BIOMIMICRY
Nature as a Teacher
Biomimicry is the practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges and found find hope.
Biomimicry is about valuing nature for what we can learn, not what we can extract, harvest, or domesticate. In the process, we learn about ourselves, our purpose, and our connection to each other and our home on earth.
Biomimicry is a way to come up with new ideas and solve problems by looking at how nature designs, works, and solves problems. It means looking at how nature solves problems and copying them so that they can be used to solve human problems in a sustainable and effective way.
Biomimicry is used in a wide range of fields, from architecture and engineering to medicine and material science. For example, the streamlined shapes of birds and fish were used to design high-speed trains, and the way burrs stick to fur was used to make Velcro.
Biomimicry tells us to look at nature not just as a place to get things but also as a place to learn, get advice, and develop a deeper appreciation for the natural world. Biomimicry is the study of how nature works to make designs and technologies that are more resilient and long-lasting.
“Biomimicry is innovation inspired by nature. In a society accustomed to dominating or ‘improving’ nature, this respectful imitation is a radically new approach, a revolution really. Unlike the Industrial Revolution, the Biomimicry Revolution introduces an era based not on what we can extract from nature, but on what we can learn from her.”- Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute
Due to the many negative effects of human activity on our planet, on the environment and on ecosystems across the world, earth’s natural life-support systems are rapidly declining and humanity’s survival is under threat. Business as usual with small adjustments will not be enough. A drastic change is needed in all realms of human activity, and the usual short-term solutions will not suffice.
Biomimicry offers a path towards sustainability. For all the challenges we face, nature has a solution. When it comes to innovation, nature offers 3.8 billion years’ worth of insights and clever adaptations. If we learn how to imitate nature’s genius, we give ourselves a“new way” to reinvent ourselves. Biomimicry is the “new way”.
Biomimicry has several important benefits and advantages:
- Sustainability: Biomimicry can lead to more sustainable designs and technologies that are in harmony with nature and do not deplete or harm the environment.
- Efficiency: Nature has already found efficient ways to deal with many problems, and by copying these solutions, we can often make products and processes that work better and are more efficient.
- Innovation: Biomimicry can help people think of new and creative ways to solve problems that may not have been thought of before.
- Resilience: Nature has evolved to be strong and able to adapt to changing conditions. By studying how it does this, we can make systems and designs that are more resilient.
- Inspiration: Biomimicry can help us learn more about and appreciate the natural world and see it as a source of ideas and knowledge.
There are numerous examples of biomimicry in various fields.
1. The nose cone of the bullet train mimics the shape of the kingfisher’s beak to cut down on the noise generated when it emerges from tunnels.
2. George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, was the one who came up with Velcro after observing how burrs adhered to fur and clothing. He used the burrs as a model for a hook-and-loop fastening system and used it to make Velcro.
3. Sharkskin-inspired swimsuits: To make faster, more streamlined swimsuits, swimsuit makers have made a material that looks and feels like sharkskin.
4. Wind turbine blades: The shape of humpback whale fins, which have small bumps that reduce drag and increase lift, has been used as a model for wind turbine blades.
5. Self-healing materials: Scientists have made self-healing materials that work like some plants and animals that can fix themselves when they get hurt.
6. Passive cooling systems: Architects have made buildings with cooling and ventilation systems that work like termite mounds and keep the same temperature no matter what the weather is like outside. (The Eastgate Centre building in Harare, Zimbabwe)
There is a difference: Learning about Nature and Learning from Nature
Biomimicry is different from
BIOPHILA: Love or liking of Nature, desire to remain close to Nature
BIOMORPHISM: Artistic design elements on naturally occurring patterns or shapes reminiscent of nature and living organisms.
BIOUTILIZATION: acquiring or harvesting a product or producer, such as gathering medicinal plants to obtain the medications they produce, or growing algae to make biofuels.
Biomimicry is from WOW to HOW about nature. Considering nature as a Teacher and learn from nature.
One can learn Biomimicry (Resource materials)
Books:
I. Biomimicry by Janine M Benyus
II. The Shark’s Paintbrush: by Jay Harman
III. Biomimicry and Business by Margo Farnsworth
IV. ISHMAEL by Daniel Quinn
Websites
https://biomimicrycompass.com/
We can use Biomimicry to not only learn from nature’s wisdom, but also heal ourselves and our planet in the process.
Let’s strive to be better ancestors for the generation that will come after us.
