Serenbe Stories

When Dennis Creech started Southface, energy wasn't even a part of the environmental conversation. He knew it would be one of the most significant issues our society would face, and in this episode he talks about the positive effects of green building and how Atlanta is leading the nation in reducing energy and water demand. Dennis also tells us about the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design on Georgia Tech's campus, and how it's changing the global conversation on conservation.Definitions, People + Organizations MentionedGreen Prints Ray C. AndersonRocky Mountain Institute1996 Summer OlympicsEnergy Star CertificationEarthCraftLEEDHomebuilders AssociationHowie FrumpkinBosch NetZero HouseAgnes Scott CollegeEmory University GA Tech U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings ChallengeSplit Incentive- Split incentives are a barrier to the deployment of energy efficiency measures in buildings. Split incentives occur when those responsible for paying energy bills (the tenant) are not the same entity as those making the capital investment decisions (the landlord or building owner). Living Building- A living building generates all of its own energy, captures and treats its water, and operates cleanly and efficiently in harmony with nature. Net Positive- A business standard aiming to provide restorative and positive impacts on people, planet, and society.  Equity in Building Design- Diversity in design and consideration in public spaces including restrooms, private activity spaces for nursing mothers and safe public spaces for school-aged children. Kendeda FundKendeda BuildingSouthfaceThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

We are so glad that the Nygrens incorporated art into Serenbe, and today's guest was a major part of making that possible. Today we talk with John Graham, the founding executive director of the Serenbe Institute is engaging the metro Atlanta area, and the future of art and culture in this community. Definitions, People + Organizations MentionedSandra StorrarGarnie NygrenJanice BartonSerenbe FellowsTom SwanstonGail FosterDaren Wang Decatur Book FestivalPhyllis BleiweisMark MyklebyBiophilic Institute Acton Academy at SerenbeChattahoochee Hills Charter School South Fulton Area Initiative Hartsfield-Jackson International AirportGrady Hospital MARTA Florida PhilharmonicSerenbe InstituteMidtown Alliance Tomlinson Graham GroupSeattle Symphony OrchestraOregon Symphony OrchestraDallasBlue Eyed DaisyShelton StanfillAtlanta Symphony OrchestraTom TomlinsonWoodruff Arts Center Symphony HallAtlanta BalletTerminus Modern Ballet TheatreKennesaw State UniversityAIR SerenbeThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

In today's episode, we talk with UGA professor Alfie Vick about eating plants, taking biophilic principals to all communities, environmental ethics and his deep understanding of the Southern Native American tribes. He talks about how their history, culture, and practices are an example in living a balanced life in-tune with nature. Alfie also talks about the thousands of native plant species in Georgia and designing natural spaces such as the Children's Garden at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, Georgia and Serenbe's own medicinal garden and he's also working on a future Serenbe neighborhood. Definitions, People + Organizations MentionedCreek NationChoctawChickasawSeminoleAtlanta BeltLineAuburn University Rural StudioKoons Environmental Design Richard LouvSmithsonian InstituteBob QuinnUGA Office of Global EngagementWoodland EraNature Deficit DisorderU.S. Research Geological SurveyMadoUniversity of Georgia College of Environment & DesignGeorgia Botanical GardenGreen Build TourLEEDECOSChattahoochee HillsChattahoochee NOWChattahoochee River Shannon Kettering Kerry BlindFulton County Economic Development RFPEthnobotanyCherokee NationWilliam Bartram Thomas PetersTrail of TearsThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

You might not see the connection between biophilic design and national security, but today's guest outlines how communities like Serenbe are imperative in our global defense strategy. We're excited for you to hear Monica Olsen and Steve Nygren's conversation with Colonel Mark "Puck" Mykleby. Puck talks about meeting Phyllis Bleiweis and coming to Serenbe, where he bonded with Steve Nygren over biophilia and pushed for the establishment of the Biophilic Institute. Puck also talks about the economics of sustainability and how his company, Long Haul Capital Group, is putting dollars toward propelling walkable communities. As he says, our smart growth at home can become our smart power abroad.Definitions, People + Organizations MentionedSerenbe FellowsPhyllis BleiweisCongress for New Urbanism Special Operations Command at the Joint Chiefs of StaffAdmiral Michael Glenn Mullen Captain Wayne Porter - The National Strategic NarrativeCongresswoman Jane Harman National Security Act of 1947 Department of DefenseCentral Intelligence AgencyGeorge Frost KennanBiophilic InstituteAlexis de Tocqueville The New Grand StrategyCharles Darwin's Survival of the FittessThe New America Foundation Case Western Reserve University The New Grand Strategy Adam SmithLong Haul Capital GroupOregon Museum of Science & Industry Water in Flint, MichiganRodale Institute's SE Research CenterChildren & Nature NetworkDavid W. OrrMayor Bill PedutoThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

