Just a hop and a spin up the mountains from downtown Los Gatos lies the Presentation Retreat & Conference Center.

Set on 67 acres, the Center offers accommodations, meeting and dining space among the redwoods. In addition to it’s beauty, the facility is an incredible example of eco-friendly construction, as well as green business practices.

Check out the environmentally conscientious construction of their Welcome Center:

The exterior walls are insulated with 1,000 bales of straw - a rapidly renewable resource and an abundant agricultural waste product.

The Living Roof is planted with nine distinct species of grasses and succulents.

Sunflower Seed Board – made of 100% sunflower hulls and similar to plywood - is used for countertops, cabinet faces, and much more.

Industrial products are recycled as well – the interior walls are insulated with recycled blue jeans! The countertops and tiles, ceiling and roof, doors and floors all contain a plethora of re-used stuff.

Not just materials, but energy is also conserved and transformed on site.

The south-facing roof has photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy to electricity. And its awnings are actually an array of solar thermal collectors, which heat water for the bathrooms and kitchen with energy from the sun.

Not ones to blow through H₂O, the Center recycles their rainwater, uses low-flow fixtures, and treats their own wastewater.

I could go on and on, but why don’t you check out the Presentation Center’s website for yourself?

Or better yet, tool on up there (in your wind- or solar-powered vehicle) and have a look-see.