New workshop announced! Biomimicry and the Built Environment

We're looking forward to seeing folks at the Prairie Walk tonight! 6pm on the grounds of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum! If you can't make it and still want to learn more, be sure to check out Prairie Lab's upcoming 3 CEU workshop on October 17th!

Lurie Gardens. Photo by @amycoffman

Biomimicry and the Built Environment: Nature’s Design Strategies

"Nature is inherently resilient and restorative. Learn how to unlock and apply the science behind Nature’s design strategies and look at challenges in the built environment through a biomimicry lens. Biomimicry, the practice of learning from nature to solve human problems, is emerging as a powerful tool for sustainable design and systemic transformation. Applied at a variety of scales, from individual products to buildings and organizations, biomimicry brings nature's 3.8 billion years of innovation experience to the table to redefine the nature of design.

This 3 CEU course, led by Prairie Lab instructors, includes an introduction to the practice of biomimicry, a look at Life’s Principles as applied to challenges in the built environment, and a guided tour of our local prairie ecosystem where you will experience nature’s locally-attuned design strategies for yourself. Through lecture and hands-on, experiential exercises, you will explore functions in nature, from water and energy management to fostering connection to “place,” and translate them to the language of design. The biomimicry lens provides a useful perspective and design inspiration for your LEED, Living Building Challenge, and Net Zero projects."

To register, click here!

Sponsored by USGBC-Illinois and Prairie Lab, LLC. 

Stories from the Prairie: Applying the “Genius of our Place” to Unlock Nature’s Strategies for Resilient, Restorative Design

Nature is inherently resilient and restorative while our human systems are...not. But what could we learn about the nature of design by studying the science of nature? By exploring our native organisms and ecosystems with a biomimicry lens, we can unlock nature’s locally-attuned design strategies and begin to apply them to our context: creating buildings, businesses and communities that are inherently sustainable, naturally.

Lurie Gardens. Photo by @amycoffman

In the other articles in this series, I wrote about the importance of connecting with nature and ways to do so. In this last (for a time, at least) article in this series, I share some stories of what I've learned in my exploration of the tallgrass prairie as well as a vision for a more sustainable and resilient world: one where our choices are based on working with and leveraging local context and energy flows rather than fighting against them.

It’s time to start thinking differently.

Like Wes Jackson who was inspired by the prairie to rethink industrial agriculture to Allan Savory who emulates grazing for holistic land management and Gerould Wilhelm who emulates the prairie in landscape design, each of these innovators look to the prairie ecosystem as inspiration for alternatives to standard practice. Doing so, they were able to (re)think standard practices, creating more low-maintenance, cost-effective, and biodiverse alternatives. And you can do this too.

Visit The B-Collaborative's Blog to learn more!

Design Competition: Biomimicry and Food Scarcity

I'm actually not quite sure if I've ever heard of a cooler competition or idea. And can The Land Institute enter it even though they've been working on this issue for decades? Let's get our collective thinking caps on! - Amy

Big Bluestem photo by +Amy Coffman-Phillips 

"The Biomimicry Institute is partnering with the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and food and conservation experts to solicit nature-inspired solutions toward ending world hunger. From 2015-2017, our Global Biomimicry Design Challenge will mobilize thousands of students and professionals around the world to tackle the problem of food security. Our goal: show how modeling nature can provide viable solutions to reduce hunger, while creating conditions conducive to all life."

Learn more!

http://challenge.biomimicry.org/

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/commitments/biomimicry-design-challenge

Biomimicry Prairie Walk

Mark your calendars! We are excited to celebrate fall with a biomimicry walk on the prairie - Thursday, September 25th. 6pm on the grounds of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. 

Photo by Amy Coffman Phillips

Fall is a gorgeous time for a walk in the prairie, so let's get outside and explore our native prairie ecosystem through a biomimicry lens! Biomimicry, the practice of learning from nature to solve human problems, is emerging as a powerful tool for creating sustainable design and systemic transformation. Applied at a variety of scales, from individual products to buildings and organizations, biomimicry brings nature's 3.8 billion years of innovation experience to the table to redefine sustainable innovation.

Weather permitting, join local biomimic, Amy Coffman Phillips, and Interpretive Naturalist, Cheryl McGarry, for an inspirational guided tour of the grounds at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center with an informal networking event afterward.

Registration:

Free - USGBC-Illinois Members
$15 - Non-Members

Co-sponsored by USGBC-Illinois, Biomimicry Chicago, and Prairie Lab, LLC.

Space is limited so register today!

New seminar just added!

Curious to know more about nature's resilience principles and what they can mean for your life and work? Catch a glimpse at the next seminar this Saturday, September 13th, 10am. Chicago Center for Green Technology. Register today!