On today's episode we're talking with Chef Nicolas Bour, who was at The Farmhouse during its early years nearly a decade ago before opening the famed Iris restaurant in Atlanta. He has worked in restaurants across the country, and even cooked for President Barack Obama for the first inaugural gala. Chef Nic is now back at Serenbe as the Executive Chef and VP of food and beverage over all Serenbe restaurants. We'll talk about his journey back to Serenbe, his deep relationship and passion for fresh food, sourcing and local farms and the future of culinary in Chattahoochee Hills. Definitions, People + Organizations Mentioned InterContinental Hotels Willard Hotel Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have A Dream Speech Carla BruniNicolas SarkozyFranceElizabeth on 37thPlaza HotelLoews Coronado BayHalsaSerenbe Farms Sharko Farms Decimal Place FarmRodale InstituteRobert de NiroPresident Barack ObamaMichelle Obama Humphrey's (San Diego) Aulani Resort (Hawaii) Chef Masaharu Morimoto Iron ChefThe Hill RestaurantIris Garnie Nygren Woodward AcademyAngie MosierLEEDChattahoochee HillsJohn Graham Pepper Bullock The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today we're talking to Serenbe's master land planner, Dr. Phillip Tabb. Phill discusses sacred geometry and the spiritual and symbolic side of planning and architecture. He also reminisces about the all-nighter he pulled working on the Serenbe charrette - where the omega shape for the neighborhoods took hold - and the weekend he, The Nygrens, and many other friends came together to build Serenbe's stone labyrinth.Definitions, People + Organizations Mentioned Transect-  Used by Biologists and ecologists to study symbiotic elements  in habitats where specific plants and animals flourish. Photovoltaic (PV) System- A system composed of one or more solar panels combined with an inverter and other electrical and mechanical hardware that use energy from the sun to generate electricity. Bill BrowningPleasant Peasant Rocky Mountain InstituteRobert MarvinKeith CritchlowRobert LawlorCharles Brewer Laura HeeryAndrés DuanyDr. Jorge VenegasChartres CathedralMichelangeloChattahoochee HillsSoutheastern EngineeringGainey Hall GalleryNygren PlacemakingBiophilic InstituteSeasideEarthCraftHannah SolarTeslaRoutledge PublishingTim BeatleyBiophilic Cities1973 Oil EmbargoDepartment of Energy demonstration grant1983 The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today's episode features a incredible conversation with John Lanier about turning fear into passion for action, why we have to stop the "take, make and waste" economic model, and the regenerative highway making waves in south Georgia.We also talk about his new book, the reissued "Mid Course Correction" that shares the impact and legacy of his grandfather, Ray Anderson, founder of the sustainable carpet tile company Interface. John shares how Paul Hawken's words drove Ray to tears by showing him the dark side of his industry...how businesses and industry are causing the vast amount of environmental degradation we see across the world AND that those same businesses are ALSO able to solve those environmental problems. Finally, John tells the story of how a simple customer question changed his grandfather, who then changed his company, and how that created a ripple effect on the environment and on Serenbe.Definitions, People + Organizations MentionedTake, Make & Waste ModelA charrette is an intensive planning session where citizens, designers and others collaborate on a vision for development. It provides a forum for ideas and offers the unique advantage of giving immediate feedback to the designers. More importantly, it allows everyone who participates to be a mutual author of the plan.Georgia TechMary Anne LanierHarriet Langford & Phil LangfordThe Ray HighwayJanine BenyusBiomimicry InstituteAndrew WinstonKari PeiProject DrawdownRay DayFortune 100 CompanyLEEDBiomimicryTomorrow's Child poemRay C. AndersonSouthfacePaul Hawken's The Ecology of CommerceTomorrow's ChildPatagoniaInn at SerenbeThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

