TPW TV—GROWING GREEN: Rooftop reading in a green and 
growing place…details ahead on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

The new public library in Austin is an oasis in the midst 
of a steel and concrete desert. 

04—[opens w/ambience] This is the, uh, rooftop garden, which 
we also call the butterfly garden.

John Gillum is library facilities manager. Native plants 
sway in the breeze six stories above busy thoroughfares.

16— It is a green roof.  It means a roof that’s actually landscaped. We 
wanted to do something to help out our little pollinators.  We will do 
anything we can to attract them.  If we can come up with different plants 
we think will draw more butterflies, we’ll do it.

An oasis of native plants help bees and butterflies make 
their way through increasingly urban landscapes.  It also 
makes for a nice spot to sit and read.

05— This is really the best part of the library as far as a natural 
setting to sit in.

Putting a park on a building saves space and lowers 
energy costs when temperatures soar.

13—  As opposed to the concrete around us, this is going to be an area 
that really absorbs heat rather than reflects it out, so even in the kind of 
summers that we get here in Austin, this is still going to be a pretty 
pleasant place to be.

Can’t get to the library? Then get to a television. Explore 
the Austin central library rooftop garden on the TPW TV 
series on PBS, the week of November 25th.

In an age when news about nature is not always cheery, 
look for some good news on the top shelf of Austin’s new 
library.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.


Total sound bite time:			0.38.0
Maximum Script time:			0:47.0	         	          Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25