Learning from Nature

"We want to make it clear that nature, with its tried-and-tested designs, is the model for modern technology in many areas. Like the banyan tree, which grows to 100 feet tall and lives for over 500 years, we can learn how to live longer, better, and in harmony with nature."

This is how Larry Bestor, the project creator, explains the thinking that serves as the foundation of the Rainforest House project.

The concept of the Rainforest House has won over the management at Manatee Investments, the Florida company that is currently the project's leading sponsor.

"Learning from nature and putting into practice what you've learned in environmental protection, these are major components of what Manatee Investments understands by global responsibility and planning for the future," explains David Baker, Director of Marketing.

Manatee Investments is also a sponsor of the Gulf Coast Preservation Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining safe habitat in the Gulf of Mexico for future generations to enjoy. They need your help to protect Florida's famous manatees and other marine wildlife endangered by red tide and manmade pollution. "Along with raising awareness of the plight of earth's rainforests, one of our primary goals is restoring the Gulf of Mexico waters to their once healthy balance," states Mr. Bestor.

You can make donations here, as well by doing simple things like avoiding the use of phosphates and other fertilizers on lawns and golf courses. These toxic chemicals make their way into lakes and stream that empty into the Gulf of Mexico. These artificial nutrients, along with waste sewage, feed toxic red tide blooms that are showing up with an increasing frequency and killing millions of fish, mammals, and other marine creatures. These red tide blooms are devastating to the Gulf's once rich fisheries upon which we all depend for food.

Visitors are provided with an exciting insight into the interactions of the endangered rainforests of the world. Information is presented in an entertaining way, with films, interactive elements and various exhibitions. However, it's not only the visitors who learn from nature. Science and engineering can also gain from adopting the tricks of many animals and plants. Bionics is a branch of science linking biology and technology that will be presented in future Rainforest House exhibits.

Each of us can have an important impact on the global effort to preserve the few remaining rainforests on our beautiful planet. The quality of the air we all breathe, so necessary for a healthy life, is dependent upon the earth's forests to cool and purify the earth's atmosphere.

Below we have links to additional information about the Rainforest and the important role it plays in the earth's ecosystem.

Links to more information.