(DC) (Smithsonian Associates) The Washington, D.C., area is becoming a greener urban environment. Bill Keene, a lecturer in urban studies, architecture, and history, spotlights innovative approaches to the environment and sustainability that have taken root—sometimes literally—in many types of buildings around town.

Begin the day in the Navy Yard neighborhood at the rooftop garden of the office building at 55 M St., SE. Staff from Up Top Acres, which installed and maintains the garden, discuss upkeep, what is grown, and the garden’s community impact. At the Oxon Run community solar farm—the largest community solar project in the District—explore how the facility is helping to provide free electricity to hundreds of households in the surrounding community. In the afternoon, visit the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), where a team presents an overview of the green roof movement and its environmental benefits, then offers a look at UDC’s urban agriculture farm, part of the university’s Urban Food Hubs initiative.

The day concludes at the Sidwell Friends School, which has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council for its efforts. Get a look at the campus’s middle school building, which features not only a green roof but a constructed wetland and other environmentally friendly features.