Janine Benyus is a natural sciences writer, innovation consultant and author. In her latest book, “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired By Nature,” Benyus coined the term biomimicry to identify an emerging discipline of bio-inspired innovation, for example, solar cells that mimic leaves. David Perlman of the San Francisco Chronicle called the book Biomimicry “one viable answer to the wake-up call that Rachel Carson sounded a generation ago in Silent Spring.” Since the book’s 1997 release, Benyus has evolved the practice of biomimicry by consulting with sustainable business, academic and government leaders, founding the nonprofit Biomimicry Institute and serving on the Eco-Dream Team at Interface, Inc. In addition to her biomimicry work, Benyus teaches interpretive writing, lectures at the University of Montana, and restores and protects wild lands. She serves on a number of Montana-based, land-use committees and is president of Living Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to place-based living and learning. Benyus has received several awards including the Rachel Carson Environmental Ethics Award, the Lud Browman Award for Science Writing, the Science Writing in Society Journalism Award and the Barrows and Heinz Distinguished Lectureships.

“Our wealth is imagenary. It comes from soil.” – Janine Benyus, Dirt! The Movie