-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Students Ryan Little, left, and Travis Bangert, work to put a post up to support the overhang above as they worked on building a green home in Fort Dodge this spring. Building green is a focus at Iowa Central Community College and also a hot national trend.

Green building is growing nationally as awareness of energy efficiency, environmental practices and healthy living trends boom with popularity.

It is estimated that by 2010 residential green building could grow up to a $38 billion market, according to a McGraw-Hill Construction survey. Sustainable living was predicted as one of the hottest trends forecasted for 2006, but may be just hitting its stride in Iowa.

While green or sustainable building is categorized in many different ways by different people, it usually encompasses energy efficiency, resource conservation and indoor air quality.

‘‘The beauty of green building is that someone is drawn into it because of just one of these areas,’’ said Lynnae Hentzen, executive director of Center on Sustainable Communities in Des Moines.

Hentzen said that someone with children may be interested in green for the indoor air quality and then realize the impact of saving natural resources or money from their own budget.