Serenbe Stories

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 Child 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

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 Network 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

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. 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

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 Project 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

Before there was a community full of people and families, there was just "the farm" and the Nygren's. Garnie, Kara and Quinn Nygren join Steve Nygren to talk about what it was like to grow up in the woods and to tell stories from their childhood. They talk about their first jobs at Serenbe, how it changed when people started moving in, and their journeys away and then back to Serenbe as adults. Questions AnsweredWho are Garnie, Kara and Quinn Nygren and what roles do they play at Serenbe?What was it like to grow up in Serenbe before it was a full community?What were Garnie, Kara and Quinn's first jobs at Serenbe?What are all the jobs each of them has held?How does Garnie Nygren remember the iconic "bulldozer moment?"What brought each of the Nygren daughters back to Serenbe?People + Organizations MentionedCamp SerenbeLittle AcornsThe Farmhouse Woodward AcademyCornell UniversityUniversity of Colorado BoulderBlue Eyed Daisy Serenbe Real EstateUSA TodayBiophilic Solutions 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

Not many people find their career path at 18, but as soon as Steve Nygren saw how the restaurant business worked he knew he was in the right place.Questions AnsweredHow does a hospitality guy end up placemaking in the woods?Why was Steve Nygren the right person to create a place like Serenbe?How did Steve go from bus boy to maitre 'd in one summer? What brought Steve to Atlanta?What was different about the Stouffer's Hotel in Atlanta?What was Steve's Big Splash marketing campaign for the Atlanta hotel?What is a "Fern Bar"?How did the Pleasant Peasant change the restaurant scene?What led to Pleasant Peasant first expanding?How many Pleasant Peasant restaurants were there?People + Organizations MentionedMary Mac’s Tea RoomMazza GallerieMerrill LynchNeiman MarcusNestleOmni HotelPennsylvania Development AuthorityPhipps PlazaSaks Fifth AvenueStan TopolTiffany’sAnsley ParkAtlanta BeltLineAtlanta Conventions & Visitor’s BureauBob AmickCentral Atlanta ProgressColony SquareDan SweatDick DaileyDick MyrickDogwood FestivalEmory University HospitalGeorgia Hospitality AssociationHome ParkIBMLord & TaylorMargaret LupoMargaret Mackenzie 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

What exactly is the Serenbe Institute for Art, Culture and the Environment and why did Steve Nygren start it? The first arts program, AIR Serenbe, an artist-in-residence program, kicked off the Institute, with big plans to fund a pottery studio. There was early success with the residency but no permanent home, artists stayed in resident’s extra bedrooms or garage apartments. Since then Serenbe partnered with Auburn University’s design build architecture program, Rural Studio, to build two dedicated artist cottages on the Art Farm at Serenbe. Since then, the Institute has grown, introducing Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre in 2017, a Serenbe Fellows program, Serenbe Film with more units and programming that bring all forms of art and environment programming to the community and visitors from around the globe.Questions AnsweredWhat is the Serenbe Institute for Art, Culture & the Environment?Why was it important for Steve Nygren to honor the arts in a specific way at Serenbe?How do Serenbe residents support the Serenbe Institute?How did Steve Nygren get the idea to use transfer fees as a permanent source for arts funding at Serenbe?What was the first arts program in Serenbe?How did former Atlanta Ballet principals end up creating a company under the Serenbe Institute?People + Organizations MentionedSerenbe FellowsShelton StanfillMayor Shirley FranklinSouth Fulton Area InitiativeTelluride Film FestivalTerminus Modern Ballet TheatreTom SwanstonTom ReedTomlinson-Graham GroupActon AcademyAIR SerenbeAnis MojganiArt Farm at SerenbeArt Over DinnerArthur Blank FoundationAtlanta Ballet 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

How did Steve Nygren get people to move to Serenbe when there was nothing here but trees and an idea? After investors balked at his idea and declined, he knew it was up to him to show people what Serenbe would be. Steve worked with Robert Rausch and Ryan Gainey to develop an image box with drawings, imaginations and descriptions of what he was building in Chattahoochee Hills.Questions AnsweredWhy did the first residents choose to move to Serenbe?How did Steve Nygren show future residents what his vision was for Serenbe?What is Les Dames d'Escoffier's connection to Serenbe?How did Steve Nygren finance the first homes built in Serenbe?Who were Serenbe's residents at the beginning?What were the first "small homes" in Serenbe?How did Serenbe succeed through the 2008 recession?Why did Steve Nygren use his own funds to build commercial centers in Serenbe's first neighborhoods?What does Steve Nygren want to build next in Serenbe?How does Europe's treatment of seniors differ from America's?People + Organizations MentionedLew OliverLittle Acorn Learning CenterOne MadoPelotonPro Bike RepairProper HairResource SerenbeSerenbe YogaSpa at SerenbeYumiko SushiAJ DowningAngie MosierChatt Hills GalleryForage & Flower Botanical Design StudioGainey Hall GalleryGeneral Store at SerenbeGym at SerenbeHalsa RestaurantHills & Hamlets BookshopLes Dames d’Escoffier 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

In this episode, Steve Nygren talks about how he took his successful hospitality career and applied it to building a community from scratch. They were creating places through hospitality, and Steve knew when building Serenbe that they needed to have a place for people to gather around food. That first place was the Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop. Questions AnsweredWhat is placemaking?How does scale and massing in architecture contribute to the authentic feel of a place?What is a condition sheet?What is a thornbird transect?How does Serenbe differ from typical New Urbanism?Why did Steve Nygren design the streets after omegas?Why does traditional Southern architecture incorporate porches?How do porches in Serenbe encourage community engagement?How can a mail house add to a sense of place?Where are all the trash cans and mail boxes in Serenbe?Why don't you see front lawns in Serenbe?Where can you eat in Serenbe (besides the restaurants)?What are Serenbe's home design guidelines?People + Organizations MentionedPhipps PlazaProper HairSerenbe Planning & DesignTexas A&M UniversityThe Well-Placed WeedThe Farmhouse RestaurantLord & TaylorInn at SerenbeMack Scogin Merrill Elam ArchitectsMerrill LynchPBS 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.

Steve Nygren dives into how to actually begin the build process when you're starting from nothing. He knew he had to save his backyard and had worked with his neighbors to go to the state to make the laws work for Chattahoochee Hills, but he didn't yet know he was going to create the Serenbe community. That realization was never a moment, but rather over a gradual course of time. Questions AnsweredHow do you build a neighborhood from scratch?If not you, who? If not now, when?When did Steve Nygren realize he was actually going to build a neighborhood to save his land?How did Phill Tabb get involved in Serenbe?Did Steve get to include everything he wanted to in Serenbe?Why were granite curbs so difficult to get?What goes into putting something like power into a new community?How do we reduce our energy demands so we're not using up our resources?How does EarthCraft differ from LEED certification?What is a Gabion bridge?Why do third-world countries have more environmentally-friendly stormwater routing than the United States?Where does stormwater go?People + Organizations MentionedFarmers AlmanacProctor CreekRobert MarvinDr. Phillip TabbSoutheastern Engineering, IncSouthfaceUSA TodayAtlanta BeltLineBiophilic Leadership SummitBlue Eyed Daisy BakeshopBoschBruce FergusonEarthCraft CertificationChad EppleTeresa Epple 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!Today through October 12, order a copy of Start In Your Own Backyard and you'll receive a tote bag, keychain and signed bookplate from Steve Nygren.Get a Start In Your Own Backyard Book Bundle TodayPre-Order from your favorite bookseller, send in your receipt and we'll mail you a book bundle as our gift.