Biology of Culture: Bridging Art and Science

Date: 

Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 6:00pm

See also: Harvard Museum of Natural History

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street

Public lecture with Brian D. Farrell, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University

Can the reconciliation of the arts and sciences inform our understanding of nature and our place in it? Drawing on neurobiological, paleontological, and genetics research, philosophical studies of music and other arts, and our current understanding of the influence of nature on human health, Brian Farrell will suggest an evolutionary framework for integrating these fields, offering new perspectives on human culture and humanity’s role in fostering a productive and sustainable future.

Free and open to the public.

Free event parking available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

Learn more at http://hmsc.harvard.edu/event/biology-culture-bridging-art-and-science

Biomimicry & Boston Harbor Walking Tour

October 10, 2015

Departure from New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110

On this two-hour walking tour, learn how biomimicry can help address local climate change effects in Boston Harbor, including sea level rise, storm surges, and flooding. Anamarija (co-founder Biomimicry New England) and her students will share examples from the Green Harbors Project and Biomimicry LivingLabs: a classroom that empowers students to participate in the development and demonstration of solutions for local issues in harbors.

The tour will pause at several possible locations for future biomimicry LivingLabs as we explore the intersection of the Charles and Mystic Rivers. You will learn about the harbor's improved health as we pass by Deer Island, the second largest waste water treatment plant in the world. The tour will end at Savin Hill Cove, the site of the first Biomimicry LivingLabs and is funded by the Schmidt Family Foundation.

What do you think nature would do to improve conditions in urban harbors?

How Nature Can Save Us

Date: 

Thursday, November 5, 2015, 6:00pm

See also: Harvard Museum of Natural History

Location: 

Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street

Presentation and interview with M. Sanjayan, Executive Vice President and Senior Scientist, Conservation International

We live in the Anthropocene, the age of humans, and not since cyanobacteria transformed Earth’s early atmosphere has one species–Homo sapiens–had such an outsized influence on the diversity of life on the planet. Saving nature in the human age is a challenging proposition, but perhaps a more relevant question might be how nature can save humankind. In an epic journey across 24 countries accompanied by a film crew from PBS and National Geographic, Sanjayan compiled awe-inspiring stories that illuminate the inextricable link between the environment and human beings. In this program, he will discuss his journey and the basic truth it revealed: that saving nature is really about saving ourselves.

Free and open to the public.

Free event parking available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

Presented in collaboration with the Harvard College Conservation Society

Learn more at http://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/how-nature-can-save-us

Biomimicry for Informal Educators Workshop

New England  Aquarium

Friday, 1 May, 2015
8:30am - 3:30pm

Join other informal education professionals to explore biomimicry, the process of emulating nature’s strategies. For 3.8 billion years plants, animals, and microbes have been adapting to complex problems through evolution. Using an approach to innovation that seeks inspiration from nature, biomimicry often looks to the ocean and marine organisms. You are invited to join in exploring this fascinating topic and its potential to engage a wide range of audiences through informal education. 

This workshop will be an opportunity to learn how biomimicry can address some of the top environmental issues and how we can inspire a new group of innovators to look to nature to create sustainable solutions. Designed for and by informal educators, the workshop will include an introduction to biomimicry and specific ways to introduce biomimicry. This workshop is offered by the New England Aquarium and Biomimicry New England.

Speakers include: Peter Lawrence, President & Co-founder, Biomimicry New England; Kate Anderson, Education Director, Beyond Benign; Melita Morales, EPSCoR/STEAM Communication & Engagement Coordinator, Rhode Island School of Design; Mike Smith, Program Director, New England Science & Sailing; Rebekah Stendahl, Program Manager, New England Aquarium.

Registration is required (and free)

Introduction to Biomimicry Online Course

26 May-26 August  Anamarija Frankic UMass Boston

This course is an introduction to the field of biomimicry. "Biomimicry" (from Bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. Biomimicry asks the question: What would nature do? The goal is to create sustainable products, processes, and policies by learning from and "listening to" nature, to the wisdom held in biological and ecological systems that has been evolving and accumulating over the past 3.8 billion years. Natural systems and organisms provide stunning examples of effective communication, resource production and storage, and energy efficient design. Animals, plants and microbes are consummate engineers; they have found what works, what is appropriate, and most importantly, what is sustainable.

Biomimicry might help create a solar cell that is inspired by a leaf with chloroplast and chlorophyll, a passive cooling system for buildings inspired by a termite mound, or find new strategies for restoring degraded ecosystems. People are nature, too. Human cultures with long term residency in particular ecosystems hold crucial knowledge for living sustainably in place.

Click here for video introduction, instructor, books and other information. 

For more information and registration:  http://caps-courses.umb.edu/courses/summer/cr/ug/caps/

Biomimicry & Green Chemistry for Sustainability

UMass Amherst

May 2016

Biomimicry is the practice of emulating life’s time-tested strategies and deep patterns to generate sustainable designs. Green Chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Both offer a new way of valuing nature and designing in life-friendly ways. In this 6-day course, we’ll explore the foundations and practice using the tools of both Biomimicry and Green Chemistry. Your instructors will guide your discovery of life’s amazing strategies in local ecosystems and how these strategies can inspire solutions to human challenges in design, product development, business, engineering and more. This course is developed and produced by Biomimicry New England in partnership with UMass Amherst. 

Faculty include: Timothy Randhir, Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation, UMass Amherst; Tim McGee, Biologist and Biomimicry Professional; Karen Allen, Certified Biomimicry Professional & Biologist; John Warner, President & CTO, Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry; Amy Cannon, Executive Director, Beyond Benign; Peter Lawrence, President, Biomimicry New England.

If you have questions, please email peter@biomimicryne.org.

More information and registration on the UMass Amherst website.

Previous Events

The Biomimicry Opportunity: A Panel Discussion

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Sam Stier, Founding Director, Center for Learning with Nature
Chris Garvin, Principal, Terrapin Bright Green
Elizabeth Kripke, Visiting Researcher, Hanlon Lab, Marine Biological Laboratory
Moderator: Peter Lawrence, President and Co-founder, Biomimicry New England

Biomimicry is the process of emulating nature's strategies—which have been evolving for 3.8 billion years—to solve complex human problems. Join us for an introduction to this fascinating topic and its potential for advancement in education and sustainable design. Biomimicry, an approach to innovation that seeks inspiration from nature, often looks to the oceans and marine animals. Panelist will share their experience on this topic and how they are helping to address many of today’s environmental issues and inspire a new group of innovators to look to nature to create sustainable solutions. Click here to register.

Teaching STEM with Biomimicry: 2012 CASE Conference  for K-12 Educators

Bridgewater State University
Thursday, 26 February 3pm – 9pm

The conference will provide K-12 teachers with the opportunity to enhance science and mathematics teaching and learning by engaging students with nature’s lessons.  
Learn more: http://microsites.bridgew.edu/case/prek-12-teachers
To Register for free:  http://tinyurl.com/Conference-Registration-2015

Biomimicry Workshop for Informal Educators 

New England Aquarium
Friday 27 February 9am - 3pm
After a keynote address by Sam Stier, Founding director, learning with nature.informal educators will work with experts in practitioners on how biomimicry can address some of the top environmental issues and how is informal educators we can inspire a new group of innovators to look toward nature to create sustainable solutions.
For more information click here