The Green Roof Organisation (GRO) brought together industry professionals, policymakers, academics and green infrastructure specialists at the Urban Foundry in Swansea for its 2026 National Conference, showcasing the growing role of green roofs and living infrastructure in creating more resilient and biodiverse cities.
Rooftop tours were a key part of GRO’s National Conference, including a visit to the green roof at the BIOME sustainable apartment block and below at Wales’ largest rooftop park. Image credit: Factotum Film
Swansea was the perfect location for the event, having recently been recognised as a Biophilic City. The conference focused on how nature can be integrated into the built environment through collaboration, policy and practical delivery. Swansea provided a fitting backdrop, with delegates hearing, and seeing for themselves through informative rooftop walks, how the city has grown from a single green roof project to more than a hectare of green roofs and living walls, helping to strengthen biodiversity networks and improve climate resilience.
L-r: Kate McCabe of Urban Foundry, Helena Cuciureanu of the UWTSD Architecture Society, Ecologist Gary Grant and Penny Gruffydd of Swansea City Council.
A key theme throughout the event was the need to bridge the gap between policy ambitions and project delivery. Speakers, including Kate McCabe of Urban Foundry, Penny Gruffydd of Swansea City Council, Ecologist Gary Grant and Helena Cuciureanu of the UWTSD Architecture Society, highlighted the importance of engaging planners, architects, engineers, contractors and local authorities at the earliest stages of design to ensure green infrastructure is delivered effectively, and achieves meaningful environmental outcomes for the lifetime of projects.
The conference also explored the importance of developing local supply chains and skills. Speakers referenced that Swansea’s success has been underpinned by investment in local businesses and training programmes, enabling regional contractors and maintenance providers to support the growing demand for green infrastructure projects.
Alongside technical discussions, delegates heard about the social value of green roofs and rooftop spaces, with presentations from Fiona Brydon of Where’s the Rooftop? and social media influencer Jason Williams, the Cloud Gardener, highlighting their role in improving wellbeing, creating community connections and bringing nature closer to people living and working in urban areas.
The event also saw international speaker Tanja Herr, President the Croatian Green Roof Association, reflect on the growth of the green roof movement in Croatia, highlighting the importance of diversity, education and long-term maintenance, while sharing examples of how accessible rooftop spaces can strengthen communities and improve quality of life.
In his ‘Lightning Talk’ Paul Griffiths, Open University researcher, presented findings from the University’s Living Roof Lab, explaining how substrate design and plant selection influence biodiversity outcomes and arguing that successful green roofs should be assessed by the ecological relationships they support rather than simply the number of plant species they contain.
Above: Swansea-based HEDD Considerate Gardening has become GRO’s 100th member.
The event also marked a number of significant milestones for GRO. In what has been a busy year, the trade association announced it had reached its 100th member – Swansea-based HEDD Considerate Gardening – launched a Travel Bursary to support international knowledge-sharing, unveiled a new website, and outlined plans for a monthly industry podcast. GRO also confirmed it is continuing work on new technical guidance, maintenance standards and a system approval programme designed to help clients and specifiers identify high-quality green roof systems.
Summing up the collaborative spirit of the conference, GRO board member Dr Tom Young observed: “People are the most important part of any process. You can write as many documents as you want, you can write as many guidelines, but if people aren’t actually talking to each other, you’re not actually bridging the gap.”
As cities across the UK look to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and urban overheating, the discussions in Swansea demonstrated that green infrastructure is increasingly moving from aspiration to delivery, but there’s still work to do if the sector is to replicate Swansea’s successes at scale.
Look out for more on the GRO National Conference in the July issue of Total Contractor and Autumn issue of Greenscape.