CLEVELAND — Preparation work is finished and the planting process has begun to transform the roof of the Recreation Center at Cleveland State University (CSU) from black and barren to green and growing, according to The Plain Dealer.

The 7,000-square foot, 15,000-plant green roof project, headed by Erin Huber and LeeAnn Westfall, both environmental science majors, carries a price tag of $250,000, the story stated.

According to the story, the three-year-old Chester Avenue Recreation Center was certified for energy efficiency and was supposed to get a roof garden, but it was never installed due to budget restrictions.

Huber and Westfall donated their own time and money for the project and had as many as five meetings a week with CSU administrators, faculty, alumni, students and city officials and local groups, the story noted.

Huber said: "We hope it ignites the spark in other people to do the same type of project. We have to go in this direction, to build green roofs, to build sustainable. We really want this to initiate something in Cleveland. Cleveland is an amazing city, and it can do some amazing things. If we start taking more pride in it, better things can happen"

Donations from various companies and fundraisers raised half of the money needed to complete the green roof while the university footed the remainder of the bill, the story added.

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