Over four days at the end of June, the Institute hosted the 3rd Annual Biomimicry Education Summit. This year's Summit was held at the Jackson Campus of the Teton Science School in Jackson, Wyoming, and the focus was on biomimicry education at the university level. Twenty biomimicry educators from across North America convened to share their successes and challenges in the classroom, to deepen relationships, and to provide feedback on our newest programs, including the Affiliate and Fellows Programs, the Educators' Network, and AskNature.

Executive Director Bryony Schwan kicked off the Summit with an overview of how the Institute has grown over the past four years and a presentation of the strategic plan for the future growth of the organization. Cindy Gilbert, Director of University Education, provided a vision guided by Life’s Principles for the future of the Institute’s University Education Program.

Through informal presentations, several professors currently engaged in teaching and evolving biomimicry concepts and tools shared lessons learned with us. Marjan Eggermont, University of Calgary, presented on two biomimicry projects she has been involved with over the past two years: one in collaboration with the Calgary Zoo and another that involved participating in a TBI-facilitated student design challenge, where students from various disciplines and across institutions sought to design a biomimetic lightweight tent for Pacific Outdoor Equipment.

Tom McKeag presented on the "Applied Biology for Designers and Artists" course he co-taught with David Hammond at California College of the Arts, as well as on a new collaborative graduate seminar entitled "How would Nature do that?" The graduate course involved several field trips, including one to Duxbury Reef to observe the coastal habitat, and a variety of assignments based on sensory experience, principles, fieldwork, advocacy, and client needs.

Raúl de Villafranca, Iberoamericana University, recently taught a "Sustainable Architecture" course and discovered that one of the main challenges he faces is how to deepen the conversation and move from biomimicry concepts to results. Raúl is also developing a Biomem game, modeled after Cranium, to teach students about functional challenges and Life's Principles; was preparing for the third Biology and Design Workshop in Veracruz (held in mid-July); and is working on a biomimicry exhibit slated to launch in April 2010.

Paul Hudnut—who was Twittering throughout the Summit—reported on his classroom work at Colorado State University. In part, Paul helps student entrepreneurs develop a sustainable design process to create products for the world's poorest citizens, using biomimicry in conjunction with designing for extreme affordability and with cradle-to-cradle concepts.

Doug Paige, Cleveland Institute for Art, talked about Cleveland's Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) plan to launch a Biomimicry Network in Northeast Ohio, building on the past work of the Biomimicry Design Collaborative.

Finally, Arizona State University representatives, Heidi Fisher (Program Manager for InnovationSpace) and Adrian Smith (doctoral candidate at ASU and biology teaching assistant for InnovationSpace) presented on how biomimicry has been incorporated into InnovationSpace, a transdisciplinary education and research lab that is looking to pioneer biomimicry for use in the classroom.

We also heard from professors currently involved in teaching the online courses for the Institute’s Two-Year Certificate in Biomimicry. Curt McNamara, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, presented on his experience teaching the engineering course and Janet Kubler shared her thoughts on teaching the Biology Taught Functionally course. Their insights were extremely important to understanding the true opportunities and challenges faced when teaching distance courses to full-time professionals spread around the globe.

The remainder of the Summit was spent discussing a few topics that are critical to deepening the relationship between biomimicry educators and the Institute. Summit participants provided invaluable comments on what makes a good biomimicry case study, what tools are most important to further advance the reach of our Educators' Network (including tools on AskNature), how they understand and use Life's Principles, and how to refine our Biomimicry Affiliate Program (watch for details on this recently launched program in our next newsletter).

A huge thanks to all of our educators for attending the Summit and sharing their insights and experiences on teaching biomimicry. We look forward to our next encounter and to providing additional means to help you advance biomimicry in your classroom. If you'd like further information on our University Education Program or on our Educators' Network, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it