Mother Knows Best
8 minute read
The tenth article of Earth Matters looks to Mother Nature for hope, inspiration and solutions to help humans become more sustainable. This means exploring and expanding the meaning of biomimicry: starting with emulating and learning from Nature’s processes, forms and systems, but also creating designs that champion and support Nature, and fostering our connection to the natural world. Combining these three can help us find and adopt a deeper and more holistic approach to sustainable innovation.
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Biomimicry is the practice of applying lessons from Nature to facilitate the invention of healthier, more sustainable systems and technologies for people and planet.
With 3.8 billion years of prototyping, developing, market testing, upgrading and refining in its portfolio, Mother Nature’s design credentials are unparalleled. What did not work is now a fossil, and what is still around us is the secret to survival and success – a package of innovation for us to learn from.[1]
It is worth noting at this point that biomimicry should not be confused with bio-morphism, which is the practice of directly copying Nature’s design to improve the performance of a material or design.[2] Notable examples of bio-morphism include Velcro hooks that imitate the shape of burrs on seed pods,[3] or the ventilation systems in termite mounds being used in building design.[4]
Bio-morphism certainly plays a part in biomimicry, but the latter is more global. Biomimetic design does not necessarily look like Nature’s forms; instead, it uses the natural world as a stimulus for ideation and learning. This means applying a multi-level approach, looking at the processes and ecosystems of the natural world, designing to support them and to create a more meaningful connection with humans [5].
Natural mentor
When we look deeper into the processes that Mother Nature uses to build and make, we can learn more efficient ways to develop more sustainable solutions.
Most of our manufacturing processes involve extreme levels of heat and pressure to either combine different components together or to subtract large amounts of material from a whole. This requires high levels of energy for production and uses large quantities of water for cooling. For example, when taking into account both the blue and grey water footprint (read more about this in our previous article, A Watertight World), producing a single one litre plastic soda bottle takes approximately 5.3 litres of water.[6]
Nature is more efficient than this, as it builds structures following mathematically repeated patterns, and it does so with little to no wastage of materials.
For example, Additive Manufacturing – also known as 3D Printing – is a rapidly developing form of production, akin to the efficient building methods of Nature: components are constructed layer by layer and appear to grow from nothing. The term Additive Manufacturing covers a whole range of processes, each designed to deliver against a particular need, but they all follow the natural principle of addition rather than subtraction of material.
As of today, the 3D Printing market is set to double in size every 3 years.[7] The technique is already used in everything from confectionery[8] to trainers,[9] and the technology is constantly improving. At the moment, high levels of heat are still required to join one layer to the next, making it an inefficient manufacturing technique for mass production.[10] However, by looking to Nature for guidance, scientists and engineers are finding better ways of joining the layers, such as ionic or chemical bonding. The form of 3D-printed parts is also often inspired by efficient, mathematically-built cell structures found in Nature. These methods allow materials to “grow” with significantly lower levels of energy use,[11] creating forms that use less material and weigh less, without compromising strength and performance.
But 3D printing is just one example of biomimicry in action: trailblazing brands and makers are being inspired by all of Nature to achieve more efficient and sustainable design solutions.
Sustainable Grand Slam
Sustainable fashion pioneer Stella McCartney has teamed up with innovative start-up Bolt Threads to create Microsilk. This vegan, synthetic, biodegradable silk is inspired by the thread of the wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi. Scientists bioengineered the yarn out of yeast, and the fabric can be seen in action as a prototype tennis dress designed in collaboration with Adidas.
Creative with colour
Inspired by the brilliance of butterfly wings and peacock feathers, Cypris has developed a revolutionary structural colour coating that is striking, safe and sustainable. It can be applied directly to surfaces and improves energy efficiency by reflecting UV, visible and infrared light, expanding the eco-colour palette and eliminating the use of toxic pigments and colorants.
Alternative acoustics
Acoustic brand Baux has developed a new biomaterial for its latest range of panels. The paper-like material – Acoustic Pulp – is biodegradable, made with sustainably harvested Swedish fir and pine trees, and zero chemicals. Fibres are broken down and modified to mimic the naturally occurring high-performance features of some plants, like the fire retardancy of grass roots.
