Eco-Logical Home Podcasts

Listen Up! In just 15-30 minutes, you can learn about new sustainable choices for your home and community. Whether building a new house, installing a rain garden, remodeling the kitchen, or retrofitting your home for resource efficiency, here you’ll find great information you can really use.

Hosted by long-time EcoBuilding Guild member Terry Phelan, these podcasts are a fun way to get tips on the go. Healthy building materials, geothermal and passive solar heating, non toxic finishes, alternative wall systems, and permaculture are just a few of the subjects to help you create nurturing, healthy shelter and community support systems for comfortable, healthy, and resilient places to live.

Some of the episodes posted here were created for Living Shelter Radio, and retain references to that program in their introduction and closing. Living Shelter Design and their non-profit sponsors continue to create and support the program, and are pleased to share it with the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild.

May 1, 2012
Designing for Human Delight with Kelly Lerner
Kelly Lerner of One World Design is known as an innovator in the fields of straw bale design and earthen plasters. She is also the co-author of the book Natural Remodeling for the Not So Green Home, where she explores how people can bring their homes into harmony with nature. With so much emphasis on the technical aspects of green building, it’s important to remember that homes are sanctuaries to rekindle our spirit. Listen in as Kelly joins Terry to talk about designing homes for Human Delight.

April 24, 2012
Z-Home: Lessons Learned with Brad Liljequist
Z-Home has been in the spotlight recently as the first zero-net energy and carbon neutral multi-family development in the United States. Now that construction is complete, we wanted to examine some of the lessons learned from this first of its kind development. Z-Home project manager Brad Liljequist of the City of Issaquah’s Resource Conservation Office joins Terry this week to share his insight in this 30-minute interview.

April 3, 2012
Going Modular with Ann Raab of Greenpod
The view of Modular Homes is improving, as new developments prove that both building quality and environmental integrity can be improved when a home is constructed with the right materials in a controlled environment. Ann Rabb of Greenpod Development is one of the people leading the modular home paradigm shift in the Pacific Northwest. Listen in as Ann and Terry delve into what can make today’s modular different.

March 28th, 2012
Electromagnetic Fields in the Home with Sonia Hoglander
Many people are aware of health issues related to our built environment such as chemical toxins and mold, but not much has been published to date on Electromagnetic Field Pollution or EMF from power lines and cell phone towers. Sonia Hoglander of Home Evolution, who has a background as an Electrical Engineer and a Building Biologist, joins Terry to discuss some of the research on the subject that is coming to light.

March 20th, 2012
Insulated Rammed Earth with Bly Windstrom and
More About Rammed Earth with Bly Windstrom
Rammed Earth is a natural building method which creates beautiful low-maintenance walls.  Rammed earth has been used for centuries, and lasts as long with grand examples such as the Great Wall of China. Bly Windstrom of Earthdwell, LTD practices this building method, using a few minor modifications to make it more appropriate for the Pacific Northwest climate. Bly joins Terry to discuss this highly sustainable practice of building with earth.

March 13th, 2012
Free Range Chicken Gardens with Jessi Bloom
Local food is a big part of the resiliency conversation, from supporting your local farmer right down to keeping backyard chickens. Jessi Bloom of Northwest Bloom, a sustainable landscape design firm serving the Puget Sound region, has a new book called “Free Range Chicken Gardens” which is getting rave reviews. Jessi joins Terry to talk about the backyard chicken movement and integrating these little powerhouses into your garden.

March 6th, 2012
Energy Audits & Retrofits with Yves Vetter
Energy Retrofits are a great way to increase the comfort in an older building, and can save you money to boot. Energy Audits are the most typical way to determine just where energy is leaking before a Retrofit is done. Yves Vetter of Vesta Performance has been doing both of these services for a few years, and joins Terry to talk about their latest approach and the many benefits and paybacks, including some that may surprise you!

February 28th, 2012
Emerge Leadership with Kathleen O'Brien

February 22nd, 2012
A Conversation with Kathleen O'Brien
Kathleen O’Brien is the founder of O’Brien and Company, the premier sustainable building consulting firm in the Pacific Northwest. She has been on the forefront of the sustainability movement for over 30 years, witnessing quite a change in the industry during that time. The Emerge Leadership Workshops are her latest project, and producing quite a buzz around the Sound. Kathleen talks with Terry about her inspirations, successes, and hopes for the future. Look for Part 2 of this interview for more details about Emerge.

February 21st, 2012
Stockbox Grocers....more from Carrie

January 30th, 2012
Stockbox Grocers with Carrie Ferrence
Many places are known as “food deserts” – towns or neighborhoods where the only choice for buying food is the local gas station, if at all. We could really use some fresh ideas for bringing good food and healthy daily needs into these under served areas! Enter Carrie Ferrence and her partner Jacqueline Gjurgevich, who started Stockbox Grocers to address this need. Carrie joins Terry to talk about their inspiration, pilot project, and plans for the future.

January 24th, 2012
Permaculture Gardening with Marisha Auerbach - Part 2

January 17th, 2012
Permaculture Gardening with Marisha Auerbach - Part 1
Food gardens are getting really popular again, and a lot of people today didn’t grow up learning how to grow their own food. Marisha Auerbach of Herbnwisdom is trying to fill that gap by teaching people how to establish gardens and foraging landscapes that can provide for a family year round. Listen to her conversation with Terry and learn how to get started, and how to maximize your garden to provide year-round abundance in western Washington and Oregon.

January 10th, 2012
The Re-Store Story with Bray Hayden
and, Re-Store Redux Part Two
The RE-Store us a community-based non-profit with stores located in Seattle and Bellingham. They collect reusable building materials from donations, salvage and deconstruction, and then sell them back to the public. Bray is their outreach coordinator, and joins Terry for a fun and informative conversation. Learn about their services and history, and the benefits you can reap from using their team for your project.

January 4, 2012
Pacific Northwest Reclaimed Timbers - Part 2

December 21, 2011
Pacific Northwest Reclaimed Timbers - Part 1
Reclaimed timbers can lessen our reliance on old growth forests.  They are also more stable than newly harvested wood timbers, having cured over many years, making them better suited for traditional timber framing. The reclaimed timber industry is going strong in the Pacific Northwest. Jake Jacob from Pacific Northwest Timbers in Port Townsend joins Terry to talk about the history, benefits, challenges, and uses of reclaimed timbers in our area.

Find more great episodes at Eco-Logical Home!