Climate change is one of, if not the, biggest problem facing the world today and influences every corner of the globe. Though there are lots of human activities that contribute, buildings particularly cause a lot of the pollution and emissions that have led to the current climate crises. However, there are multiple ways to help reduce these emissions and to save energy. One important way to do so is to install green walls and green roofs.

The first time I learned about green walls and green roofs was in my last year of university. When I saw the green wall inside of Guelph City Hall, I couldn't help but hope more public buildings in this city could have the same too. I even did some research on these green building designs and found that green roofs and walls provide cleaner air for not just the building with them installed but for the entire community. In addition, green roofs and walls can support agriculture and production of local food by supporting plants and pollunators. You can read about the green roof benefits to agriculture at the link provided in the red text. Despite the benefits, most cities in Ontario don't have many buildings with green roofs or green walls if any at all. This includes Guelph which, though the city has lots of greenery, only has one or two building that actually has a green wall or roof.

It is especially important for Guelph to adopt more green roofs and walls on public buildings as Guelph specializes in agricultural research. This menas it is our city's duty to be a climate leader and an example for other cities in Ontario and the rest of Canada. Getting Guelph to adopt more green infrastructure in this way will in turn help to transition to an even more planet friendly way of living and hopefully motivate other cities, provinces, and countries to do the same.