Natural champion
One of biomimicry’s central lessons and principles is that the future of the planet, of humankind and of Nature depends on all of us. Our destinies are tightly interwoven and co-dependent, an idea that is succinctly put by Janine Benyus from the Biomimicry Institute: “Life creates conditions conducive to life.”[12] (For more from Janine Benyus on biomimicry, listen to her TED Talk.)
To be truly sustainable and protect our planet, we must do more than use Mother Nature as inspiration for innovation – we must rethink and redesign our human presence. Whatever we do must support and champion Nature and undo the damage created over centuries. Ecosystems must be regenerated, and to do this well we must become as good at designing and building as Nature itself.
In other words, we need to do more than just learn from Nature; we need to design for Nature.
Purposeful papers
Due to urban development, bees have to fly further to collect pollen. Bee Saving Paper is a biodegradable material that helps them survive longer flights. The paper is coated with high energy bee food and infrared ink that attracts bees to it. Placed in Nature, it becomes a visible food stop for bees which, thanks to the seeds embedded in the fibres, can grow into a permanent fuel stop for them.
Waste not
Evoware is a seaweed-based, plastic-free food wrap that is compostable, soluble and even edible. Created by an Indonesian start-up, it is designed to come from Nature and go back to it in the most efficient way. Seaweed grows all year round on Indonesian islands, and takes only 45 days to cultivate. Farming it has also provided coastal communities with an alternative way to earn their livelihood.
Rotate to regenerate
Varietal Crop Crackers are made using flexible product formulations to turn soil conservation into a consumption habit. Ingredients are planted within crop rotations to ensure growing methods support biodiversity, healthier soil, cleaner water, and regenerative agriculture. Year One crackers contain hard red winter wheat and bravo flax; Year Two is dark northern spring wheat and huntsman millet.
Natural (re)connection
The health benefits – both physical and mental – of spending time in Nature have long been documented. For example, a recent study found that spending just 20 minutes reconnecting with Nature can significantly reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.[12] It has been suggested that the reason for this is that being in Nature helps us to live in the moment or practice mindfulness, both of which are key components of subjective well-being or happiness. With this and other compelling research, it is probably no surprise to find that GPs in Tayside (Scotland) are prescribing Nature-based activities as a treatment for stress and mental illnesses.[13]
Other research has shown that Nature helps us to cope with pain. As humans, we are genetically programmed to find trees, plants, water and other natural elements engrossing; we are absorbed by natural scenes and therefore distracted and relieved from discomfort.[14]
Beyond the health and social (people) benefits of reconnecting with Nature, research has also shown that it can be a useful tool in the fight against the global environmental crisis (planet). When we are closer to Nature, the spirit of that connection can be utilised as a leverage point, a moment of opportunity to influence change and propel society towards more sustainable actions.[15]
Green zone
Tech giant Amazon has recognised the benefits of reconnecting with Nature and has created The Spheres, a working space in downtown Seattle with a focus on biophilic design. The idea was to create a workplace where employees can think and work differently surrounded by plants. The Spheres house 40,000 plants from the cloud forest regions of 30 countries in a glass geometric pentagonal hexecontahedron structure.
Horn of plenty
MyOak Public Market is a biomimicry-based platform created in response to Covid-19. The system – inspired by the symbiotic relationship between ectomycorrhizal fungi and the native white oak in Maryland – cultivates a safer, more connected and responsive food system network during times of crisis. The online platform increases food access for vulnerable populations and creates opportunities for local producers.
Wilderness wellbeing
The Wild Grief team facilitates groups for children and youths who are grieving a death, using Nature to support connection, build a sense of community and enable healing. Through organised wildness trips and hikes, participants “live under the stars, sleep on the earth and remember our place” giving them the opportunity and offering them a space to explore and understand their grief with peers in the wilderness.
Much of the way we produce and consume today is about extracting and harvesting from Nature – a practice that is unsustainable in the long run, especially at current rates.
As we have found in several previous issues of Earth Matters – from Rethinking Luxury to Winning with Waste to Squaring the Circle – the solution requires a rethink, a fundamental shift in perspective. In this case, we need to change what we “harvest” from Nature. We need to take a lot less of what is finite, and much more of what is infinitely available and resourceful. In other words, we must extract knowledge, hope and inspiration that have been tried and tested as both successful and sustainable since the beginning of time.
“When we look at what truly is sustainable, the only real model that has worked over long periods of time is the natural world.”
– Janine Benyus, Co-founder, Biomimicry Institute