By Diana Budds

When Steve Nygren talks about how he began Serenbe, a 15-year-old 1,000-acre planned community outside of Atlanta, he speaks about it in humble terms. “I just wanted to save my backyard.” But his backyard, behind a 1905 farmhouse, wasn’t just any backyard; it was acres of untouched forests, farmland, and meadows brimming with flora and fauna. Nygren, his wife, and his daughters often hiked in those woods, taking in the birds, streams, waterfalls, and solitude.