I have been doing suburban organic gardening in N. Central Texas (and a few years in S. Vermont) for quite a while. I've used deep bed and square foot gardening techniques most of the time. It's been a while since I've kept bees but had ~100 hives with my Dad and Father-in-Law at one time. Expect to have more bees in the future. I have a masters degree in materials science and am very interested in sustainable energy, water and housing possibilities.

I've been using the techniques of Permaculture for years but had not woven them together in as elegant a fashion as the pioneers and teachers of Permaculture. Reading the following three books in the last couple of years re-kindled a passion to be and do something that is sustainable for our world: Richard Heinberg's, The End of Growth; Jeremy Rifkin's, The Third Industrial Revolution; and Peter Diamandis', Abundance. My research then led me to find practical guidance from the videos and books of Mike Reynolds (Earthships), Geoff Lawton (Permaculture), Rob Hopkins (Transition Handbook), and David Holmgren (Permaculture Principles) among many others.

Currently my wife/partner and I have established a nearly sod-free wildlife habitat at our suburban home that attracts birds, butterflies, bees, lizards, toads and much more. We are implementing more "official" permaculture techniques as we learn including three types of composting, water catchment, water features, and more human-edible plants. I believe urban/suburban applications are critical since most of humanity will likely remain in these environments for many more decades. Even with that said, we also are considering moving to larger property in a more rural setting. This is quite the fun adventure!