Think Biomimicry

Have you checked out the new blog, Think Biomimicry, by Biomimicry Chicago's Rachel Hahs? In it Rachel explores how we can shift from just being excited about the ideas behind biomimicry, to implementing biomimicry in practice in whatever fields we work. 

Her most recent post, (Re)connecting with Nature, takes a look at how the first step to practicing biomimicry requires gaining the skills to slow down long enough to keenly observe the world around us with a curious and open mind - only then will we be able to truly learn from nature. Her previous posts touch on explaining what biomimicry is, how to use it, and how we think about it in the built environment. 

The website also includes a comprehensive list of online biomimicry resources (please let us know if you have resources to add!), and periodically updated photography collections. Enjoy!

Upcoming Event: AuthentiCity!

Amy will be speaking at the following event: please join us to learn more about how we can design more sustainable, resilient cities by looking to the Genius of our Place! RSVP here!

5th Annual Urban Innovation Symposium: AuthentiCity

YOU'RE INVITED Friday, January 30, 2015 PLEASE RSVP to participate in the exchange of innovative planning methods and ideas that create authentic city spaces and enliven urban life from the ground up! This two-part event will feature presentations and panel discussions with local strategists who foster places that maintain cities' and neighborhoods' cultural and environmental identities. During the daytime session, from 9:00 AM - 1:00PM at Gallery 400 in UIC's Art and Exhibition Hall,professionals from around the region provide insight into cutting-edge ideas in physical planning, design, housing, and economic development.  CUPPA Dean Michael Pagano will be headlining as our keynote speaker to talk about the Obama Library proposal on UIC's campus.  Rounding out the daytime section will be a panel of urban planners who take to blogging as a way to advocate their points of view, moderated by UIC professor Charles Hoch. At the evening event, from 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM at the Royal George Theatre's Black Box Theaterspace, urban professionals deliver presentations in the fast-moving, visually-oriented PechaKucha®  (PK) format in an informal atmosphere, encouraging attendees to get to know each other and enjoy complimentary appetizers and cash bar.   Open and free to the public. RSVP | DAYTIME SESSION RSVP | EVENING SESSION For more information, please visit www.UPPSA.org or e-mail us aturbaninnovatesym@gmail.com

New workshop announced! Biomimicry and the Built Environment

We're looking forward to seeing folks at the Prairie Walk tonight! 6pm on the grounds of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum! If you can't make it and still want to learn more, be sure to check out Prairie Lab's upcoming 3 CEU workshop on October 17th!

Lurie Gardens. Photo by @amycoffman

Biomimicry and the Built Environment: Nature’s Design Strategies

"Nature is inherently resilient and restorative. Learn how to unlock and apply the science behind Nature’s design strategies and look at challenges in the built environment through a biomimicry lens. Biomimicry, the practice of learning from nature to solve human problems, is emerging as a powerful tool for sustainable design and systemic transformation. Applied at a variety of scales, from individual products to buildings and organizations, biomimicry brings nature's 3.8 billion years of innovation experience to the table to redefine the nature of design.

This 3 CEU course, led by Prairie Lab instructors, includes an introduction to the practice of biomimicry, a look at Life’s Principles as applied to challenges in the built environment, and a guided tour of our local prairie ecosystem where you will experience nature’s locally-attuned design strategies for yourself. Through lecture and hands-on, experiential exercises, you will explore functions in nature, from water and energy management to fostering connection to “place,” and translate them to the language of design. The biomimicry lens provides a useful perspective and design inspiration for your LEED, Living Building Challenge, and Net Zero projects."

To register, click here!

Sponsored by USGBC-Illinois and Prairie Lab, LLC. 

Stories from the Prairie: Applying the “Genius of our Place” to Unlock Nature’s Strategies for Resilient, Restorative Design

Nature is inherently resilient and restorative while our human systems are...not. But what could we learn about the nature of design by studying the science of nature? By exploring our native organisms and ecosystems with a biomimicry lens, we can unlock nature’s locally-attuned design strategies and begin to apply them to our context: creating buildings, businesses and communities that are inherently sustainable, naturally.

Lurie Gardens. Photo by @amycoffman

In the other articles in this series, I wrote about the importance of connecting with nature and ways to do so. In this last (for a time, at least) article in this series, I share some stories of what I've learned in my exploration of the tallgrass prairie as well as a vision for a more sustainable and resilient world: one where our choices are based on working with and leveraging local context and energy flows rather than fighting against them.

It’s time to start thinking differently.

Like Wes Jackson who was inspired by the prairie to rethink industrial agriculture to Allan Savory who emulates grazing for holistic land management and Gerould Wilhelm who emulates the prairie in landscape design, each of these innovators look to the prairie ecosystem as inspiration for alternatives to standard practice. Doing so, they were able to (re)think standard practices, creating more low-maintenance, cost-effective, and biodiverse alternatives. And you can do this too.

Visit The B-Collaborative's Blog to learn more!

Have you met FRED?

Have you met FRED? If you have an interest in biomimicry and landscape design - check it out next Saturday, September 21st, in Riverside, IL. 

"Join us on Saturday, September 21, 2013 for the FRED, an exciting day of classes, tours and workshops brimming with new ideas for your garden or community. The FRED (Frederick Law Olmsted in Riverside Education and Design) is a unique opportunity to enjoy landscape and garden design in the historic landmark community of Riverside, Illinois."

Biomimicry: (Re)Learning from Nature’s Genius
Amy Coffman Phillips, workshop facilitator

"How can nature inspire us in the design process? Biomimicry is the practice of drawing inspiration from nature to solve the sustainable design challenges we face. By studying nature, we can discover practical and inspired solutions to challenges from product design to community planning. Join Amy as she illustrates how biomimics around the world are learning from nature’s solutions and then explore how to apply them to our communities in an interactive BioBrainstorm session."

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!

Learning from the Genius of our Place

Ever wonder what ecosystem existed where you live and work prior to settlement? 
Would that influence what plants you select for your landscaping? 
What natural elements you bring into your office? 
How locally-attuned buildings are designed and maintained? 

Learning from the Genius of our Place can help us design our lives and work to fit in with our native natural context using the least amount of energy and resources possible. 

"At the time when the first Europeans entered the Chicago region, the predominant vegetation was a mosaic of prairie, oak woodland, and savanna, with distinctive vegetation on sand dunes adjacent to Lake Michigan. Soils, topography, and firebreaks strongly controlled the vegetation pattern. Before European settlement, fire was a major influence. Every year the copious prairie vegetation dried in late summer, becoming highly flammable, and fires, mostly set by Native Americans either accidentally or purposefully, occurred annually. These fires carried easily through the prairie and burned into adjacent woodlands. As a result, the woodland vegetation was dominated by fire-resistant trees and occurred in areas protected from fire by rougher topography or water bodies—rivers and lakes."

Learn more: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/410.html