Northern Nevada Green Living Podcast

gogreenlocally.org
  • 5.0 (3)
  • HOME & GARDEN
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Are you interested in living a more earth-friendly life in the Northern Nevada area? We interview locals from groups, small businesses, and organizations that share their knowledge and ways we can participate with them, to better care for our people, nature, and the environment. Get to know your green community better. Then jump in and try something new at home, connect with an individual or group, or participate in an activity with your community.

  1. JAN 30

    Resigning Heirloom Bridal Gowns - Meranda Crosby - Herstory Bridal and Design

    In this episode, we sit down with Reno-based designer Meranda Crosby, founder of Herstory Bridal and Design and The Shoppe at Hillcrest, to talk about redesigning heirloom wedding dresses, sustainability, and building creative community right here in Northern Nevada. Meranda shares how her lifelong love of fashion—from designing clothes for her Barbies to studying at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) and working in Disneyland’s costuming department—ultimately led her back home to Reno. Through Herstory Bridal and Design, she redesigns wedding gowns passed down through generations, honoring family history while creating modern, one-of-a-kind pieces that reduce textile waste. We also explore The Shoppe at Hillcrest, Meranda’s community-centered space supporting local artists, makers, and creatives, and how her work weaves together storytelling, sustainability, and a deep commitment to place. About the Guest Meranda Crosby is the founder of Herstory Bridal and Design and The Shoppe at Hillcrest in Reno, Nevada. With a background in fashion design and costuming, Meranda specializes in redesigning heirloom wedding gowns into custom bridal pieces that honor history, sustainability, and personal storytelling. Learn More Herstory Bridal and Design: https://www.herstorybridalanddesign.com/ The Shoppe at Hillcrest: https://www.hillcrest-reno.com/the-shoppe-at-hillcrest/ Follow Meranda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herstorybandd/

    14 min

  2. 12/14/2025

    Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank Online Marketplace, Amy Kousch, Outreach Liaison

    In this episode, we spotlight the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank (MARSB) and the critical role it plays in strengthening native plant supply chains, supporting regenerative land management, and protecting regional biodiversity. We explore how MARSB is working to better connect native plant material end users with commercial growers—and why this coordination is essential for successful restoration and conservation efforts. Our guest, Amy CooSH, recently joined MARSB as Outreach Liaison and brings over a decade of experience in regenerative agriculture and native plant work. Her background spans hands-on fieldwork, laboratory research, nursery and farm management, teaching, grant writing, and collaboration with community partners. Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Communications, a Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension Education, and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in plant and soil science. She is deeply committed to the health of the Northeast’s watersheds, plant communities, and broader ecology. A major focus of this conversation is MARSB’s new Online Marketplace, an initiative designed to make native plant material needs more visible and accessible. Amy shares how MARSB is engaging end users through needs assessments and outreach, encouraging longer-term planning, and creating a platform where organizations, practitioners, and communities can post their native plant needs—helping growers plan ahead and increasing the availability of regionally appropriate native plants. In this episode, we discuss: The mission and role of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank Why native plant supply chains matter for restoration and regenerative projects The challenges end users face when sourcing native plant materials How needs assessments and long-term planning can strengthen regional resilience MARSB’s Online Marketplace and how it will connect end users with growers What this new system could mean for the future of native plant restoration in the Mid-Atlantic region Understanding how regenerative growing techniques can enhance how we care for our soil and our native plants To learn more about Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank visit their website:  https://www.marsb.org/ Six-Point Program to Develop a Native Plant Material Supply Chain Throughout the Mid-Atlantic:  https://www.marsb.org/marsb-six-point-program GoFundMe.com campaign to protect Mid-Atlantic Ecosystems:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-marsb-inc-in-their-vital-mission?attribution_id=sl:a33aa224-5fc7-419f-bad1-93764f6f06eb&lang=en_US&utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

    30 min
  3. From Interior Design to Toy Swaps: Kristen Giacomini on Creativity, Community, and Sustainability

    11/22/2024

    From Interior Design to Toy Swaps: Kristen Giacomini on Creativity, Community, and Sustainability

    In this episode, we’re joined by Kristen Giacomini, a Reno native, mom of two, and the visionary behind Flow Designs. As an interior designer, Kristen crafts stunning spaces that inspire joy and fulfillment—but her passion for sustainability and community doesn’t stop there. Kristen shares the story behind hosting a second Toy & Clothing Swap at her business location, combining her love for design, eco-conscious living, and bringing people together. We’ll explore how this event reflects her commitment to fostering greener lifestyles while building stronger connections. Tune in as Kristen discusses: • The values she’s passing on to her daughters through reusing and repurposing • What inspired her to host a Toy & Clothing Swap and its impact on the community • Her approach to integrating sustainability into her professional and personal life Join us for an inspiring conversation about creativity, connection, and making sustainability accessible—one swap and one beautifully designed space at a time!

    13 min

  4. 01/03/2024

    Greening Business Horizons: A Conversation with Donna Walden, Founder & President of greenUP!

