For many homeowners wanting to make their houses more environmentally friendly, energy efficiency is often the first step. But for Ben Rush and his tenant Marcus de la Fleur, a green home is one that doesn’t waste water. Marcus is a landscape architect. In order to reduce water run-off he and Ben tore up the grass and pavement of their Elmhurst home. Then they replaced them with rain gardens, gravel grass, porous pavement and rooftop gardens! As part of year long series Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Marcus and Ben take us on a tour of their yard at 168 Elm Avenue.

Listen to an extended version of the story on Worldview.