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
The Spark of Possibility
In this final episode of the Start In Your Own Backyard mini-series, Steve Nygren reflects on the journey of building Serenbe. What started out as an unlikely idea, sparked in a moment of fear and panic is now a living, breathing community wher...
A Place That Feels Like Home
A lot of what we’ve been exploring on this podcast comes back to an idea known as placemaking: the art of designing spaces that feel meaningful, welcoming, and rooted in community. At its core, it’s about creating places where people t...
The Deepest Wells of the Human Spirit
Food, shelter, walkable streets, even access to nature are all vital ingredients for a thriving community. But on their own, they aren’t quite enough. To truly flourish, people also need beauty, inspiration, and creativity woven into daily life...