Chilean team’s soil restoration innovation wins $100k
Ray of Hope Prize
Photo by Bioneers
It was a moment nearly two years in the making.
For a second, just before their lives changed with one announcement, the BioNurse team collectively held their breaths. When John Lanier, executive director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, the sponsor of the grand prize in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, announced that they had won the $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize, they exhaled and hugged each other on stage, while the 1500-strong crowd gathered for the 2016 National Bioneers Conference erupted in applause.
BioNurse won for their BioPatch design – a biodegradable soil restoration innovation inspired by the way that hardy “nurse” plants like the yareta establish themselves in degraded soils and pave the way for new plant species to grow.
READ MORE:
Learn why BioPatch will make a big impact in the world.
John Lanier describes the emotion and joy of the big Ray of Hope Prize announcement.
A brand-new AskNature launches
The new AskNature is now live! In its most ambitious upgrade since the site’s launch in 2008, AskNature now offers a smoother search and navigation experience and the ability to create and share biological strategies with the world. Now you can connect with the AskNature community, curate collections, create groups, and contribute new ideas, all within the site.
In addition to these and many other improvements, the updated version of AskNature includes the resources and user community formerly found on the Biomimicry Education Network site.
Take a tour of the new AskNature today! What will you discover?
Free ‘Biomimicry and Science’ module available
The Biomimicry Institute has teamed up with EcoRise Youth Innovations on a brand-new biomimicry curriculum for high school students.
With four modules, Biomimicry and Science: Applying Nature’s Strategies reinforces core content in science using examples from nature and bio-inspired design as a framework.
The entire curriculum will be available for purchase soon, but a free module is now being offered to support teachers working with students who are entering the Institute’s Biomimicry Global Design Challenge or pursuing a similar long-term biomimicry project.
Learn more and download this free module here.
The movement is growing – will you join us?
Join a powerful community committed to reconnecting with nature and making nature-inspired design a reality.
Explore membership benefits, including shop and course discounts, monthly nature-based activity emails, a free presentation template, and more!
Join the movement – become a member today!
Biomimicry at VERGE2016
In this video, Biomimicry Institute Executive Director Beth Rattner sits down with GreenBiz’s Elaine Hsieh to talk about biomimicry and the circular economy at VERGE 2016.
More biomimicry news:
Breakthrough medical device advances are happening at Harvard, inspired by geckos’ feet, jellyfish, and porcupine quills. The Guardianexplores how a Harvard lab is looking to nature to transform medicine.
In LikoLab’s new podcast, Life-Centered, nature-inspired innovators describe how the natural world is impacting technology, society, and how we live our lives.
Tarantulas and textiles? Circulate describes how a University of Akron team is one step closer to developing textile colors based on structure, instead of toxic dyes.
The Huffington Post interviews BiomimicryNorway founder Michel Wolfstirn and his transition from oil industry engineer to biomimic.