Janine Benyus: 12 sustainable design ideas from nature

Janine Benyus is a natural sciences writer, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including her latest − Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In Biomimicry, she names an emerging discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature's designs and processes (e.g., solar cells that mimic leaves, agriculture that models a prairie, businesses that run like redwood forests).

Janine has cultivated a deep knowledge of the natural world, beginning with direct observation in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, continuing in habitats from Maine to West Virginia where she worked as a backcountry guide, and now, in her home wilds of Montana.

In addition to her biomimicry work, Janine teaches interpretive writing, lectures at the University of Montana, and works towards restoring and protecting wild lands. She serves on a number of land use committees in her rural county.

Janine has received several awards including the 2009 Champion of the Earth award in Science & Innovation from the United Nations Environmental Programme, Rachel Carson Environmental Ethics Award, Lud Browman Award for Science Writing, Science Writing in Society Journalism Award, Barrows and Heinz Distinguished Lectureships, and has been honored as one of TIME International's Heros of the Environment.

An educator at heart, Janine believes that the more people learn from nature’s mentors, the more they’ll want to protect them. This is why she writes, speaks, and revels in describing the wild teachers in our midst.

Janine's international keynotes have introduced tens of thousands of people to biomimicry, including Amana-Key Executive Leadership Training, American Institute of Architects, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, California Resource Recovery Association, Cambridge University's Centre of International Studies and the Environment, Canadian National Roundtable for the Economy and the Environment, Design Futures Council, Global Business Network, Health Care Without Harm, the Prince of Wales' Business & the Environment Programme, National Textile Center, President's Council on Sustainable Development, Schumacher College, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Wharton School of Business. She also hosted and co-wrote a two-hour public television special based on her book, which aired on "The Nature of Things with David Suzuki" in 71 countries.