Greener Rooftops Hit the Toronto Horizon
July 26, 2021
GWLRA has partnered with MicroHabitat to establish gardens on eight of our office tower rooftops in the downtown Toronto core. Founded in 2016, MicroHabitat is a Montreal-based organization that specializes in bringing agriculture projects to urban settings.
Microhabitats have significant societal, environmental, and economic impacts on their communities, including city air purification, reduction of the carbon footprint, and so much more.
The gardens at our GWLRA-managed properties feature a variety of vegetable plants that are currently thriving on our rooftops. Food is continually harvested throughout the growing season and donated to local food banks.
The rooftop gardens are near the beehives that also live atop our buildings, allowing for a harmonious relationship between our pollinators and our produce. Thanks to a previously established partnership with Alvéole, more than 2.5 million honeybees across the country call a GWLRA rooftop home.
Elizabeth Schreurs, Senior Director, Property Management notes, “establishing urban gardens on our buildings helps us meet several goals – connecting more to our communities, giving our rooftop beehives more fuel for their hard work, meeting our sustainability goals, and most importantly, contributing to our local food banks, which have been struggling during the pandemic.”.
Learn more about MicroHabitat and their work.
GWL Realty Advisors Inc. is a leading North American real estate investment advisor providing comprehensive asset management, property management, development and specialized real estate advisory services to pension funds and institutional clients. GWL Realty Advisors Inc. manages a diverse portfolio of office, industrial, retail and multi-residential assets as well as an active pipeline of new development projects.