My parents became interested in non toxic/non chemical products about 20 years ago.  I was an older teen then, but it greatly influenced me.  In 1997, both my husband and I started C & K Landscape Design specializing in design and construction of outdoor living spaces utilizing sustainable, renewable materials.  We integrate water saving and efficient irrigation design, California Natives and many other methods that make the site and landscape environmentally friendly.  Since we started, we have integrated our ecological approach into dozens of projects.  A special project is actually at my parents home in Brentwood--they were featured in ‘05 in LA Times Home Section as a cover for an ecological, sustainable home which we played a large role in developing the outdoor spaces with Cal Native Plants, biological ponds, permeable paving, low water irrigation, slope restoration and many other aspects.  C & K are certified Sustainable Landscapers with the City of Santa Monica.  We remain very focused on our mission of promoting design of sustainable landscapes.

Habel Construction has one NARI Certified Green Building Professional on staff, and has completed a two story residential addition which significantly incorporated green methods and materials.

My ecological design experience began thirty years ago, when I chose my architecture school and focused my studies there on ecological considerations. In subsequent years, while the market had other interests, I researched and wrote about the impacts of buildings on humans and the biosphere. As public interest grew, I designed passive-solar homes of rammed earth, straw bales, and other green materials. Eventually, I was able to focus my practice solely on ecological building projects. In addition to practicing architecture, I have continued to write and teach about ecological design all over the country, most recently focusing on classes for homeowners on ecological remodeling.

We completed our first green home project in 2006.  Materials and methods we’ve used include: super insulation (cellulose), condensing high-efficiency gas boiler, local materials, earth-bermed, efficient lighting, low VOC paint, brick & tile finishes, cellulose ceiling.  Bill Chaleff has been LEED Accredited since 2003 and firm’s entire staff is also LEED Accredited.  Firm is affiliated with the USGBC and founder Suffolk Co. Solar Energy Commission.

Chris Benedict currently has fifty-six green multifamily projects completed, under construction, or on the boards. Her first green housing project, the substantial gut rehabilitation of eighteen small multifamily buildings in Brooklyn, New York was completed in 1998. In 1999 she was awarded Energy Professional of the Year by the International Association of Energy Engineers for the project.

299 East Third Street is a good example of Chris’s work. This thirty-eight apartment new-construction project on the Lower East Side of Manhattan uses 15% of the energy of a typical apartment building for no additional construction cost. Chris thinks holistically, outside the normal “green” box, and does not use “guidelines” and “point systems” for her designs. Her projects do not need grants or additional funding. Chris is a licensed architect in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., and is not affiliated with LEED, USGBC or the AIA. 

I incorporate/integrate “green” into every project I design. In addition to the dozen or so straw bale projects I’ve done (some of them off-grid, earth-plastered, etc.), I incorporate"green" considerations into the General Notes for all of my projects. The final built result, however, does not always embody my own personal set of standards and criteria because I don’t have complete control. I am a LEED-AP (Accredited Professional), and a founding Board Member of the Redwood Empire Chapter of the USGBC. I co-teach a year-long series of classes at Sonoma State in a Professional Certificate Program in Green Building.

Since our founding in 1971, we have completed hundreds of landscaping projects.  One key project on a 1+ acre site at a public water treatment facility featured native plants, site water retention (drip irrigation, zero-runoff grading, percolation chambers, and bioswales), public interpretive trails, recycled organic mulch, experimental terra preta soil modifications, and wildlife habitat. Founder Owen Dell is a certified water manager and a member of the Ecological Landscaping Association.

All of our projects, to some degree, are green homes.  We incorporate sustainable materials, natural ventilation and solar power in all our projects.  The McKinley residence embodies the green home ideal.  Solar and photovoltaic panels provide 70% of the family’s energy needs, and the materials, from structural to cladding to appliances, are all environmentally conscious.  David Hertz was LEED Accredited in 2004 and the firm is affiliated with several green organizations such as, USCBC, AIA COTE and EPS for the city of Santa Monica.  David has also been teaching a course on ecology and architecture at UCLA for over 10 years.