Greener rooftops in Toronto this summer

MicroHabitat is a company in Montreal that provides a turnkey service for companies to produce food, taking advantage of the space on the roofs of buildings. The company has been around for 5 years and has just opened an office in Toronto.

Orlan Banet is the director and co-founder of MicroHabitat, which develops urban gardens on rooftops.

Photo: Radio Canada

According to the company’s director and co-founder, Orlan Bennett, they will be present on twenty rooftops in Toronto this summer.

Having a vegetable garden on the roof means optimizing the space that is being exploited with greenery.

We create spaces for biodiversity and come to produce high quality food that does not shift between when it is harvested and when it is consumed., she explained.

And customers are very happy with the service.

Liya Abusoba, a property manager managed by property management firm GWL Realty Advisors, says she is very happy to welcome MicroHabitat on her premises. GWL Realty Advisors has 11 decks with MicroHabitat facilities in Toronto and Montreal.

Leah Abbasoba is a property manager at GWL Realty Advisors in Toronto.

Photo: Radio Canada

We think this is a great environmental project that will also allow us to get closer to our community,” she said. We will donate all food to our local food banks.

We are proud to collaborate with this company to help both the environment and our community.

According to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Laboratory for Analytical Sciences of Agricultural Food at Dalhousie University, it’s not just urban rooftop farming that has worked during the pandemic. He asserts that the rate of home gardening has increased by 21% in the past two years.

Plus, during the pandemic, people are becoming more aware of the space around them, he said.

With physical spacing, space is prioritized completely differently now, even for businessesProfessor explains.

It also shows that the pandemic has made more companies and individuals aware of the food supply chain.

Mrs. Bane agrees.

I think people have noticed the epidemic to see how dependent we are on our diet, she says. It is a whole movement that is being created and we are fortunate to be a part of it.