We’ve also been featured in a Norwegian online publication: www.aftenposten.no.  The article includes an interview with Roald about his process and history and some great information about driftless farm and the Whole Tree buildings we’ve constructed here.  If you’re familiar with the language it should be very informative.  If not … the pictures are very pretty.

An Italian home design website Lavorincasa.it also ran a piece on us in early December.  They praise us for our ecosostenibilità. Check it out here.

He’s got some serious green cred, you might say and he likes our stuff.  He compares us to Sunray Kelley and some of the other builders featured in his publishing houses Builders of the Pacific Coast.  Some of them are stunning – check out a slideshow of images here.   Isn’t it nice to belong to a mutual admiration society?

“The buildings are beautiful in a raw and natural way because Whole Trees believes in using whole, young-growth trees in their projects. The idea is to get back to the roots of construction, to use a whole material rather than an over-processed one, and to let the inherent beauty of nature shine through in each and every project.”

Thanks a lot Web Ecoist!

Click here for a link to the post.

WHOLE TREES IS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!!!!!!

“ROALD GUNDERSEN, an architect who may revolutionize the building industry, shinnied up a slender white ash near his house here on a recent afternoon, hoisting himself higher and higher until the limber trunk began to bend slowly toward the forest floor.

“Look at Papa!” his life and business partner, Amelia Baxter, 31, called to their 3-year-old daughter, Estella, who was crouching in the leaves, reaching for a mushroom. Their son, Cameron, 9 months, was nestled in a sling across Ms. Baxter’s chest.”

Read it all here – we were featured on the front of the Home Section.  Also check out the photo slide show which shows Paul Kelley’s beautiful images of Driftless Farm here.

Driftless farm picked up some publicity in the Coop Shopper this month.  This publication, a joint venture of several area food coops featured the new Driftless farm CSF or community supported forest.

“It started with word play and an understanding that a sustainable forest is more than just its trees. Community Supported Forest (CSF) is a model of membership in a natural resource, much like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), where members reap the abundance of a sustainably managed forest.
“This year, Driftless Farm CSA planted this seed of an idea and is growing what it thinks is the first Community supported Forest on its 140 acres in Stoddard, WI. The project facilitates a sustainable relationship between members and a rural forest resource often overlooked.
“Wisconsin has 13 million acres of forest land. Most of this land is a tax burden to its owners and a liability to the state, which subsidizes its maintenance. Conventionally, forests are economically useless until old growth matures and is milled for lumber or its “weed trees” are sold as firewood or pulp wood. Forest owners have little economic incentive
to keep their forests, since more monetary value is promised by clearing and grazing the land or selling it for development. And yet, our global climate crisis begs us to find more value in our forests, to save them, replant them, honor them.”

For a link to the article click here.

The La Crosse Tribune features Driftless Farms Community Supported Forest (CSF).   Roald Gundersen and Amelia Baxter have adapted the popular community supported agriculture model to allow community members to get involved with taking care of their local forests.

“For a $550 annual contribution, members get access to the 140-acre valley about 12 miles south of La Crosse. They can camp, hunt and garden on the land. They can forage for mushrooms, garlic mustard and wild ginger. They can get firewood, sustainably milled lumber, landscaping stone or fresh spring water.
“In addition, members can attend workshops on beermaking, beekeeping, natural building and other topics.”

The CSF is always looking for new members.  For more information or to come out and visit the forest, contact Derek Mayhew at derekmayhew@wholetrees.com.

Hubbuch, Chris. 2009. “Community supported forest offers way to buy shares in woodlands” The La Crosse Tribune. May 24 .  For a link to the article click here.

Natural Home Magazine selects a Whole Trees project, The Chrysalis House, as an honorable mention in their Best of the Decade context to celebrate their 10 year anniversary.  As they put it, “Over the past 10 ears, Natural Home has featured homes made of straw bale, rammed earth and clay – from tiny, handmade cottages to exquisite expensive mansions.  we’ve introduced readers to new building methods, such as structural insulated panels and innovations including geothermal heating and cooling systems.  These are just a few of our favorite houses and gardens – and yours.”

2009. “ Honorable Mentions: Deep Roots, Strong Branches November/December 2007” Natural Home.  May/Jun, 59.  For a link to the article click here.