Start In Your Own Backyard is a mini-series about how the choices we make, both big and small, can transform the world around us. For host Steve Nygren, this is personal. Two decades ago, while running through the woods on his beloved family farm, he spotted bulldozers toppling trees for what he feared was another soulless suburban development. That sobering moment sparked a question that changed the course of his life: Isn’t there a better way to build community? One that works with nature, not against it?

The answer became Serenbe, a community built on biophilic principles, sustainable living, and the idea that well-being starts in the everyday spaces where we live, work, and connect with others.

Through stories, guest experts, and personal reflections, Start In Your Own Backyard invites listeners to find their own sense of agency. Whether it’s rethinking your diet, running for school board, planting edible landscapes, or advocating for change in your city, the podcast explores what it means to take action right where you are.

With a strong belief in the power of optimism, even when things feel tough, this series shows how each of us can create ripples of positive change. 

In this first episode, Steve shares his transformative path to founding Serenbe, a thriving community rooted in nature on the outskirts of Atlanta. He talks about why the built environment lies at the heart of so many modern challenges, the personal healing he discovered in nature, and how each of us can take steps toward positive change starting right where we are.

Want to dive deeper? Steve’s book, Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense, comes out on October 7th, 2025, and is available for pre-order now wherever you get books. Part memoir, part guidebook, it offers a blueprint for building sustainable, connected communities, places where wonder exists in the everyday and people of all ages can truly thrive. Published by Matt Holt Books and distributed by Simon & Schuster.

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Show Notes

• Pre-Order Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Steve Nygren
• Start In Your Own Backyard Substack
• Learn more about Serenbe
• Serenbe Stories Podcast

Keywords: Serenbe, Steve Nygren, wellness community, nature-connected living, sustainable community, intentional community design, biophilic design, built environment, urban plann

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.

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