Community Gardens Pictures

Sustainability Housing Tool Shed
In the Sustainability Housing community gardens, RAD Services has erected a 7’ X 4’ X 8’ tool shed to be utilized by the campus community. The shed is made of salvaged and scrap wood from prior projects, costing almost nothing in cost of construction. Additionally the shed’s roof is made of sod – a Scandinavian building technique, where the roof is essentially ‘alive,’ covered with patches of grass and the thin layer of roots that holds the blades in the dirt. Patches of sod grow in a raised garden bed from the roof acting as a sponge, extending the roofs longevity dramatically. A living roof is also an effective insulator during colder seasons, keeping the tool shed warm through the winter. Aesthetically speaking, the Sod roof is a beautiful addition to any structure, and softens the transition between wooded and rural areas and the rough, sometimes obtrusive construction of a building. Furthermore, a Sod roof does not compromise habitats of insects living within the grass, as the sod continues to grow after being successfully transplanted.