BioInspired! So What? Now What!

There has been a great deal of press about the need for humans to reduce our ecological footprint, implying that Nature would be better off without humans.  But, what if humans were actually a necessary part of addressing the key environmental issues of our time?

Holistic Management International (HMI), an international environmental education non-governmental organization headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, works with stewards of large landscapes (agricultural producers, pastoralists and government agencies) to help them partner with Nature to create a positive ecological footprint.  Through improved natural resource management practices, these managers improve soil health, which results in a host of benefits including improved water quality, carbon sequestration, drought mitigation, flood resilience, and food security.

The international and interdisciplinary BID Community team collaborated on developing an entry for the 2011 International Algae Competition in the Algae Landscape Design category.  The team decided to take a problem-driven approach, developing a bio-inspired systems solution involving algae that would address important problems associated with a particular place: Haiti both before and after the devastating earthquake of 2011.