User:Tom mckeag

I currently co-teach the Applied Biology for Designers and Artists class at the California College of the Arts. My fellow teacher is Jeremy Eddy. In this class we emphasize problem-solving and try to inculcate a habit of inquiry by the students into the solutions that Nature affords. We divide the course into three thematic segments: general biology, biomimicry and design (with much overlap and intermingling between). Conceptually biomimicry serves as the bridge between the worlds of biology and design.

We are also actively developing several K-12 programs at three venues in northern California,:Dixie School District where we are in our second year of offering a six-week GATE(gifted and talented) class to 4-6 graders, Marin County Office of Education where we have recently given a workshop to 12 naturalists at the Walker Creek Ranch outdoor education center (serving 10,000 vistors/year and all Marin County 5th graders), and at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, where we are in discussion about elementary teacher training, hopefully starting in May, 2007.

My background is in large-scale site planning, environmental planning, and landscape design. I hold a masters degree in community planning (University of Rhode Island) and a masters degree in landscape architecture (University of California, Berkeley). I am a licensed landscape architect in the state of California.