friends, which they called Fourth Pig Green & Natural Construction. That company focused on renovating buildings using natural materials to make them healthier and more energy-efficient. While working on projects for that company, Melinda continued to research different sustainable construction methodologies from around the world. By 2015, she remembers there being a lot of talk about the benefits panelization, which was growing in popularity in Europe. In particular, Melinda recalls the advent of straw bale panels, an energy-efficient building component that consisted of densely packed straw within a wooden frame. She ended up working with a group that sought to make straw bale panels commercially available in North America. That effort ultimately didn’t work out, as it turned out there were issues with the Ontario Building Code and the manufacturing process. Fortunately, the research they did resulted in the design of SEED panels – which are still low carbon and high performance, but were able to earn CSA approval. In designing SEED panels, a big part of Melinda’s motivation was creating a building component that could be manufactured offsite. While managing renovations with her previous company, she had experienced firsthand all the common jobsite challenges – weather exposure, awkward and hazardous installation conditions, crowding of materials and trades – and she had come to view those challenges as structural barriers to both quality and accessibility for a diverse workforce. FEBRUARY 2026
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