Learning from Nature: The Biomimicry Podcast with Lily Urmann

What if your organization could function as effectively and sustainably as a healthy ecosystem? We explore this question with Ines Garcia , an agile coach, circular economy expert, and author of Nature's Blueprint for Business: Harnessing the Hidden Power of Edges. Listen in and delve into Ines's professional path, the practical application of nature's principles in organizational d...

In this episode, we dive into a surprising but essential topic for a life-friendly future: trade networks and resource sharing. Guest Rana Hajirasouli , circular-economy innovator and founder of the climate-tech startup The Surpluss, explains how nature’s systems can inspire smarter, more collaborative ways for industries to reduce waste, strengthen supply chains, and unlock new forms of value. Wi...

How might emergent strategies of group dynamics in nature inform our own technology and design? In this episode, Dr. Iain Couzin , Director of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and one of the world’s leading researchers on collective motion in animals, explores how nature’s systems -- from swarming locusts and murmurations of starlings to schooling fish -- coordinate complex group behavi...

What does it look like for humans to align with life? The built environment and urban areas represent a massive opportunity to significantly lower emissions, improve biodiversity, and create healthier, more resilient communities through the application of regenerative design guided by nature. Architect Michael Pawlyn shares how we can access powerful leverage points within complex systems and find...

Many of us are familiar with applying nature's genius to physical products or the built environment, but we can also integrate this practice into visual design fields and processes. Michelle Fehler , a professor in The Design School at Arizona State University, dives into her approach for reconnecting with nature and sharing practices rooted in biomimicry within the visual communication space...

The world is ready for learning from nature to take off, but what does biomimicry really need in order to gain more traction on a larger scale? Listen in to our special live episode with Learn Biomimicry Managing Director Alistair Daynes to hear how we can continue to move the needle on integrating and expanding the biomimicry perspective in all spaces. Whether you are just starting out or further...

Humans are a very young species. Compared to the other organisms that we share this planet with, we are novices in how to live in harmony here. Mimicking nature’s elegant and efficient structures on the micro and nano-scale has been a major limiting factor in our designs. But we are making progress in learning from nature’s structure and chemistry. Doing reactions at ambient temperature and pressu...

Cultivating a curiosity for our world is the first step in repairing our relationship with place, the organisms that we share our planet with, and ourselves. This reconnecting is at the core of a crucial and life-changing practice called nature journaling. John Muir Laws is a leader and innovator in the world-wide nature journaling movement and shares his wealth of knowledge in a very special Lear...

The Biomimicry Institute's Launchpad program supports scientists and designers who are addressing some of our biggest challenges with nature-inspired ideas. Every year, a cohort of innovators from around the world comes together to learn from each other and receive guidance and inspiration through mentoring, networking, and community-building. Dave Hutchins is the Launchpad Program Manager an...

Humans view waste as a burden, but nature utilizes waste as a valuable resource in a cycle of continual renewal. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris is generated every year -- and Mycocycle knows this is an opportunity. Joanne Rodriguez discusses how Mycocycle leverages mycelium (fungal root structures) to consume and eliminate to...

Our coastlines are crucial buffer zones for climate chaos. Yet the current building strategies for concrete coastal marine construction can lead to low biodiversity, which impacts ecosystem health and water quality. ECOncrete's technology involves texture agents and molds that increase biological performance by creating a macro-surface that encourages organisms to colonize. This innovative co...

Globally, more than 1.6 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year -- and in India, 40% of produce goes to waste before it even reaches grocery store shelves. By learning from plant protection mechanisms, Deepak Rajmohan of GreenPod Labs has developed a solution: using natural plant extracts to activate those built-in defenses. The simple yet effective solution is a satchel that can be dropped in...

The ideal adventure apparel is both waterproof and breathable. Yet the tragic irony for outdoor enthusiasts is how toxic and wasteful the current clothing and gear options there are on the market. That's where Amphico comes in: a UK-based biomimicry company learning from waterproofing strategies in nature to create options without harmful chemicals while also eliminating the excessive waste....

