I have been a champion of nature for as long as I can remember.  There wasn’t a tree in the yard that I didn’t climb, a creek I didn’t explore, a snake or lizard I didn’t capture (temporarily) and a bug safe from my examination….and the birds…my mother’s favorites fell under my spell also.  The original tomboy and nature buff grew up and is now similarly engaged in a new fascination….biomimicry!

Even at my age….don’t go there….I find myself so enchanted with what appears to be a new look at nature, and is really as old as humans coexisting with animals.  What does it mean?

Very simply put biomimicry is a discipline in which designers look to nature to solve human problems.  It is about time!

Some common examples that you might be aware of but not aware of where they came from are the following:

• Velcro originated as a very observant man looked closely at how burs stuck to socks and other things.
• The bullet train in Japan with its rounded nose blasted a sonic boom as it left the tunnel until a bird watcher observed the kingfisher dive into water with no disturbance allowing it to catch fish without warning of its arrival.The designers changed the nose of the train to a point like the beak of a kingfisher and the disturbance of air disappeared…no more sonic boom!
• The architects in Tucson observed the structure of the saguaro cactus with its shading folds. From this they designed buildings to mimic the giant of the desert and minimized the sun hitting windows…voila, more efficient cooling resulted.
• Native Americans observed the hibernating squirrels to measure how deep under the ground their burrows needed to be to protect them from the cold winters.They mimicked this depth in the width of their adobe bricks and their houses stayed warm all winter.
• One last one of many solutions was particularly interesting to me.Observers of birds questioned why woodpeckers, banging away on hard surfaces didn’t have one continuous concussion. Closer examination showed that when they were pecking (pounding) they didn’t need their tongue which wound back into their skull with a trigger like mechanism that limited the blood leaving their skulls providing more cushioning for the repetitive pounding.  Although it is still in the testing stage, a collar has been created that puts pressure on the jugular vein controlling the blood flow to the brain …let’s say…of a football player.  Now that should get someone’s attention.

At our Sunday Speaker Series yesterday two guests from ASU, Michelle and Joe, shared information and kept the crowd spellbound. In a discussion with them afterwards I mentioned that we were planning a summer camp on biomimicry for kids. Their response was overwhelming. Kids are naturals at solving problems using nature observations.

There is so much to this subject.   We look forward to introducing this to youngsters to get their take on nature observations.  It is just one more reason to get out and observe what is all around us.

And, if you haven’t been engaged in our Sunday Speaker Series, you have missed out.  Also, start watching for announcements for our monthly Nature Hikes along the Rio Salado. There is so much more to nature that we need to appreciate and take advantage of.  Pay attention, engage, and join in.