Nature: The Time for a Re-Think?

This Exchange presentation is from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by Richard James MacCowan from Biomimicry UK and Nick Taylor-Buck from The Sheffield Urban Institute and falls under the Leadership and Governance Stream. To find more presentations and resources from this Conference, search for EAUCConf15.

Session Outline

Taking the lead from Giles Hutchins (Wednesday morning keynote), we show what the possibilities are for change if more decision-makers understand the need for transformative vision, linking with the University of Leeds initiative whereby every student can take a module in sustainability. We show how biomimicry can help them achieve their goals. We will talk about what we can do now if decision-makers accept that learning from nature has an important role to play. Sustainability will be broken down into four elements: economy, society, ecology and environment, and the role of biomimicry will be highlighted showing how it can be used to move to a regenerative future, linking to the European Commission’s push for the delivery of nature-based solutions as a key part of Horizon 2020.