BRING seeks help to raise a roof.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

BRING Recycling needs thousands of new recruits in its ongoing battle to reduce waste, increase reuse and help clean up the planet.

We're not talking human volunteers, although actual people will be needed, too, said Julie Daniel, general manager of the nonprofit recycling agency.

But right now, BRING wants sedum, a tough little plant that can stand abuse.

"It can be baked, boiled, fried, drowned or frozen," Daniel said. "It's resistant to torture."

The plants will comprise part of the "green roof" of the Community Connections Building at BRING's new compound on Franklin Boulevard.

BRING is transforming the narrow one-story building - a former trailer supply store on the site - to showcase recycling and reuse principles.

A construction crew recently turned the gable roof into a shed roof, using a shooting boom forklift to raise the rafters on the south side, creating a single sloping plane.

Living roofs have been around since prehistoric times, but have become popular in conservation circles because they benefit the environment in several ways, said BRING board member Rudy Berg of Common Practice Building Design, who designed the building.

An antidote to what architects call "urban hardscapes" - impervious roofs, parking lots and roads - green roofs act like a sponge, reducing the amount of stormwater runoff. That's a boon in areas prone to flooding, Berg said. Filtered by soil and roots, the water that does run off is cleaner and cooler, which is better for fish habitat in nearby streams and rivers, he said.

Protected by the living carpet of plants, such roofs last longer than conventional roofs, he said. The down side? They cost more.

Germans have been using green roofs for years and have found them to be so valuable that developers receive subsidies for including them in projects, Berg said.

Green roofs also have found a following in Portland, where they're being incorporated by environmentally conscious developers.

Aside from a section of Gilbert Hall, the business education building under construction at the University of Oregon, BRING's commercial building is the only other one in the area with a green roof design - and the only one that will be easily visible from the street, Berg said.

The 3,000-square-foot roof will require between 14,000 and 20,000 plants, and rather than buy them from a nursery, volunteers have begun growing them and enlisting the help of other community members, Daniel said.

Lane County Forest Work Camp inmates are helping by growing the tough little plants, said Sarah Madsen, a member of the volunteer team coordinating the effort.

Schools will be contacted this summer to enlist help from students come fall. And the general public is invited to join in, too, she said.

Because this is Eugene's first experiment with such a roof, nobody knows exactly what will grow best, Berg said.

Sedum, a succulent group of plants with fleshy leaves, seems a likely candidate because it can survive in rocky soil with very little water.

"Those plants, life is tough for them year-round, and you don't want to fuss with them," he said.

Rock garden club members and others with ideas about other plant candidates should contact BRING, he said.

The completion date for the project is uncertain because BRING is still raising money for it. A $60,000 matching grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust is waiting in the wings, Daniel said, but BRING still needs another $19,500 to get that cash. Remodeling the building will cost about $130,000, she said.

OTHER FEATURES

The Community Connections Building will also have:

South-facing windows: They will be installed just below the roof line to add plenty of daylight, helping reduce heating and lighting costs.

Fly ash foundation: The new concrete foundation includes fly ash, a by-product of coal-fired power plants. Cement with fly ash takes longer to harden, but is otherwise sound, designers say.

Solar hot water heaters on the roof: These will reduce electrical consumption. The water will be used in a radiant heating system with vertical support posts wrapped in tubing and sheathed in concrete. In the winter, warm water in the tubing will help heat the building. In the summer, cool water will flow through to the roof to water the green roof plants.

TO HELP

Grow plants: Contact Sarah Madsen by e-mail at [e-mail] or call BRING at 746-3023.

Volunteer: Call BRING Recycling at 746-3023.

Learn more: Check out www.bringrecycling.org

Contribute: BRING is seeking money for its Building One and capital campaign at P.O. Box 885 Eugene OR 97440.

CAPTION(S):

The roof of an old store (background) will be covered with plants like the ones Mabel Armstrong (left) and Sarah Madsen are tending at BRING.