Upcoming Events

The Screening:

Throughout history, people have sought connections with nature. In particular, designers have observed nature, investigated its materials, then imitated and abstracted its forms and qualities.

The Garden of Secrets is a documentary film exploring the value of looking to nature for design solutions and reveals botanical gardens as the ultimate “idea libraries”. Sanctuaries where a wealth of these solutions, perfected over billions of years of trial, have been assembled at the doorsteps of the scientists, engineers, and designers tackling today’s most pressing challenges.

The event will entail a screening of the film followed by a conversation with leading experts in biomimicry and biophilic design, speaking to how designs inspired by the natural world strike the perfect balance between innovation and environmental respect, contributing to the betterment of humanity and a greener future.

The Panelists:

Aoife Mac Namara, President of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Dr. Mac Namara has served as the esteemed Dean of Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology. She has had a vast and successful 30-year career in arts education, working in academic institutions in the United Kingdom and Canada, including Emily Carr University of Art + Design, University of Arts, London, and Middlesex University.

Harry Jongerden, Garden Director of Toronto Botanical Garden. A professional gardener, garden designer and garden director for 40 years. He has held the posts of Garden Director at VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, Head of Horticulture at Royal Botanical Gardens, Ontario and Head Gardener at the Stratford Festival. He is the author of “This Other Eden” and designer of the Walkerton Heritage Water Garden and Stratford’s Elizabethan Garden.

Tina Dacin, Stephen J.R. Smith Chair of Strategy and Organizational Behavior at Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada. She was the former Director of the Smith School of Business Centre for Social Impact as well as a member of the University Senate at Queen’s University and Former Chair of the Principal’s Innovation Fund Committee.