“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.”
-Leonardo Da Vinci
Instead of only looking at the visual beauty of nature we can peer deeper into the intricate systems and processes that are happening in a balanced manner.
Image from Asknature.
Biologize your problem and key components. It’s about seeing things as functions and processes. That way you can search for similarities in the natural world.
It is also important to go out into nature yourself. Nature is everywhere, even in the city. Take a walk in a park, wander some streets, find a pond/stream or take a longer outing into a natural area outside the city. First, be sure to just observe and be in nature. Take some time to experience and explore without any set goal. Be sure to take a notebook with you for any ideas and inspiration. You can observe an area with all 5 senses for example, and describe the same thing from each sensory experience. For more exercises see here.
Explore how natural systems solve similar challenges. -First, look at the locally relevant ecological system models. Both in terms of biomes, climate zones, and ecosystems. Find habitats that have similar environmental conditions and challenges. Identify the natural processes within that ecosystem and determine how these processes are managed and influenced. For example, if dealing with water management, look at ecosystems that naturally handle large volumes of water, such as wetlands or riparian zones. (Use sources like Asknature, panorama, scientific journal databases or Ecomimicry database(still to come).
-Next, if necessary you can look at similar biomes and climate zones in other regions.
-Lastly, you can look at ecotones at the border of your local context and the adjacent biomes and climate zones.
Image from LearnBiomimicry. For more biomimicry inspiration see here.
Make abstractions at different levels & try to make analogies. Brainstorm nature-inspired solutions and innovative approaches. Just get as many ideas out there as possible. There are many brainstorming techniques and methods. Find some and choose the ones that best appeal to you. Try a few different ones.
In nature, every decision for living beings comes down to the costs & benefits. Every ecosystem is a web of connections that affect each other through the decisions made by living organisms and the non-living physical conditions that fuel these decisions.
Note the costs and benefits of the natural models and evaluate if they would be the same for your proposed solution. Try to note how they would be connected to the rest of your system and which effects could be triggered.
This image shows the three different levels of abstraction. From low level literal mimicry (bird wings and planes), to high level abstraction of processes and systems (Bird group flight and windmill park arrangement). During your own discovery play around with abstractions at different levels and you will find that throughout the process you can move between the levels. At the end we are aiming for solutions at the intermediate to high level of abstraction.
From Graeff et al. (2021). Biomimetics from practical feedback to an interdisciplinary process. Research in Engineering Design, 32, 349 – 375.
Try to come up with a minimum of 5 ideas/solutions to proceed with that pass an initial cost-benefit analysis. This does not have to be in depth but is mainly initial calculations and general gut feeling. Aim to have solutions that range between all 3 levels of abstraction.
The most important thing to envision is the feedback loop(s) that would be created/altered. Do these keep themselves in balance (negative feedback) or would they spiral out of control (positive feedback)?
Write your ideas down or even better try and visualise them in whichever manner works best. Make sure to save them for the next steps in the process.
Ecosystem Biomimicry Guide 