Serenbe is a place where connections between people, nature, and the arts are nourished. Here, we believe that art has the power to shift perspectives and open both hearts and minds. On today’s episode of Serenbe Stories, we are speaking with arts writer and Serenbe resident Gail O’ Neill and artist Curtis Patterson about Curtis’ new permanent installation in Serenbe, Serenity for Shango. This gorgeous piece sits near the entrance to Serenbe and was designed to pay homage to the lineage of African American culture. In this episode, we chat with Gail and Curtis about their backgrounds in the arts, the meaning behind Curtis’ new piece, and why visual art is such an enduring and powerful medium. 

Show Notes & Further Reading 

• Curtis Patterson 
• Gail O’ Neill 
• ArtsATL
• Curtis Patterson: A Monument Maker Gets His Due (Art Papers)
• The Yoruba people 
• Shango
• The Significance of Stools in Asante Culture
• Art Farm at Serenbe
• Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre
• Clark Atlanta University Art Museum 
• Spelman College Museum of Fine Art
• Cutis Patterson: A Journey Through (Visual Arts Center of Richmond)
• Art Basel Miami 

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This week we’re chatting with Serenbe resident Faith McCoy Scriven and her longtime friend James Austin Smith about Tertulia Chamber Music, a dinner & music series that combines some of our favorite things: great wine, conversation, and beautiful classical music from world-class performers. Faith is a classically trained musician in her own right and she now co-owns and operates True Glory Brands Co, a portfolio of leading brands in the African American hair care and beauty industry, and she continues to teach piano to students of all ages. As Executive Director of Tertulia, James Austin Smith has made a career of breaking down the barriers around classical music and bringing it a wider audience. In this episode we chat about Faith’s fateful first trip to Serenbe, why Tertulia is such a perfect fit, and which classical pieces James and Faith are most drawn to. 

Show Notes

• Tertulia Sunset Serenade at Serenbe
• Tertulia Happy Hour at Halsa
• Tertulia Cupcake Concert 
• Tertulia Wine Dinner at Serenbe
• Tertulia Chamber Music
• The Art Farm at Serenbe
• James Austin Smith
• True Glory Brands Co. 
• Palo Alto Music Group

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

On this special episode of Serenbe Stories, we’re passing the mic to Serenbe’s youngest residents to talk all about life in Serenbe from their perspective: from school and friendships to adventures in the woods and everything in between. Reese, a middle schooler living in Serenbe with her family, takes the reins from Monica and Steve and sits down with Maddy, who has lived in Serenbe since 2018. Maddy and Reese chat all about their love for Acton Academy where they both go to school, the major differences between life in Serenbe and life in the city, and the one business we’re missing (hint: it’s pizza related). 

Show Notes

• Acton Academy at Serenbe
• Practical Education with Dr. Eden Hinds (Serenbe Stories Season 5 Episode 7)
• GW Harper Designs (Miss Gigi)
• StudioSwan (Gail Foster & Tom Swanston)
• Playing in the Woods (Life at Serenbe Blog)

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This week on Serenbe Stories, Monica and Steve catch up with longtime Serenbe resident and Chair of the Art Farm Board, Janice Barton. Janice’s Serenbe story begins in the early days of Serenbe and in her time here, she has played a central role in bringing the arts to Serenbe’s residents and visitors. In this episode, we chat all about Janice’s own artistic expression (she is a highly talented quilter), the creativity she finds while walking the woods, and all of the exciting programming that the Art Farm has in store. 

Show Notes

• Art Farm at Serenbe
• Arts & Crafting (Life at Serenbe blog)
• Curtis Patterson
• Kristine Mays
• Tertulia Chamber Music
• Alliance Theatre
• Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre
• Dad’s Garage
• America the Beautiful Challenge (National Wildlife Foundation)
• Rodale Institute
• Rural Studio

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Have you ever wondered why Serenbe feels special or different from the vast majority of large developments? Or why there’s a certain feeling of calm in Serenbe that you can’t quite put your finger on? It all comes down to the details. From street signs, lamp posts, and trash cans, to front lawns (or lack thereof) and a very intentional street layout, Steve Nygren shares the small details that make all the difference when it comes to achieving a sense of place, a sense of community, and perfect imperfection.

