The Healthy Facilities Institute (HFI) welcomes Mark L. (Ron) Hixson of Earthcraft to it's growing Advisory Board. Ron has more than 30 year's of experience in residential contracting and green building, pioneered straw bale homes in Boise, and Earthcraft’s recent USGBC LEED project was Certified Gold. His homes may include features such as:
 
• Rainwater Harvesting for Irrigation
• Drought-Tolerant and Indigenous Landscaping
• Recycled Concrete (otherwise bound for the landfill) for Masonry and Retaining Walls
• High Efficiency (95 percent) Furnace w/MERV 16 Filter 15-SEER Air Conditioning
• Energy Star Appliances and Lighting
• Low VOC Finishes, Green-Label PLUS Carpet, FSC-Certified or Locally Harvested Lumber
• Passive Solar
• R32 Curtain Walls (Straw Bale)
• R52 Roof Insulation
• Solar Panels for Well Pump, Refrigerator & LED Lights
• Solar Hot Water
• Reused Concrete (Urbanite) Retaining Walls & Masonry Veneer (Straw Bale)
• "Permaculture" (Edible Landscaping)