Ayres Knowledge Center Learning From Nature | Page 11

More importantly, it has no will, no purpose, it’s not even
a law or axiom of science. Nature is a convenient term and
human definition describing everything that isn’t under
the direct and immediate control of human beings. Nature
is the relationship between natural objects, entities,
places and laws; it has no consciousness independently
or collectively. It is a place, a realm, where the laws of
physics, biology and chemistry function, and natural
laws operate without any governance other than the
governances dictated by natural laws. It doesn’t seem fair
then that a mindless, nonentity we defined is better at
making long‐lasting objects and places than we are. LITERATURE CITED
This essay highlights what we as designers all know, but
often forget, to think about how Nature works and using
Nature as a model for the design and built environment.
If this all sounds like common sense, it is. Despite that it’s
surprising how often we ignore these simple rules of life.
And to be honest with ourselves, we’ve built a culture,
a way of life, that depends on bucking Nature on a daily
basis. Putman, J. J. and J. E. Allshouse. 1994. Food Consumption,
Prices, and Expenditures, 1970‐93. United States
Department of Agriculture. Bulletin SB‐915.
Anderson, M.K. 2002., Stewart O.C., H.T. Lewis, and M.K.
Anderson ed. Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the
Transient Wilderness. The University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman, Publishing Division of the University.
Barclay, Eliza. 2015. Your Grandparents Spent More Of
Their Money on Food Than You Do. The Salt: What’s On
Your Plate. National Public Radio.
Jones, C.G., J. H. Lawton, and M. Shachak. 1994. Organisms
as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69: 373‐386.
Tallamy, D. 2007. Bringing Nature Home: How You Can
Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. Timber Press, Inc.,
Portland, Oregon, USA.
Good planning and design begins with understanding the
rules of Nature and the opportunities to borrow from
Nature in ways that benefit us and others.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacob has led and participated in ecologically based public and private design projects
around the world. His work has focused on designing landscapes that maximize
ecosystem services for human health and well-being as well as site operation and
function. A landscape architect and ecologist, Jacob has developed a practical
understanding of how nature works and how the built environment can be modeled
after nature to maximize landscape functions. His work often centers on resolving
nature-based, design aesthetic, and ecosystem functional conflicts. He is a coauthor of
the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES), as well as the Sustainable Sites Handbook.

Jacob’s work has included collaboration with the U.S. Botanical Gardens, the Lady Bird
Johnson Wildflower Center, the Nelson Institute, the American Society of Landscape
Architects, the Nature Conservancy, the Chilean government, and many academic and
educational institutions.
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