Show Notes & Further Reading

• The Well-Placed Weed: The Bountiful Garden of Ryan Gainey by Ryan Gainey
• Welcome to the Porch Capital of America (Southern Living)
• Serenbe Planning & Design
• Serene Urbanism: A biophilic theory and practice of sustainable placemaking by Phillip James Tabb
• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
• Children & 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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Serenbe Stories will be BACK for its 7th season on August 22nd. This new season is all about looking ahead - from Serenbe’s long-term sustainability goals to interviews with the residents, visiting artists, and friends who all make Serenbe a thriving wellness community. We even have a few episodes hosted by the kids who call Serenbe home. Make sure to follow & subscribe so you never miss an episode.  

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Overview
For our final episode of this season, we're talking with nationally-recognized real estate agent and Serenbe resident Jared Sapp. In this episode, Jared shares how he found his Serenbe home through Instagram and how he worked with good friend and showroom owner Ryan Hughes to redo the home's interiors, which were featured in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles and RUE magazines. We also talk about the pandemic real estate market, a bird who's taken up residence in his back yard, and how living at Serenbe has been life changing for him. 

TRanscirpt

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Shelton Davis would rather hear your story than tell his. But in today's episode we're hearing the story of his life in Serenbe and building his company Empathy Lab. Shelton believes in the power of empathy within ourselves, so he's creating a world where it's embraced by leaders at every level in order to accelerate human achievement for the benefit of all. He talks about his transformation as a competitive athlete, what it means to be an empathy coach, and how we can recondition our empathy muscles and empower collective success from the inside out.

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Katrina Erni not only lives at Serenbe but runs marketing for the Biophilic Institute, headquartered at Serenbe, and she's in charge of putting on the annual Biophilic Leadership Summit - happening next week, October 11 & 12. We are going to hear her Serenbe Story plus get a taste of what to expect at the Summit, that is going virtual this year.

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Hi Everyone, welcome back to Serenbe Stories. Today we're bringing you an episode from my podcast Biophilic Solutions, because it features one of Serenbe's residents, Sarah Milligan-Toffler. Sarah is the President and CEO of the Children and Nature Network, an organization created by Richard Louv, that reconnects kids and families with nature. In this episode, Sarah, my co-host Jennifer Walsh, and I discuss nature’s impact on brain development in early childhood, ways that we might reimagine the traditional schoolyard, and the historic barriers that have prevented underserved communities from enjoying nature’s benefits. We also dive into the tools that city officials and engaged citizens alike can use to advocate for the rights of all children have local and safe access to the outdoors. 

Enjoy this special interview with our neighbor Sarah.

Show Notes:

• About the Children & Nature Network
• Urban Nature: Promoting Nature in Cities, Children & Nature Network
• Creating Systems Level Change in Cities: A Toolkit, Children & Nature Network
• Advancing Equity in Children’s Connections to Nature, Cities Connecting Children to Nature (Children & Nature Network + National League of Cities)
• The Urgent Case for Green Schoolyards During and After Covid-19, by Sarah Milligan-Toffler and Richard Louv
• To Build a Healthier City, Atlanta is Opening its Schoolyards to Everyone, by Monica Humphries (Nationwell)
• Policy Spotlight: Georgia Creates Outdoor Learning Committee (National Caucus of Environmental Legislation)
• How the City of Grand Rapids Became a Leader in Connecting Children to Nature, by Alejandra Pallais (National League of Cities)
• We’re Here, You Just Don’t See Us, by Latria Graham (Outside)
• Register for Sum of Us: A Conversation with Heather McGee and Dr. Gail Christopher, presented by the Children & Nature Network (June 10, 2021 at 1:00pm).

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!

Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.