Each year, the Sustainable Backyard Network hosts our free, open-yard tour of eco-friendly spaces throughout the St. Louis area.
The Sustainable Backyard Tour is an annual chance to talk to neighbors about organic gardening, permaculture, native plants, rainscaping, renewable energy, chicken coops, beehives, rain gardens, pollinator gardens, and much more. The tour is self-guided and there is no starting point. Ideally, you’ll enjoy yards near your home or close together, because with dozens of yards to choose from, you simply can’t see them all in one day.
Beyond the Tour, the Sustainable Backyard Network organizes smaller events throughout the year, including co-hosting a monthly Green Drinks gathering with fellow St. Louis non-profit, Earthday365. Our volunteers and hosts also attend many other earth care events throughout the region, so be sure to say hello when you see us.
Between events, we hope you join us online on Instagram, our Facebook group, or our Facebook page.
History
The Sustainable Backyard Tour began as a chicken coop tour in 2010. Founder Terry Winkleman got curious about her neighbors with chickens, and proposed that folks open their yards to share their experiences.
The response to that simple open-yard Sunday was overwhelming. So great was the interest that Terry and Scott Klein, co-owner of Isabee’s Beekeeping Supplies Co., worked together to create the first official Sustainable Backyard Tour in 2011. The first tour featured thirty private residential yards throughout St. Louis City and County, and showcased a variety of sustainable practices, from organic vegetable gardening to goat keeping.
In 2013, Terry closed Home Eco, her green general store, and dedicated herself full-time to running the Tour. In 2018, she and her board incorporated the Sustainable Backyard Network as a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit.
Now, for a decade and counting, she and a handful of dedicated volunteers continued to produce the Tour. The Sustainable Backyard Tour inspires and gathers us each year to this day!