Hundreds of thousands of people will head to Washington D.C. this week to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. While they look up to enjoy the fireworks, there’s something else up there worth looking at: rooftop farms.
Kristof Grina identifies as a city kid from D.C., but he earned an education in soil science after discovering an interest in agriculture. Today, he’s the co-founder and farm manager at Up Top Acres. Grina says the goal of the company is to restore nature in cities, and they do it by establishing gardens on top of commercial buildings.
He says about 10-15 percent of a city’s surface is rooftop. He estimates D.C. is home to about 7 square miles of rooftop — a lot of space to grow food, in his eyes.
Up Top Acres manages about 6 acres of farmland across 30 commercial building rooftops. Specialty crops include fig trees, raspberry bushes, cucumber trellises, and rows of carrots, lettuce, herbs, and flowers. You’ll find honeybee hives and milkweed for monarchs on some roofs, as well.
Grina explains the investment is not cheap for installing a rooftop farm. In some cases, he uses a crane to haul soil to the roof. He works closely with structural engineers to make sure they are not exceeding the roof’s weight capacity. Despite the initial investment, commercial building owners are seeing a return on investment.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, when people moved to remote working environments, businesses have gotten creative with amenities they offer employees to encourage in-office work. A rooftop farm has proven to win over employees by offering free produce, cooking classes, and other workshops that work with the vegetation up above. Businesses with rooftop gardens have also benefited from conservation credits.
