Biomimicry: seeking sustainable solutions by emulating Nature’s living examples

Delivered by Janine Benyus

Part of the Innovation Inspired by Nature Australian Series organised by The Natural Edge Project in collaboration with the Government of South Australia and UniSA

A free public lecture jointly presented by the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at UniSA

Thursday 18 May 2006

Nature can offer many answers to our human-made environmental problems. Come and learn about biomimicry from a world expert – a new and inspiring field that is already re-shaping our world.

More on biomimicry:  Imagine if you could harness energy like a leaf, stick to surfaces like a gecko, filter water like a marsh or make ceramics like an abalone. Biomimicry is a design discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by consulting and emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies – it encourages us to view nature not as a source of goods, but as a mentor, a source of wisdom.

Janine Benyus, an award winning author and international lecturer, is an expert on biomimicry. She is visiting Adelaide on 18-19 May to conduct a series of presentations. Her visit is hosted jointly by a consortium of South Australian businesses, SA Government and UniSA.

Janine Benyus is a life sciences writer and author of six books, including her latest, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In Biomimicry, she has synthesized work done by scientists, engineers and designers who are seeking sustainable solutions by mimicking nature's designs and processes.

As a biologist, the question for Janine is not whether our technology is natural, but how well adapted it is to life on earth over the long term. Janine is a graduate of Rutgers University, New Jersey, with degrees in forestry and writing. Janine lectures widely on science topics and has worked as a backpacking guide and as a "translator" of science speak at several research labs. She now writes science books, teaches interpretive writing, lectures at the University of Montana, and works towards restoring and protecting wildlands. An educator at heart, she believes that the better people understand the genius of the natural world, the more they will want to protect it.

The Innovation Inspired by Nature Tour has been organised by The Natural Edge Project in collaboration with a range of State Government agencies, UniSA and business organisations.

Proudly supported by:

• Sustainability and Climate Change Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet
• Department of Trade and Economic Development
• Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology
• Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies, UniSA
• The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, UniSA
• Engineers Australia SA Division
• Association of Consulting Engineers

Corporate Sponsorship from:

• Santos
• SA Water
• Palmerston Projects Pty Ltd
• Origin Energy

While the views presented by speakers within the Hawke Centre public program are their own and are not necessarily those of either the University of South Australia or The Hawke Centre, they are presented in the interest of open debate and discussion in the community and reflect our themes of: strengthening our democracy – valuing our cultural diversity – and building our future.