Let's Meet! Wednesday, February 6th

Anyone interested in participating in our AskPlace Initiative (Prairie Project Genius of Place in partnership with the Living Building Challenge Collaborative Chicago) is welcome to join a jam session at HOK Chicago next Wednesday, February 6th, at 4:30pm. We'll go over some of our preliminary research, tell some good stories, and brainstorm possibilities for this exciting project. If you are new to our group, RSVP to colin.rohlfing@hok.com.  

BProfessional Program now accepting applications!

Biomimicry Chicago co-founders, Amy and Lindsay, just graduated from the most amazing program we have ever had the privilege to be a part of, the Biomimicry Professional Certificate Program. They are currently accepting applications for the next cohort - will you count yourself as one of the next change agents? Apply now! 

AskPlace Working Group

Anyone in the Chicago area interested in participating in our AskPlace Working Group, we are holding a webex information call-in next Tuesday, January 15th at 12:30pm. Email Amy for call-in information. We're so excited to kick this initiative off and learn from the genius of the tallgrass prairie!

Teaching Biomimicry to Young Kids

by Amy Coffman Phillips

I have young kids preschool and kindergarten age, and one of my favorite things to do is to show them what I do by going outside.  On a recent day in late fall, we went into our backyard and went on a critter search.  Squirrels are abundant in my backyard because of the leftover food in the garden as well as the large maple tree which dominates our small lot.  So we set about investigating and learning about the squirrels.

Squirrels and their Amazing Tales!

Children learn by doing, so at first we acted like squirrels.  We brought our hands up into claws and pretended to eat an acorn.  We hopped around on two feet simultaneously.  We wiggled our rear ends.  We talked about what they ate – acorns, ideally.  In our yard, birdseed, strawberries, pumpkins, the bulbs I had planted for spring (grrr) and really anything left in the garden that we didn’t harvest.  Then we talked about what eats them – dogs and coyotes came to mind, although our dog is much too old to do more than bark at them.  Then we pretended to be a squirrel and a coyote, a glorified game of tag, which they loved!  After all that exertion and thinking, we went back inside to do a little research and drawing.  I researched, my oldest drew a squirrel from a picture, and my youngest drank hot cocoa (Chicago is cold in November!).

We learned that squirrels (specifically, tree squirrels such as the eastern gray squirrel, introduced from the UK) climb trees and can hang from almost any vertical surface using sharp claws and swiveling ankle joints.  Their ankle joints can swivel so that feet are backwards to hold them on a tree – all they need is for the bark to be rough enough to hook its claws. 

We thought about the squirrel tails and what they are used for.  We assumed for balance and insulation – and we were right!  Squirrels use their tales for balance when climbing and jumping from tree to tree.  We also thought about the coats we were wearing outside and how those furry tails would be a nice blanket.  My training in architecture came out and I drew for my oldest how the squirrel fur traps air between the strands, forming a blanket of air that helps keep the squirrel warm.  We found out that squirrels also use it as a sunshade in the summer – just like the shades we see on houses and the parasols that people sometimes use.  We also found out that squirrels use their tails for communication.  When alarmed, they flick their tales (we see this when our dog is outside), when tails are fluffy, they feel aggressive; and when tails are waving, they are approaching a mate in the spring. 

Each of this we see from our kitchen door and we are thankful to our squirrel friends for helping us understand how they stay warm, balance, and talk to each other!

References:
AskNature.org
Wikipedia.org
Kids.discovery.com 

Read more biomimicry inspired thoughts at The B-Collaborative's Blog!

Upcoming Biomimicry Professional Program Webinar

Interested in learning more about the Biomimicry Professional program? Join a webinar on Wednesday 1/9/13 at 9am MDT and talk directly with the program director, Dayna Baumeister, to get answers to your questions about the program and to compare this program with the BSpecialist Program. Erin Leitch, the Program Director for the BSpecialist Certificate Program will also be present at the webinar.

Here is the information on how to connect to the webex on your phone or via your computer:
Topic: BProfessional Applicant Webinar
Host: Biomimicry 3.8
Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Time: 9:00 am, Mountain Standard Time (Denver, GMT-07:00)
Session number: 576948713
Session Password: This session does not require a password.
Host Key: 658435

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To start the session
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1. Go to https://biomimicry.webex.com/
2. Enter your First and Last Name and Email Address
3. Click "Join Now".
4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

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Audio conference information
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Call-in toll number (US/Canada):
1-408-792-6300
Access code: 576 948 713

AskPlace Kickoff!

You've heard us talk about AskPlace, an initiative affiliated with the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute, that we're starting here in Chicago, learning from the genius of our place to inspire locally attuned sustainable design. Well, here is your chance to get involved! We're collaborating with the Living Building Challenge Collaborative: Chicago and their LBC design competition as a site to test out what we can learn and how this information can be applied. Contact us for more information and to sign up!

"Naturally Resilient" Seminar at CCGT this Thursday!

Spots are still available for our "Naturally Resilient: Thrive Through Disturbance by Learning from Nature" at the Chicago Center for Green Technology this Thursday at 6pm.  Register now for this FREE opportunity to learn about the intersection of biomimicry and resilience from Amy and Lindsay!

Register at CCGT's website here.