Green roofs and roof gardens in Berlin

Bikini Berlin: View of the roof terrace with planted areas.

Berliners with roof terraces can get creative with their gardening. With other forms of green roofs, the possibilities are limited. But the good news is: There is a subsidy.

Green roofs and roof gardens are forms of roof greening that can be implemented particularly well in Berlin. Under the right conditions, private and public roof terraces can become valuable biotopes. Extensively planted green roofs can be found above all on new buildings where the focus is on ecological construction methods. There is room for improvement here too: The greening of Berlin's roofs is being driven forward with a large-scale funding program.

Green roofs are good for the climate

Green roofs are a good way of counteracting the effects of climate change. As part of Berlin's increasingly important urban greenery, green roofs evaporate water and cool the surroundings in hot summers. During heavy rainfall, they absorb the precipitation and protect the sewage system from flooding. They provide shelter and food for animals and a place for people to breathe. The importance of green roofs for a liveable, sustainable city is undisputed - and it continues to grow.

GründachPLUS funding scheme

To take account of this growing importance, the Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate Protection is promoting the greening of roofs with the GründachPLUS scheme. The main beneficiaries of the scheme are neighborhoods where there is little urban greenery, where the heat builds up in summer and where the air quality is worse than in other places in Berlin. Green roofs are also promoted where they are important for retaining rainwater and relieving the burden on the sewage system. In addition to landowners, authorized parties such as associations, retirement homes, interest groups, initiatives and meeting places are also eligible to apply. New buildings are excluded from funding.

Intensive and extensive green roofs

When greening roofs, a distinction is made between intensive and extensive cultivation. Extensive green roofs consist of low plants such as succulents, grasses, mosses, herbs, bulbous and tuberous plants. Including substrate, fleece and drainage, they are no more than 20 centimeters high and are considered particularly low-maintenance. They can often be found on commercial and office buildings, parking garages, garages and carports in Berlin. One example is the visitor center in the Gardens of the World. Intensive green roofs are also suitable as places to spend time. Shrubs, perennials and sometimes even vegetables grow on the roofs, but real garden landscapes with small trees, paths and ponds are also conceivable. The roof terrace of the Bikini Berlin, for example, is open to the public.

Green oasis on the balcony and roof terrace

Even if you have a large balcony or a small roof terrace and are renting, you can contribute to the greening of the city with little effort. Depending on the structural conditions and the landlord's consent, you can create a variety of container gardens with small trees, shrubs, vegetable and flower beds. If there is only room for a few flower pots, this will at least benefit biodiversity: bees, bumblebees and butterflies often find their way to the fifth or sixth floor of their own accord and are happy about the nectar and pollen.

Biodiversity on Berlin rooftops

Whether intensive greening, extensive greening or container gardens: they all make an important contribution to biodiversity in Berlin. They are habitats for small animals, birds, insects and soil animals. Wild bees in particular benefit from this offer: over 50 different species of honeybees and wild bees have been recorded on Berlin's green roofs. And rare plants such as native orchids even grow on some roofs.