Wed, Dec 03 2008
|
|
Published July 17, 2007 08:51 pm - Tony Robyn hasn’t gone off the deep end, but he is probably the only person in his right mind who is watering a roof in Joplin. But this is not just any roof. It’s the green roof on top of the new Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center in Wildcat Park. Nature center officials hope roof comes up green By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com Tony Robyn hasn’t gone off the deep end, but he is probably the only person in his right mind who is watering a roof in Joplin. But this is not just any roof. It’s the green roof on top of the new Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center in Wildcat Park. “We have planted four drought-resistant species that we hope will germinate in the next five to seven days,’’ said Robyn, director of the nature center project. “We want some quick cover — something green — up here when the center opens on Sept. 8. A little rain right now would really help.’’ The roof was planted five days ago. Robyn has extended a garden hose to the roof where he is positioning sprinklers to water one-third of the roof at a time. The roof spans 10,500 square feet of space below. He gets to the roof by climbing up and down a metal ladder. Robyn consulted with Gayl Navarro at Joplin’s Ozark Nursery about what to plant on the roof. The nursery has the landscaping contract for the center. “This is my first green roof,’’ she said. “We threw out the architect’s ideas because they weren’t practical. We chose to make it zeroscape and native. It’s drought-tolerant and all native to Southwest Missouri. You can find these plants in the glades.’’ They chose coreopsis, blue stem, buffalo grass and Indian paintbrush. “It should turn out really nice, and be up and feasible by the time of the opening,’’ she said. “You know, the wind blows seeds in. Who knows what will be growing up there in a few years.’’ The base of the roof is rolled rubber. But on top of that are layers of fabric, polymers, and more than six inches of soil and gravel. The roof is holding several tons of material, Robyn said. The roof will hold water for the plants growing on it, but it also will let some water run through it. That water will be directed to a swale or wetland area in front of the nature center. Getting the roof to turn green is one detail among many that Robyn is working on to get the nature center ready for its debut. Yet to come is the installation of the steeple-shaped skylights that will flood the interior of the center with natural light. A 1,500-gallon aquarium, manufactured at Republic, is to arrive on Friday. “The aquarium, which is 27 feet long, will be one of the first things people see when they walk through doors into the exhibit hall,’’ said Robyn. “It will have three tanks representing a wetland, an Ozark stream and a deep pool.’’ The exhibit hall also will have a terrarium for collared lizards and snakes that are native to the glades in the park. 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the Local News section
Tomorrow’s News Now! for Thursday
|
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
3:20 p.m. Judge upholds second death sentence for Kleypas
2:48 p.m. Grove middle school locked down
1:17 p.m. Gov.-elect Nixon outlines initial steps to control spending
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
The Joplin Globe Publishing Company 117 East Fourth Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Using our site is your agreement to the terms and conditions. News: news@joplinglobe.com • (417)623-3480 Advertise with the Joplin Globe Copyright © 2006 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO All rights reserved. |
Popular Business directory links - Joplin Apartments | Joplin Attorneys | Joplin Auto Dealers | Joplin Auto Parts | Joplin Auto Repair | Joplin Beauty Salons | Joplin Car Rental | Joplin Dentists | Joplin Doctors | Joplin Flowers | Joplin Hotels | Joplin Insurance | Joplin Loans | Joplin Mortgages | Joplin Movers | Joplin Pizza | Joplin Realtors | Joplin Restaurants | Joplin Storage | Joplin Tax Preparation | Joplin Travel | Joplin Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |