Magazine Honors Home on the Range Garden Designer

[Bear Creek Council]

Bear Creek Council is a proud affiliate of the Northern Plains Resource Council.

Here is the recent announcement about the gardens at their award winning "Home on the Range" headquarters in Billings, one of only 41 LEED Platinum buildings in the United States:

"Linda Iverson, Northern Plains member and designer of our Home on the Range gardens, was named one of the top landscape designers in the West byMountain Living Magazine. In its May/June 2009 issue, the magazine interviewed Linda. You can read the interview online athttp://www.mountainliving.com/Mountain-Living/May-June-2009/Top-Landscape-Designers/. Click to page 2.

A full-color map identifying all of the water-wise or native flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees surrounding our Home on the Range is available for $5.00. The map will help visitors identify plants they might want to try at home or work. If you cannot stop by the Northern Plains office to buy a map, you can order them by writing to: Garden Map, 220 S. 27th St., Suite A; Billings, MT 59101. Make checks payable to Northern Plains.

The gardens demonstrate the use of plantings that are diverse, drought-tolerant, and save water. Many of the plants are native and others thrive in Montana’s arid climate. In conjunction with the Home on the Range building, the gardens are cited as an oasis along a busy arterial corridor into downtown Billings.

The gardens are an extension of the energy-efficient Home on the Range, home of the Northern Plains Resource Council and the Western Organization of Resource Councils. In 2007, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded the Home on the Range LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, its highest award. It is the only commercial building to win the award in Montana and 41st building in the country; its strategies for reducing waste, saving energy, and conserving natural resources have helped homeowners and architects draw inspiration and ideas for their own “green” buildings.

The Northern Plains Resource Council is a conservation and family agriculture nonprofit that organizes Montana citizens to protect water quality, family farms and ranches, and our unique quality of life; the Western Organization of Resource Councils helps its member groups in seven states by providing training and coordinating work on regional issues."