The Nygrens intuitively realized that nature was having a positive impact on their children, but reading Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods validated their decision to make the permanent move to Chattahoochee Hills. Richard wants people to connect with nature, and he believes a big part of that is connecting with animals. When he'd written Last Child in the Woods, he was able to find about 60 studies during his research that helped inform his writing. That information plus another ~1,000 studies, exists in a digital library on the C&NN website. When looking at those studies though, there's not much information about wild animals and their impact on our psyche. Our ancestors knew that they helped shape us and that we shaped them. We told stories about them around campfires in which we found meaning. His new book, Our Wild Calling, is to look at that and relate the stories he's collected about life-changing encounters and ongoing relationships with companion animals and how it gives life more meaning. This will take an important role in the future of the C&NN movement. Children feel the meaning of wild animal encounters, but it can be rediscovered.Definitions, People + Organizations MentionedNature-Deficit Disorder: The importance of children's and adults' exposure to nature for their health, and on the need for environmental protection and preservation for greater access to nature and the health of the Earth.Nature-Rich: For a city to be wealthy in nature and an engine of bio-diversity, and to have children and families connected to nature.I and Thou: Buber's main proposition is that we may address existence in two ways:That of the "I" toward an "It," toward an object that is separate in itself, which we either use or experienceThat of the "I" toward "Thou," in which we move into existence in a relationship without bounds. One of the major themes of the book is that human life finds its meaningfulness in relationships.National League of CitiesRobin MooreAudubon SocietyStephen HawkingMartin BuberLast Child In The WoodsVitamin NNature PrincipleOur Wild CallingAmerica IIChildren & Nature NetworkThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Thanks for listening to our first season, where host Monica Olsen and Serenbe Founder Steve Nygren went back to the beginning, in his life and career and in Serenbe's history, to tell the in-depth story about how this community just outside of Atlanta came to be. If you haven't listened yet, now is the time to catch up on all the episodes of Season 1. We are kicking off Season 2 on Monday, January 27th with 14 brand new episodes. You'll hear from many of the people that were integral to Serenbe's creation and development and hear THEIR Serenbe stories. We talk with John Lanier, the Executive Director of The Ray C. Anderson Foundation about how integral his grandfather was to Steve's vision.You'll hear from Richard Louv, bestselling author of Last Child in the Woods, Tom Reed, the Mayor of Chattahoochee Hills, the city that Serenbe sits within, and Dennis Creech, founder of Southface.We'll also have Phill Tabb on, who is Serenbe's site planner, professor and architect, Robert Rausch who Steve met via Ryan Gainey in Atlanta, Col. Mark "Puck" Mykelby, who was a Serenbe Fellow and inspired Steve to create the Biophilic Institute, as well as many more people. Join us for Season 2 on January 27th, and please download and subscribe.The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Serenbe’s design is based around Biophilia - the idea that humans have an innate tendency to seek connections with nature - and in the final episode of season 1, Steve Nygren talks about finding his purpose in building this utopia for his grandchildren and all the residents that have chosen to spend their lives here. The biophilic principles are meant to provide personal wellbeing, community engagement, national security and global balance. Those 12 principles are: Land Use, Education, Food Systems, Economic Development, Tax Base, Transportation, Energy, Structures, Waste Management, Community Engagement, Green Infrastructure and Water.Questions AnsweredWhat is Biophilia?What are the Biophilic Principles and why are they important at every level of development and government?What is the mission of the Biophilic Institute?Why doesn’t Steve Nygren plan to build more “Serenbe’s?”What is the future of Serenbe?People + Organizations MentionedRodale InstituteSerenbe DevelopmentSteve CoverThe Grand StrategyTerrapin Bright GreenTim BeatleyBill BrowningBiophilia at ScaleBiophilic CitiesChattahoochee NOWMark “Puck” MyklebyNygren PlacemakingRiverlands ProjectThe new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering.  Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren.