Plantable Retaining Walls and Regenerative Design with Mark Woolbright

In this episode of Land Language, host Brit Sastrawidjaya sits down with Mark Woolbright, founder of Verdtech (verdtech.com), maker of Varden, a lightweight, plantable retaining wall and vertical garden block system. Mark invented one of the first plantable concrete retaining wall systems in the US after seeing vertical gardens built into small Swiss retaining walls on a backpacking trip, spent decades engineering drainage, soil, and structural systems for that original system before industry consolidation moved him to sell, and has now rebuilt the idea from the ground up as Varden. CHAPTERS 00:00 Start 00:33 Meet Mark Woolbright 02:38 Europe Inspiration 04:06 Concrete Wall Business 07:55 Engineering and Drainage 11:57 Soils Compost Carbon 14:50 Industry Consolidation Exit 19:20 Why Plastic Blocks 22:28 Testing Policy Barriers 28:33 Design Focus and Planting 40:09 Marketing Webinars Education 50:03 Habitat Toad Condos 54:42 Closing Thoughts -- Follow Mark: Website: https://www.verdtech.com/ Verdtech on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Greenwallmojo Follow Land Language: Land Language Website: https://www.landlanguage.org/ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandlanguage/ Connect with Us: Got questions? Ideas for future guests? DM us on Instagram or visit our website to share your thoughts. We're building this together. -- ABOUT MARK WOOLBRIGHT: Mark Woolbright is an inventor and innovator of living walls with over 30 years in design, manufacture, marketing, and installation of plantable, living wall systems. Mark graduated from Eastern Illinois University and is currently Managing Member of Greenwall Ventures, LLC, and most recently, CEO/Founder of Verdtech, Inc. Throughout his career, he has been awarded twenty patents, with more applications pending. Mark has served on the Board of the St. Louis USGBC, as a member of the Green Wall Committee of GRHC which develops course curriculum for its Green Walls 101 course and has been a certified Biophilic Design trainer through GPGB. He is passionate about educating the building community on the environmental benefits of Living Walls and best practices for their use. ABOUT LAND LANGUAGE: Land Language is a podcast for landscape professionals, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to build regeneratively. Hosted by contractor/designer Brit Sastrawidjaya and designer Bethany Rydmark, each episode brings you expert insights, practical tools, and honest conversations about transforming the landscape industry from the ground up.