Native Foliage Settles In To Rooftop Quarters At Turtle Bay

The newly completed innovative ‘green roof’ at Turtle Bay Resort spans about 60,000 square feet as part of the Kahuku hotel’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Photo from the resort.

Why plant a garden on the ground when you can put it on the roof? Turtle Bay Resort recently created a 60,000-square-foot “green roof” to illustrate its commitment to sustainability.

“We are dedicated to preserving Hawaii’s delicate and natural resources as stewards of the land,” stated Scott McCormack, vice president of real estate at the resort. In this vein,

Turtle Bay installed 1,578 solar panels on its upper roofs in 2013, which helps to bring down the resort’s $2.5 million annual electric bill.

The new green spaces on the lower roofs take sustainability a step further by reducing how much heat the buildings absorb, which lowers air-conditioning costs.

Low-maintenance native Hawaiian plants — including ‘akulikuli and mau’u’aki’aki — grow alongside carex and sedum grasses in a wave-like pattern, while two open-air herb gardens supply fresh produce to the resort’s Kula Grille and Pa’akai restaurants.

Other roof sections are lined with gray-blue and black river rocks and sand.

Walters Kimura Motoda, Honolulu Roofing and Firestone Roofing Products helped install the green roofs, with native plants provided by Haiku Valley’s Hui Ku Maoli Ola.

For more details on the greening complex, visit turtlebayresort.com/resort/green_practices/.