Exploring Nature's Best Ideas

Learn about biomimicry in Yellowstone National Park!  Staff from The Biomimicry Institute and The Biomimicry Guild are offering a 3-day field course  through the Yellowstone Association July 26-28, 2008.  To learn more and sign up for the course visit the Yellowstone Association field course calendar website.

Biologists at the Design Table

Would you like to use your knowledge of biology and natural history to help designers, architects, engineers and business people create a more sustainable built environment?

Join the Biomimicry Institute for the 5th Biologists at the Design Table training with guest lectures by the co-founders of the Biomimicry Guild - Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, & Dayna Baumeister, PhD biologist. Download BaDT announcement here.

Course Content:

What you'll learn:

• A proven method for bringing nature’s ideas to the design table
• Introduction to the design process
• How to apply biological knowledge to design challenges
• Examples of biomimetic success stories
• How to facilitate biomimetic design
• A whole new way of viewing and valuing the natural and built world

• Practice applying the tools of biomimicry with professionals from engineering, architecture and business.
• Explore Montana’s natural beauty through field-based activities
• Solve design challenges by asking, "how would nature do this?"

• Become aquainted with life’s inherently sustainable design principles

Workshop Logistics:

Participants: Biologists, ecologists and naturalists with a passion for the natural world, an understanding of sustainability, and an interest in applying nature’s elegant design strategies to human design challenges.

Workshop dates: Summer 2008: May 30 - June 6, 2008. The course begins with dinner on the 30th and ends after breakfast on the 6th.

Workshop location: The breathtaking Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch (TRMR) in Dupuyer, Montana. Visit the TRMR website at: http://www.boone-crockett.org/conservation/conservation_trmr.asp?area=conservation&ID=4E754E1B&se=1. 

Workshop costs: Students, $800; non-profit/university faculty& staff, $1000; government & for-profit entities, $1200. Registration includes tuition, materials, lodging and meals for the duration of the course, and transportation to/from Great Falls airport. Some partial scholarships available.

Application:
This rigorous course requires a broad understanding of biology, an interdisciplinary mindset, and an ability to research and translate biological concepts for a non-technical audience. Our application process is designed to ensure that the training and your background and skill set are a good fit. Applications are due no later than March 14, 2008. Download application here.

This course follows our first course in Palo Alto, CA in January 2004, our second course in Raleigh, NC in May 2005, and our third and fourth courses at this ranch in July 2006 and May 2007. Many graduates of previous BaDT workshops have found applicable biomimetic work following their attendance.