Biomimicry takes us on a journey to discover the principles which make nature a model for sustainability. Nature meets challenges through a series of functions and strategies, which elegantly overcome or transform the challenge with minimal expenditure of energy or resource. A kingfisher provided the inspiration for an improved and more aerodynamic bullet train; termite mounds teach us about principles of passive heating and cooling of buildings; fungi are inspiring a new generation of computing and circuitry.
The possibilities to learn from, and be inspired by nature are almost endless, but in order to do so we need to rethink how we approach design, and reconsider the questions we ask and the presumptions we make. The Natural Entrepreneurs project guides students to do just that.
It offers an opportunity to explore how these principles can help tackle some of the greatest challenges facing humanity today, such as climate change and increasing levels of waste and pollution. And, it empowers students to apply their new competences to create real solutions that work.
Three reasons to use biomimicry education:
The net result of enriching school subjects using biomimicry educational approaches can be a dramatic increase in students’ appreciation for the world around them, their interest in creating positive change in themselves and society, and in pursuing further education and careers to help them do so.
In the short video below, Sam Stier from the Biomimicry Institute and Center for Learning with Nature explains the unique role biomimicry offers education.
And in this video you can listen to a group of students talk about their own biomimicry design project.
Take a look at how some schools have used biomimicry and Natural Entreprenuers in their classroom.
Natural Entrepreneurs provides an online platform which guides student teams through the Biomimicry Design Process. At each step, notes explain what needs to be done and results are entered online. Teams can see how their work builds progressively towards their design solution. Importantly, they can see the work of other teams and learn from each other collaboratively. A Collaboration Points system ‘measures’ their level of collaboration, sharing and their progress. In this way, teamwork is encouraged, and sharing of ideas is celebrated in the design process.
Schools are finding the online platform fits different delivery models. During piloting, one teacher used a weekly STEM Club to work through the process whilst a second used a project day to deliver across a whole year group. A third teacher integrated the work into their Year 11 and Year 13 D&T product design work. This flexibility is providing opportunity for teachers to collaborate across departments and work with different teachers.
As is being demonstrated by Natural Entrepreneurs, biomimicry provides a coherent fit across science disciplines, offering content and application within a meaningful context. Pedagogically, biomimicry is attractive because it supports a move towards inquiry-based learning. It is also satisfying for teachers wishing to make use of the outdoor environment and reconnect their learners with nature. It can be seen as a unifying theme which links subject content with issues students both care about, and will be important for their careers in the future. And teachers agree: "Natural Entrepreneurs does not only appeal students that are interested in biology or design, but also more entrepreneurial students that like economic projects" (Dutch teacher piloting Natural Entrepreneurs, 2022)
The principles of biomimicry correlate closely to those of inquiry-based science learning and design-based learning (Pedaste et al., 2015). These are teaching methods that stimulate students to actively investigate and discover the world around them. The curiosity that students naturally have plays a key role in these methods. Two Croatian students agree: “I enjoyed the most the last part where we were creative, practical and innovative with real tasks” and “I enjoyed being an inventor and using biomimicry to solve problems, invent new things.”
Biomimicry can provide multiple benefits for education. It can serve as a new way for young people to view and value the natural world. Nature is not only something to learn about in biology class, nature is also a source of wisdom we can learn from.
Biomimicry can serve as a compelling way to present STE(A)M subjects to students. Humans have been attempting to use nature’s wisdom for a long time. Today, we continue in this habit and teachers can take advantage of this by engaging their students in biology through active-learning activities. They can also use examples in biomimicry that address science, technology, engineering and mathematics themes all at once.
Furthermore, biomimicry can be used to create an interdisciplinary platform that connects students to one another and the natural world outside of the traditional classroom.
It is important to prepare students to become the innovators, educators, researchers, and leaders of tomorrow, and in order to do this they need (basic) knowledge on all STE(A)M disciplines. The goal of STE(A)M education is to ensure that all students have the possibility to study and be inspired by Science, Technology, Engineering (and Arts) and Mathematics so they will have the possibility to reach their full potential.
Tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges necessitates cross-disciplinary thinking; biomimicry offers this.
This optimism about what’s possible through biomimicry education, and what students aspire to be and do with their lives, is one of the most important benefits. Without hopefulness and ambition, what can humankind really achieve? And yet students too frequently feel disempowered in their education, the very antithesis of why we educate our young in the first place.
The short video below shares the thoughts of teachers and biomimicry practitioners.