From: Rebecca Carlson [mailto:rebecca.carlson@biomimicry.org] Sent: March-21-16 11:37 AM To: Martha Blouw Subject: Nature-Inspired Design Challenges Students Globally

Dear Ms. Blouw,

I wanted to reach out and let you know about a nature-inspired design challenge that might be of interest to students and faculty in the Plant Science Department at the University of Manitoba.

The Biomimicry Institute and the Ray C. Anderson Foundation launched the 2016 round of the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, open to both students and professionals worldwide. We are challenging people to use biomimicry – an approach to innovation that taps into nature’s time-tested designs and processes in order to solve human-scale problems – to design a better, healthier food system.

We have just partnered with the Land Institute to offer a subprize focused on a specific soil-focused design problem - how to replace perennial crops without disrupting the soil and food web, and without releasing significant amounts of carbon dioxide.

Students and professionals that submit a solution addressing The Land Institute’s design brief will be eligible for all Biomimicry Global Design Challenge cash prizes, including the Ray C. Anderson Foundation $100,000 “Ray of Hope” Prize.

Will you help spread the word to your students and faculty? More details about the Land Institute subprize can be found here: http://challenge.biomimicry.org/en/blog/announcing-the-land-institute-sub-ch.... More information on the entire design challenge can be found at challenge.biomimicry.orghttp://challenge.biomimicry.org/. Any help you could provide with getting the word out would be much appreciated.

Many thanks!

-- REBECCA CARLSON Program Assistant Biomimicry Institute Biomimicry.orghttp://Biomimicry.org | AskNature.orghttp://AskNature.org