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.
Episodes
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 where nature and people are woven back together.
You’ll hear from neighbors like Gil Mathis, who traded a corporate finance career for a more authentic life rooted in connection, and Gigi Wil...
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 truly want to gather and belong.
At Serenbe, that spirit comes alive every day. Visitors might arrive for goat yoga or a stroll through the nature trails and end up moving. A coffee-and-ceramics studio,...
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. That’s where the arts come in.
In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores why music, theater, sculpture, literature, and public art are so vitally important. You’ll...
Once upon a time, community wasn’t something you had to schedule, swipe for, or search out in a Facebook group. It was simply part of daily life. In this episode, Steve Nygren explores the loneliness epidemic, how our modern world has stripped away built-in community, and what it will take to bring it back.
He dives into how thoughtful design choices like walkable streets, welcoming front porches, and all-important “third places” ca...
Most of us know that a sedentary, stress-filled lifestyle can take a heavy toll on our wellbeing. Yet when communities are designed for cars instead of people, when fast food is easier to find than fresh produce, and when green space feels totally out of reach, it becomes increasingly apparent that healthy choices are about so much more than willpower.
In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores why true wel...
What makes a place feel magnetic? Why do some neighborhoods and buildings leave you feeling inspired, while others feel sterile and disconnected? In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, we explore how the built environment shapes our sense of joy, connection, and belonging.
You’ll hear from neurologist Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, who explains how our brains respond to beauty and why elements like coherence, fascination, and homines...
Access to nature isn’t just a luxury. It's essential for our health, our well-being, and the resilience of our communities. But what happens when the fields, forests, and streams we once knew are paved over by highways, strip malls, and suburban sprawl?
In this episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, Steve Nygren explores our deep connection to (and disconnection from) the natural world. From the science of nature deficit disord...
In the first episode of Start In Your Own Backyard, 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.
Because, let’s be honest: life in Amer...
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