    In this episode, we're thrilled to explore the world of sustainability in Northern Nevada with Donna, the visionary Founder and President of greenUp and the Nevada Green Business Network. Not only is she leading the charge in providing environmental education to businesses, but Donna is also at the forefront of an exciting initiative—the Green to Go Reusable Container Program. This program is set to revolutionize takeout practices, offering businesses and consumers an eco-friendly alternative to single-use containers. Join us as we delve into Donna's journey, innovative initiatives, and the positive impact she's making on the environment and our local community.

    28 min

  5. 03/31/2023

    Microbe-Rich Composting Classes - Keisha & Casey Ernst – Workshops, Production, & Sales

    Keisha & Casey Ernst have been focusing on soil regeneration and habitat restoration as a team since 2011. They have studied under Dr. Elaine Ingham over the past eight years and worked alongside her on many projects. In 2018 Catalyst BioAmendments was founded as an experimental and educational-focused compost lot. The aim was to apply the techniques taught by Dr. Elaine Ingham to compost on a large scale and to improve the processes to ensure the product reliably hosts diverse populations of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes.   Catalyst successfully created a biological-healthy focused product, and since 2019 Keisha & Casey have been using the compost with their consulting. You can see examples of that success. They aim to raise the quality of food grown by helping farmers increase microbial biomass in their agricultural soils and to help microbe farmers worldwide to improve their composting practices.  Their main overarching focus is on fostering a community around microbe farming. They are passionate about helping the unseen lives in the soil come into view through microscopic images. https://www.catalystbioamendments.com/

    41 min

  6. 03/27/2023

    Children’s Eco-Art Classes – Zoe Bray, Ph.D.

    Zoe Bray is a professional artist based in Reno, Nevada, who started offering eco-art classes to children to help them enjoy simple, timeless beauty and connection with nature. As a professional artist, her practice focuses on painting and drawing from life, using traditional fine art techniques, and experimenting with unconventional approaches.  Zoe explores the boundaries between art and ethnography, engaging in questions of identity, representation, and human relations with nature.  Zoe trained as a painter in various parts of Europe. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science (Florence, Italy) and an MA in Anthropology (Edinburgh, Scotland).  International shows include painting performances at NYC's American Natural History Museum, the Chicago Art Incubator, the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, and Beita, the Social Based Art Center in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine. She recently exhibited in the Basque Country in France and Spain, and in Carson City, Nevada. https://zoebrayartist.com/ Zoe's my new children’s book!

    33 min

  7. 07/25/2022

    Scrub Jay Farm - Workshops & Plant-scaping– Colin Watley

    Colin Watley started Scrub Jay Farm in the Spring of 2021 as a result of a career change and a desire to experiment with gardening methods and goals that differ from standard production farms. The emphasis at Scrub Jay Farm is on edible flowers, herbs, food preservation, testing new plant varieties, and seed saving. The farm consists of hugelkultur beds built throughout a 1/6 acre residential lot with permaculture principles as a central focus. In 2022, the second year, the focus has been on planting shrubby intermediate and taller fruit tree layers and continued soil development. The work has also shown Colin the secondary benefits of working with plants can be much greater than the value of the flowers or vegetables grown. This has developed into a talk and hands-on workshops that he has presented for several grade schools, an assisted living facility, NAMI, and the Empowerment Center. Colin also realized that many of the emotional benefits available being around outdoor plants are equally available through indoor plants as well.  Since then, he has started offering indoor green-scape installations and services to local Reno businesses. The goals now for Colin and Scrub Jay Farm are to continue to hold talks and workshops and offer more indoor plant-scaping for local businesses.   Indoor plant work, Golden Trowel  Urban test farm, also on Instagram, Scrub Jay Farms Nonprofit website, Non-Traditional ART   Local ag events,  https://www.growingnv.com   Contact Colin for specialized edible landscaping and exotic indoor plant installations. Free consultation at Colin.Watley@gmail.com

    19 min

  8. 05/30/2022

    Quinn Campbell - Local Botanist, Garden Manager & Desert Ecologist

    Quinn is a local botanist, ecologist, gardener, and Nevada native. He has spent most of his career studying the native plants of Nevada and fire ecology in the Great Basin.  He’s researched how to effectively restore burned plant communities in our Nevada deserts. More recently, he began working as a garden manager for Farmily, one of our local non-profits partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to teach social-emotional learning through the garden and providing healthy food to the kids and their families. As we learned about in our last episode, Farmily's newest project, Katie's Garden, is a collaboration with the Katie Grace Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, and Bridge Church, and will house a food forest, production garden, and native plant pollinator garden. Quinn on his own also has begun hosting native plant walks to teach our community about the fascinating and diverse flora of our deserts. Since recording this podcast we learned that Quinn was awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation and will be moving to Oahu, Hawaii to start his work towards his PhD.  We are super excited and proud of Quinn and wish him all the best in professional eco journeys to make this world a greener place! Instagram:  q_campbell Email:  quinncampbell@gmail.com

    37 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Are you interested in living a more earth-friendly life in the Northern Nevada area? We interview locals from groups, small businesses, and organizations that share their knowledge and ways we can participate with them, to better care for our people, nature, and the environment. Get to know your green community better. Then jump in and try something new at home, connect with an individual or group, or participate in an activity with your community.

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