It's on every continent, and in every terrestrial ecosystem. It's beneath our feet on most hikes and it's often overlooked: lichens! In this episode, Dr. Troy McMullin, the chief lichenologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, gives an insightful overview of what lichens are, describes their many interesting strategies, and shares why you should care. We dive into their unique symbi...

In the fourth episode of our limited series Knowledge Symbiosis: Can Biomimicry and Indigenous Science Harmonize?, Roxanne Swentzell and Anne LaForti engage in a conversation hosted by Sara El-Sayed, converging Indigenous ideologies and scientific understanding of soils, seeds, regenerative versus sustainable terminologies, and steps to healing ourselves and our ecosystems. This limited series is...

In the third episode of our limited series Knowledge Symbiosis: Can Biomimicry and Indigenous Science Harmonize?, PennElys Droz and Maibritt Pederson Zari  engage in conversation hosted by Lily Urmann, exploring cosmologies, paradigm shifts and how to be in good relationship while we co-create and design as humans within creation. They outline principles of regenerative design in communities, and...

In this second episode of the limited series Knowledge Symbiosis: Can Biomimicry and Indigenous Science Harmonize?, Dayna Baumeister and Melissa K Nelson continue their conversation, hosted by Sara El-Sayed, exploring the common ground and mapping the divergences between Indigenous science and biomimicry. They dive into the nature of biomimicry and Indigenous knowledges and how they are often misc...

In this inaugural episode of the limited series Knowledge Symbiosis: Can Biomimicry and Indigenous Science Harmonize?, Dayna Baumeister joins Melissa K. Nelson and Sara El-Sayed in a conversation exploring the common ground and mapping the divergences between Indigenous science and biomimicry. SERIES SYNOPSIS Biomimicry, nature-inspired design, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), or Indige...

A fun fact for your next party conversation: humans have over 30 trillion cells in our bodies, and 70-90% of those cells are bacterial and fungal! Look no further than exploring the microbiomes of biology when you need your next existential crisis -- or next rabbit hole of fascination to dive into. While mucus and the microbiome might not be the classic poster-child of biomimicry, there is so much...

Many of us are either afraid of or avoid chemistry simply because of the way we were taught the topic in school. Yet chemistry is all around us: in the leaves of your backyard tree and the snail inching along the sidewalk. It's also a crucial component to the practice of biomimicry.  In this episode, explore the topic of green chemistry with one of its founding members: Dr. John Warner. Natur...

If you've ever sat on the forest floor marveling at a beautiful red or purple mushroom, this episode is for you! My guest and fellow biomimic Ximena Curiel will dive deep into what mushrooms are, why they are different colors, what the purposes of these colors are in nature, and explain how we can use these pigments in sustainable dyeing, artwork, and clothing. It's a fun journey of disc...

Our buildings use A LOT of energy to heat and cool, and because of this they contribute drastically to global carbon emissions. But what if we borrowed design inspiration from the amazing ability of squids to shift colors and control light in order to reduce or eliminate excess energy needs? In this episode with Raphael Kay, explore how these underwater creatures are so efficient and what strategi...

Our world is full of intricate, complex, and elegant strategies. In this episode we explore one such strategy that might surprise you: the decision-making sneezes of African wild dogs. Explore this unique topic with Ebenezar Wikina, founder of Policy Shapers and campaign strategist at Change.org, who completed his Learn Biomimicry practitioner's project on applying this sneeze democracy to th...

Honeycomb and hexagonal shapes are very popular in the biomimicry design space, but what makes them efficient and resilient? In this episode, Dr. Clint Penick dives deep into the function of optimizing space and managing compression, as it relates to bee and wasp nests. There is so much more to the honeycomb shape than most people initially realize, and this conversation sheds light on some of the...

In biomimicry, function is the bridge between nature and design. We ultimately want to ask "How does Nature ___?" in order to match our challenge and context with nature's genius range of strategies for the same challenge. In this new series, we will be exploring what function is and why it's important. Dr. Dayna Baumeister is a global leader in the biomimicry space: she is the...