Biomimicry: Elegant simplicity

If there's one idea that Salem needs a lot more of, it's this: imitating nature in how we design our habitations and communities, not to mention our industrial processes. More great stuff from the Salem Public Library and the Friends of the Straub Environmental Learning Center.

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

An Introduction to the Concepts, Tools, and Power of Biomimicry
7 p.m. Thursday, January 29 Loucks Auditorium

Biomimicry is a method for studying and then emulating nature’s best materials, forms, processes, and strategies to develop sustainable design solutions. Emulating
photosynthesis in a leaf to design a better solar cell is an example of this “innovation inspired by nature.” The core idea is that animals, plants, and microbes have already
solved many of the design challenges that engineers and architects grapple with today.

This presentation will explore the whats, whys and hows of biomimicry: what biomimicry is; why we look at nature as model, mentor, and measure; examples of innovations inspired by nature; and how you can begin to integrate nature’s strategies into your own design process to create sustainable structures.

Presenter Denise K. DeLuca is outreach director for The Biomimicry Institute. In
this position, Denise is working to advance the tools of biomimicry and facilitate the integration of biomimicry into university-level education.

The presentation is free and open to the public through the support of the Charla Richards-Kreitzberg Charitable Foundation, Salem Public Library, City of Salem, and Marion Soil and Water Conservation District. More information is available from the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center at 503-391-4145 or at www.fselc.org.

The Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center is a Salem-based non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education.

Also --- two weeks earlier, at Straub:

2008-09 FSELC Amateur Naturalist Series: Urban Tree Care
Thursday, January 15th, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Straub Environmental Learning Center, 1320 A Street, Salem
$5 per person, RSVP required

Contact:

Lisa Olivares, Environmental Education Specialist
Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center
p: (503) 391-4145 lisa@fselc.org www.fselc.org
Mailing Address: 765 14th Street NE, Salem, OR 97301