cycl
biomimicry
listen
to your
mother
( nature )
by Lee Allen
Mother Nature has come up with many great
strategies and designs in her time, so why not
follow her lead? Using natural concepts as
models for solutions in the human world is a
process called biomimicry and in this story, Lee
Allen takes us to Arizona where two scientists
are applying this method in agrivoltaics.
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grow cycle
B
iomimicry is the innovative approach of creating sustain-
able solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested strategies.
Mother Nature has had a long time to work these things out, and
if we’re really smart, we’ll listen to our mother.
“Humans are clever, but without intending to, they’ve created
massive sustainability problems for future generations,” says
Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Institute in Montana. “Our
goal is to create processes, policies, and products—new ways
of living—that are well-adapted to life on Earth over the long
haul. The core idea here is that nature has already solved
many of the problems we’re grappling with because microbes,
plants, and animals are consummate engineers. After billions
of years, failures are found in the form of fossils and what
surrounds us today are the secrets to survival.”
Looking at nature is like looking at a catalog of products
that have benefitted from 3.8 billion years of research and
development. Given that level of time and toil investment, it
makes sense putting these practical applications to use.
“When we look at what is truly sustainable, the only real
model that has worked over long periods of time is found in
the natural world,” Benyus says.