Start In Your Own Backyard
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.
The question is simple: What gifts do you bring? And are you ready to use them?
Want to dive deeper? Steve’s book, Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense, is out now. An instant USA Today Bestseller, this book is 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.
Start In Your Own Backyard
Latest Episodes
Grant McCargo on Responsible Development & Building for the Future
Grant McCargo, a longtime friend of Serenbe, is an environmentalist and the founder of Urban Villages, a real estate development company creating walkable, culturally rich, nature-connected places designed to stand the test of time.One o...
Tim Beatley On Bringing Nature Into Cities
When Serenbe was in its early stages, people often tried to put a label on it. Terms like agrihood and eco-community came close, but never quite captured the vision. Then Steve heard urban planner and author Tim Beatley speak ...
Mehmet Kalyoncu Is Rethinking How We Build Cities in Istanbul & Beyond
In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren sits down with Mehmet Kalyoncu, a developer and visionary rethinking how architecture, mobility, community, and nature can shape the future of cities. What began with a visit ...
Ellen Dunham-Jones Wants To Retrofit Suburbia
When Serenbe was first conceived, Steve Nygren had the opportunity to rethink almost everything from the ground up. But most of the places where people live don’t have that luxury. They’re already built, and in many cases, they’re struggling.
Price Bell Is Bridging Growth and Stewardship
Price Bell Jr., grew up at Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, a working thoroughbred farm that his family has cared for for generations.But Price’s story isn’t just about preserving what his family inherited. He spent years working ...