Grey to Green conference speakers announced

Senior levels of government continue to overlook the many benefits of investing in living green infrastructure such as urban forests, green roofs, green walls, and bioswales when making multi-billion dollar infrastructure decisions. Join us and shape a healthier and more resilient future at theGrey to Green Conference: Quantifying Green Infrastructure from May 8-10, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Now in its fifth year, Grey to Green will feature a Public Forum on May 8 to discuss barriers and opportunities to advance green infrastructure from a variety of professional perspectives. The Forum includes Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Planner, City of Toronto; Deborah Martin-Downs, CAO, Credit Valley Conservation; Steven Peck, Founder and President, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; and Scott Torrance, Practice Leader, Scott Torrance Landscape Architect.

GTG17_Logo_wURL“Quantifying the biophysical, social and economic benefits of green infrastructure is essential to support better design practice and policies for investing in, and protecting, green infrastructure assets,” said Steven W. Peck, GRP, and founder of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. “A lot of progress made on this front in the past year, which we plan to highlight at Grey to Green”, he added.

Grey to Green will attract more than 300 architects, landscape architects, policy makers, manufacturers, growers, landscapers, and other green infrastructure professionals to discuss the benefits, growth and tangible effects of the green infrastructure industry. More than 50 expert speakers on a wide variety of topics will present on May 9th their latest work on Natural Capital, Green Infrastructure Asset Management, Stormwater Policy Best Practices, Health Impacts of Green Infrastructure, and Green Infrastructure Design Valuation. Expert speakers include:

 

  • World renowned designer, Herbert Dreiseitl, Ramboll Liveable Cities Lab on shaping livable cities with green and blue infrastructure
  • Co-founder of the USGBC, Greg Kats, President, Capital E, Bryce Miranda, Partner, DTAH on conducting a smart roof assessment in Washington, DC
  • Ministry of Environment and Energy’s new Low Impact Stormwater Guideline, with John Antoszek, MOEE
  • Primary designer of the Javits Center green roof in New York, Peter Olney, Senior Associate, FXFOWLE
  • Dr. Hamid Karimi, Deputy Director, Washington DC Department of Energy and Environment on their innovative Green Area Zoning program
  • Tao Zhang, Principal, Sasaki Associates, Inc. on Park Evaluation in Shanghai
  • Jessica Isaac, Senior Policy Advisor, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario on stormwater funding models
  • Karen Morrison, York University on the latest finding about policy, health outcomes & green infrastructure
  • Yoshiki Harada, Ph.D. Candidate, Section of Horticulture, Cornell University on the value of urban agriculture

 

Grey to Green also includes a trade show and exceptional networking. Most professional training opportunities are paired with tours and include Low Impact Development, Rooftop Agriculture, New Lighting Technologies for Indoor Vegetable and Medical Crop Production and Living Walls, Green Walls 101: Systems Overview & Design, and Integrated Water Management for Buildings and Sites.

To register visit, greytogreenconference.org.For media passes please contact Kara Orr at korr@greenroofs.org.