GRO National Conference, Swansea

This year, the Green Roof Organisation (GRO) National Conference was held in Swansea, a city recently awarded Biophilic City Status. The location was chosen to improve accessibility for members across the UK and to celebrate Swansea’s achievements in urban greening.

The day began with a seated exercise session and a Welsh language primer. Chris Bridgman – Chair of GRO officially opened the conference, followed by a series of lightning talks from guest speakers including Penny Gruffydd (Swansea City Council), Helena Cuciaranu (Swansea University), Kate McCabe (Urban Foundry), and ecologist Gary Grant.

Delegates toured Wales’ largest rooftop park and BIOME, a social housing scheme centered on biophilic living. Guests also had the opportunity to plant wildflowers on the roof terraces, view various green walls and sustainable drainage systems, and enjoy the smoothie bike.

Following a vegetarian lunch, the afternoon session included a Welsh singalong. Speakers then provided insights into national and international opportunities, featuring rooftop influencer Fiona Brydon, Cloud Gardener and BBC presenter Jason Williams, Open University researcher Paul Griffiths, and Tanja Herr, head of the Croatian Green Roof Association.

Members and attendees also participated in an interactive session to explore the vision for GRO over the next three years, selecting individual priorities and writing postcards describing the future of the organisation.

The day concluded with a Q&A session with international green roof ambassador Dusty Gedge and GRO Board members. This annual gathering took place just days before World Green Roof Day on 6th June.

Key news stories from GRO include the celebration of the 100th member, Hedd Considerate Gardening from Swansea, a new monthly GRO Podcast, the launch of a new GRO Website; and also the Dr Tom Young Travel Bursary to support international green roof research. 

“It is great that the conference is being held in Swansea, ranked as a top-five UK green city to invest in,” Helena Cuciureanu – President UWTSD Architecture Society 

“This is a unique opportunity to talk to the industry and find out what motivates them around Green Roofs, enabling us to build high-quality nature-based solutions in Swansea City Centre,” Penny Gruffydd – Swansea City Council