BMC is Committed to Urban Farming, Addressing Food Insecurity and Access to Fresh Food

Somerville, MA – This month, Recover Green Roofs celebrated the opening of Newmarket Farm at Boston Medical Center (BMC) at 960 Mass. Ave. The green roof design process highlights a critical collaboration between BMC, Recover Green Roofs, and Higher Ground Farm. Recover completed the installation in the Spring of 2024. Each organization played an instrumental role in bringing the innovative farm to life.

This 7,300 square-foot rooftop farm marks Recover’s second rooftop farm design and installation on BMC’s campus following the initial Power Plant Farm. Both sites collectively allow BMC to forge new community partners and enhance access to fresh foods. A portion of each harvest is donated to several South End nonprofits, including Rosie’s Place. The farm adds valuable green space to the Newmarket District, addresses food insecurity, and offers culturally relevant fresh foods to the community.

In early 2022, Mayor Wu established GrowBoston to promote urban agriculture and food production throughout the city. GrowBoston deployed funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to support the rooftop farm at BMC. Shani Fletcher and her team at GrowBoston provided $300,000 to support the expansion and further commented: “We are so pleased to partner with BMC and Recover Green Roofs to expand green infrastructure and rooftop farming in our city. We believe rooftop farms are a creative and impactful way to address food insecurity in our communities when space is so limited on the ground. We are also excited to see the impact it will make beyond BMC through partnerships with Boston Area Gleaners and other community organizations.”

The green space also helps reduce urban heat island effect, promotes biodiversity within the Newmarket District, and incorporates a high-tech irrigation system to minimize water waste while also slowing stormwater runoff. Pete Ellis, Senior Project Manager at Recover Green Roofs, explained: “The rooftop farm at 960 Mass Ave. is a great example of a multi-functional green roof, carefully designed to maximize benefits to the hospital, community, and environment. Its large growing beds were designed to capture tens of thousands of gallons of rainwater throughout the year, and the custom irrigation system supplements regional rainfall with targeted and hyper-efficient watering.”

Boston Medical Center Newmarket Farm

The installation features a unique green roof media blend developed by Ben Flanner of Brooklyn Grange and Chuck Duprey at Naturcycle. The soil blend sits atop a recycled foamed glass by AeroAggregate which replaces typical plastic drainage components. This new location is wheelchair accessible and uses large garden beds suitable for row cropping.

Recover Green Roofs, based in Somerville, MA, will manage system maintenance, including irrigation and hardscapes. Both BMC rooftop farms and the educational operations are managed by John Stoddard’s Higher Ground Farms. Stoddard says, “We are so honored to be a part of the great work Boston Medical Center does to address community health. Our partnership with Recover began over 10 years ago when we opened our first rooftop farm, and it is wonderful to see how far Boston has come with green infrastructure. Support from Mayor Wu and GrowBoston has been critical and we are excited to see what the future brings.”

Recover Green Roofs specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of green roofs, roof decks, amenity spaces, and rooftop gardens and farms in New England, New York, and beyond. Our team of horticulturalists, designers, builders, project managers, carpenters, and irrigation specialists provides a holistic design-build approach rooted in genuine building knowledge and quality craftsmanship. We pride ourselves on our ability to install not just living roof systems but also custom wood decks, custom furnishings, pavers, pergolas, trellises, greenhouses, smart irrigation, and rainwater harvesting systems on residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. With a passion for ecological design, attention to detail, and long-term customer care, our goal is for every one of our projects to stand the test of time.

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