Civil and Environmental Engineering and Consulting
Now offering and
*Hinds Engineering does NOT provide Structural Engineering or Surveying services*
Greg Hinds, PE
California License #C88952
Professional
With nearly a decade of civil and environmental engineering training and experience, I set out to start my engineering practice in Plumas County - Hinds Engineering was officially launched in June of 2018. The Order of the Engineer shown to the right serves as the constitution that governs my professional endeavors.
My design approach seeks to mimic, utilize, and integrate with natural systems whenever feasible to preserve and regenerate soil and habitat and protect public and environmental health. Civil engineering is an age-old art with tried-and-true design approaches, but with a touch of innovation and modern perspective, traditional design approaches can be modified to achieve the same end goal in a less impactful fashion.
My business approach is to be personable, reasonable, adaptable, reliable, transparent, and thorough in all that I do. I hope I can be of service to you!
My educational background is civil engineering (B.S. - CSU, Chico; 3.77 GPA, Magna Cum Laude) and environmental engineering (M.S. - University of South Florida; 3.95 GPA). My professional passion and niche is engineering for resilience, sustainability, and self-sufficiency (R3S). For a complete list of my education, training, accomplishments, and professional experience, please see my CV here:
Personal
I've always had a tendency to be transparent in all that I do. Deciding to add personal information to my business website is a continuation of this tendency.
I recognize that so much of what we have and so much of what we enjoy in life is a result of the benevolence of the planet and the hard work of the people who came before us. This recognition is the basis of my motivation to work toward giving back to something greater than myself.
I recognize that so much of our happiness depends on our relationships with each other. This recognition is the basis of my motivation to be good to people.
I recognize that so much of who we are and what we do is a result of things beyond our control - where and when we were born, our genetics, most of what happened to us during our childhood, etc. This recognition is the basis of my humility, patience, respect for others, and forgiveness.
I recognize that the future is not guaranteed. This recognition is the basis of my motivation to enjoy and appreciate each moment as much as I can. I value the simple things in life and try not to dwell on the little things that go wrong or be discouraged by the challenges life presents.
Lastly, I recognize that our current way of life is not sustainable and it is far from ideal. That is to say, that nature cannot indefinitely support our global civilization as it is currently operating and there are many opportunities to change our way of life in ways that will improve quality of life and reduce impacts. There are many obvious and severe flaws in our society that need to be rectified if we are going to avoid further imperiling the vitality of future generations. Although many of these changes are at the whim of the evolution of social conventions, I recognize opportunity to play a role in catalyzing some critical changes through my efforts.
Specifically, I'm intending to contribute to improving the resilience, sustainability, and self-sufficiency (R3S) of rural homes and communities through the development and implementation of decentralized integrated infrastructure that maximizes efficiency, minimizes ecological disturbance and waste generation, balances resource consumption with resource regeneration, and maximizes collaboration/community ownership - an essential component of sustainability and resilience. To accomplish this, I'm developing an off-grid plot of land in Plumas County (the "R3S Research Farm"), researching, experimenting with, and developing relationships, methods, technologies, and systems intended to offset environmental impacts, minimize cost of living, and maximize resilience and quality of life. In doing so, I have and will continue to gain knowledge and skills which I offer in addition to providing ecological civil engineering design services. For more information, please give me a call.
Open-Source Information
I believe that we will make it further faster if we work together and share information instead of hoarding it for our own financial gain. Accordingly, I'm a supporter of open-source information. Any of the content on my website can be shared freely. In my profession, I explain thoroughly the reasoning behind my design methods and provide any and all supporting documentation upon request. In my professional and personal life, I openly share my knowledge and perspective with the hope that it will be beneficial to others. I trust that I don't have to copyright or patent to make a good living - I just need to be a good person, work hard, and provide quality services that meet a demand.
ORDER OF THE ENGINEER
"I am an Engineer. In my profession, I take deep pride. To it, I owe solemn obligations.
As an engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and dignity of my profession. I will always be conscious that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of the Earth's precious wealth.
As an engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given, without reservation, for the public good. In the performance of duty, and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give my utmost."
The custom cabin my wife and I built from local materials
RTK cross-section survey for hydraulic model development
GIS/GPS stream-crossing survey for drainage designs
Taking a break on the trail in Glacier National Park
2010 - present
2010 - present