian, Community Representative, Bay Corridor Community Association
Marion McCron, Community Representative, Bay Corridor Community Association
Louise Moritsugu, Editor

  We're Kicking Off Metro Central's Green Roof Blog!

What is a green roof?

Green roofs are engineered roofing systems incorporating the use of vegetation that makes environmental, economic, and socialcontributions to urban areas. The benefits of green roofs include:

• Energy efficiency
• Improved air quality
• More usable space for classes and outdoor activities
• Reduced storm water runoff
• Increased natural habitat space for local wildlife
• Longer lasting than conventional roofs
• Volunteer and educational opportunities for membership and surrounding community 

What will a green roof look like?

Here's are the three proposed designs for the Metro Central green roof:

Option One

Option Two

Option Three

Please vote for the design you favour the most by clicking on the link below

Link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=30aFP_2fLf5dcUtxae0TNJfg_3d_3d

Get involved

This is a collaborative process and we'd love your input as the project progresses.

To participate in the green roof design, please:

• Drop by the information table located at the Service Desk in the Metro-Central YMCA
• Attend our town hall meeting on May 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Auditorium
• Email questions or suggestions to metrocentral@ymcagta.org
• Volunteer

For more information on volunteer opportunities, please e-mail metrocentral@ymcagta.org or contact Stephanie Uren at 416-975-9168 ext. 457

Don't forget!

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