At Working for Green, our mission is to build an interactive community of everyday people going green to save or make money. Each Wednesday, we'll introduce you to a Facebook fan who is doing just that! These Eco-Warriors are joining the ranks of the fifty-plus Eco-Warriors who we have featured in our video series, and the other nameless Eco-Warriors doing good work near and afar.

By naming and featuring Eco-Warriors, our hope is to show just how many ways everyday people can go green and save or make money-- whether it's with lifestyle choices, eco-friendly projects or a green career. If you'd like to be considered as an Eco-Warrior, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we'll send you a questionnaire.

Let's meet this week's warriors, Michaela Miller and Steve Sadler, with Built Totally Green. After a tropical storm toppled their Florida home, Michaela and Steve decided to turn tragedy into opportunity by constructing a new home with a greatly reduced environmental impact and maintenance costs. And boy did they take this goal to the next level...their home became the first Platinum LEED certified home in NE Florida! Talk about Eco-WARRIORS!!

Studies show that the intensity of such tropical storms will escalate with increased global climate change if human-produced global climate change emissions continue to be spewed into our atmosphere. Michaela and Steve can rest peacefully at night knowing that they are doing their part as environmental stewards!

Today, their waterfront Florida home is more than just a juncture where economic and environmental sustainability meet beauty and functionality. Michaela and Steve's commitment to starting anew with NE Florida's first Platinum LEED certified home is a true testament to how going green is a win-win for our pocketbooks as well as the environment. Even though we're not all going to have the opportunity to build a new home, our interview with Michaela demonstrates just how many different ways builders, homeowners and even renters can incorporate sustainable living choices into their home-- from replacing a lawn with a native garden to building it totally green!

Way to go Michaela and Steve-- we admire your decision to build totally green and are honored to spread the word about your accomplishments and continued hard work with Built Totally Green! We're proud to have you become part of Working for Green's growing community of Eco-Warriors!!!

If you've got questions for Michaela and Steve, please contact Michaela via our Facebook page!



WFG: What green action(s) are you taking specifically to save or make money? Name as
few or as many as you'd like.

Michaela: We have 68 photovoltaic panels and a solar water heater on our roof; #14 geothermal
wells (175'-225') deep in the ground; two 1,500 gallon rainwater collection tanks; no
lawn to maintain and 1,000+ native plants and ground cover; 300 sq. ft. organic food
garden, plus orange, grapefruit, fig, lemon and lime trees. Our utility bill averages $125/
month for the 4,170 sq. ft. home. The HERS rating is 18 - one of the most energy
efficient in Florida. We don't use any pesticides or chemicals inside or outside the
home. We don't even burn candles inside - only outside, because it negatively affects
the air quality. Now we only use battery (rechargeable) operated candles to provide
ambience.

WFG: Approximately how long have you been going green with this/these actions?

Michaela: Since March 2010.

WFG: What initially inspired you to go green? Was there a specific time, event, person...?

Michaela: Tropical Storm Fay destroyed our old home on 8/22/08. We decided to rebuild totally
green and became the 1st Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) home in NE Florida (Jacksonville). We deconstructed the original house and
rebuilt while only sending 4 dumpsters to landfill! We recycled, reused and repurposed
virtually everything. Roof shingles, drywall and damaged timber was ground up for
landscaping providing nutrients and mulch to the soil.

WFG: What helpful tips or experiences can you share with our community about the economic benefits of your green actions?

Michaela: We are dedicated to educating others about environmental responsibility, energy
efficiency and sustainability. We produced a documentary "Built Totally Green - $ave
Our Future" to show the deconstruction and rebuilding of our home and to showcase
eco-friendly products as well as lessons learned. One highlight of our food garden is
that it's "mounded." It give us more area to plant and the drip irrigation hose snakes across the mound and works beautifully, since the thirsty plants are on top of the mound and the less thirsty plants are on the sides and bottom of the mound.

WFG: No matter what shade of green any of us are, there are always more opportunities to go even more green. What would you say is your next green-challenge and what, if any, barriers are stopping you from going there?

Michaela: We're asking friends, family and neighbors to save and/or bring their glass bottles to us. We've collected for a year and we're nearly ready to start our next project. We will cut the necks off the bottles and lie them on their sides to build a wall underneath the house
(it's on 9 ft. steel stilts). The wall will 'hide' my messy garden preparation area.

WFG: Please share any other info you would like about your money saving or making green
actions!

Michaela: Growing our own food is one of the simplest and most rewarding things we do!
I learned this great trick from my mother-in-law, who is an avid gardener.  Use a zippered
"bed in a bag" and in the bottom place a tray with rows of toilet paper
rolls (standing up). Fill them with soil and start your seeds in it and be sure to label the
rows. A daily misting gets the plants started and it becomes a mini greenhouse. When
the plants are ready, plant the rolls directly into the soil. It helps carrots grow straight,
too!

Virtually anything can be reused or re-purposed. Mirrors can't be recycled, so we took
all the mirrors from the old house and laid them on a sheet outside. We folded the
sheet over an area and began breaking the mirrors into various sizes. We painted a
couple of 4x8 sheets of plywood black and nailed them side by side on a wooden fence.
Then (wearing heavy gloves) we glued the pieces of mirror to it and made a mosaic and
even layered it to make it 3D. It's behind the grapefruit and orange trees and reflects
the trees and flowers in a unique and beautiful way AND saved the mirrors from the
landfill.

Michaela Miller & Steve Sadler
Homeowners and Florida Sustainability Ambassadors
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Steve@BuiltTotallyGreen