Intro to Biomimicry

Award Winning Water Quality and Storm Water Expert to Present Intro to Biomimicry

Designers, Planners, Architects, Building Professionals, and Engineers are invited to be inspired through

“Intro to Biomimicry – Storm Water, Buildings, and Design by Nature”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (April 26, 2011) –Experience Green in conjunction with the City of Savannah, the USGBC-GA Savannah Branch, and the Design for Sustainability program at SCAD  welcomes Margo Farnsworth, award winning water quality and storm water expert as guest presenter, for a talk titled “Intro to Biomimicry – Storm Water, Buildings and Design by Nature”.  The lunch-n-learn will take place 11:30am-1pm in the West Wing of the Savannah Civic Center on May 11, 2011.

Biomimicry is the science and art of emulating Nature's best biological ideas to solve human problems, is a leading edge methodology for sustainable solutions, and promotes learning from and then emulating natural forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable and healthier human technologies and designs.  Designers, planners, architects, engineers, building professionals will specifically benefit from this offering, but all are invited to learn what could happen if we used nature as a mentor and partner in solving our challenges.

Margo Farnsworth is one of only nine Biomimicry Fellows in the world, and is currently engaged in a project using biomimicry as a model to restore coastal communities. She has extensive experience developing watershed organizations.  During her ten year association with the Cumberland River Compact in Tennessee, she led the effort to be one of the first twenty grant recipients of the EPA Targeted Watershed Initiative Grant in 2003.  She has worked as a Naturalist, Science Teacher, Mammalogist and Park Ranger.  With degrees in Biology Education and Parks Administration her work has been recognized from various disciplines including a State Resource Management Award of Excellence, the “Friends of the Fisheries” award, State Environmental Educator of the Year and the Freeman Tilden Award for Outstanding Interpretation. Margo is an adjunct professor at the Institute for Sustainable Practices at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN, is passionate about community engagement to support the environment, and contributes her skills often to educate others about sustainability. 

Margo will present biomimicry as related to buildings, design and storm water management. Storm water management and water conservation are particularly important to our region with the challenge of saltwater intrusion, excessive irrigation practices, and the potential future limitations on our drinking water resource.  This new solution pathway combines practice with green infrastructure to create smarter, more sustainable communities.

USGBC and AIA Continuing Education credits for professionals are available through this event.

The talk will take place on May 11, 2011 from 11:30am to 1pm in the West Wing of the Savannah Civic Center, located at 301 West Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, GA.  Admission is $12 and includes lunch ($6 for students with valid ID).  Space is limited and advanced online registration is required by May 10, 2011.  Go to http://www.experiencegreen.org/ to sign up.

The offering is part of Experience Green’s mission to provide sustainability education through events, founded in 2010 on Hilton Head Island, SC.  Experience Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering experiential sustainability education with the goal to improve society through increased stewardship of the environment, care of the people, and growth of prosperity.

To learn about other Experience Green events including Live Green and Network Green, log on to http://www.experiencegreen.org/ or call 843.868.1567.