For more than two years, they've operated the Portland Permaculture Institute, teaching classes on sustainable living while building their own little environmental amusement park.

In addition to teaching classes, the Leitches have built a rainwater catchment system, created more than a dozen compost stations and planted nearly two dozen fruit and nut trees. They've scavenged wood to build a fence and painted part of the basement with organic, homemade paint.

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"I feel like I'm doing something to move our culture toward sustainability," she says, "instead of worrying about global warming or overconsumption."