America''s leading magazine about sustainable, self-reliant living. In every issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS you''ll find inspiring and practical information.

Pat Blake, Master Gardener, owns Native Way, a gardening business that emphasizes ecology and conservation techniques using indigenous plants and local products. She concentrates on the sensitive shoreline areas where she lives in the beautiful Sebago Lakes Region in Maine.

SYMBIOS is committed to "designing with life". Our approach is holistic and our integrated designs reflect and honor the ecology of place. Alternative building systems and innovative approaches lead us frequently to build what we design. The knowledge and experience of practicing "green" design and building for 15 years insures our clients of the ability, craft and skill we bring to each project. The company has engaged in a number of diverse projects committed to ecological design, sustainable planning, habitat restoration, living technologies, permaculture and environmentally "green" construction. Projects range from homes, retreat centers, sacred spaces, ecological buildings to extraordinary landscapes.