Browse our curated resources to dive into Biomimicry. Here you will find helpful links to books, videos, websites, workshops, courses, and more.
Books
Biomimicry Resource Handbook: A Seed Bank of Best Practices ~ Dayna Baumeister
A comprehensive book introducing the methods and philosophies behind Biomimicry.
Braiding Sweet Grass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer
A magical book introducing the indigenous teachings of Robin Wall Kimmerer with amazing stories of all the magical things nature does
Design to Renourish: Sustainable Graphic Design in Practice ~ Benson and Perullo
A wonderful book with clear explanations on how to practice sustainable graphic design. “Design to Renourish is a book for graphic designers that helps to integrate sustainability into their workflow through a design process called systems thinking”
The Way Life Works: The Science Lover’s Illustrated Guide to How Life Grows, Develops, Reproduces, and Gets Along
In the tradition of David Macaulay's The Way Things Work, this popular-science book--a unique collaboration between a world-renowned molecular biologist and an equally talented artist--explains how life grows, develops, reproduces, and gets by.
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery.
Adapt: How Humans Are Tapping into Nature's Secrets to Design and Build a Better Future
Amina Khan believes that nature does it best. In Adapt
, she presents fascinating examples of how nature effortlessly solves the problems that humans attempt to solve with decades worth of the latest and greatest technologies, time, and money. Humans are animals too, and animals are incredibly good at doing more with less.
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain.
From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to groves of eucalyptus in California, Williams investigates the science at the confluence of environment, mood, health, and creativity. Delving into completely new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas—and the answers they yield—are more urgent than ever.
Science of Seeing: Essays on Nature from Zygote Quarterly
Welcome to the first in a series of books that showcases writings from Zygote Quarterly magazine. The Science of Seeing collects firsthand reports from the field by ZQ columnist Adelheid Fischer. Whether tromping across the slopes of the Mount St. Helens volcano, bending into a listening crouch in the night-time desert, or peering into an ephemeral pool, Fischer compounds our awe for the natural world and deepens our admiration for the men and women who study it.
“Once you meet the stars of these essays—outrageously tactile moles, volcano-healing spiders, old-growth forests that hide in plain sight, and deserts that sparkle at dawn—you’ll never watch nor see the natural world in the same way again. Adelheid Fischer’s singular voice will make you feel you have stumbled upon a memento box filled with thank you notes for all the natural world has given her. Welcome to the poetry of gratitude.”
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens.
How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
In Sapiens
, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities. Have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the centuries to come?
Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power ... and our future.
Book
In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a Neohelix albolabris
—a common woodland snail.
While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own confined place in the world.
Intrigued by the snail’s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and mysterious courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, providing a candid and engaging look into the curious life of this underappreciated small animal.
Told with wit and grace, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience, showing us how a small part of the natural world illuminates our own human existence and provides an appreciation of what it means to be fully alive.
Teeming: How Superorganisms Work Together to Build Infinite Wealth on a Finite Planet (and your company can too)
An entertaining and accessible read with profound implications for the future, Teeming
takes us on a journey through nature’s most ancient and successful R&D labs, and gives practical prescriptions for redesigning organizations to flourish far into the future. Evolutionary biologist Woolley-Barker weaves poetic vision and deep scientific expertise to illustrate how flat, agile, and adaptive societies like ants, termites, and underground fungal networks self-organize for resilience and value.
What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins
Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water? In What a Fish Knows
, the myth-busting ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more, taking us under the sea, through streams and estuaries, and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal the surprising capabilities of fishes. Although there are more than thirty thousand species of fish—more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined—we rarely consider how individual fishes think, feel, and behave. Balcombe upends our assumptions about fishes, portraying them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient, aware, social, and even Machiavellian—in other words, much like us.What a Fish Knows
draws on the latest science to present a fresh look at these remarkable creatures in all their breathtaking diversity and beauty. Fishes conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, curry favor, deceive one another, and punish wrongdoers. We may imagine that fishes lead simple, fleeting lives—a mode of existence that boils down to a place on the food chain, rote spawning, and lots of aimless swimming. But, as Balcombe demonstrates, the truth is far richer and more complex, worthy of the grandest social novel.
Highlighting breakthrough discoveries from fish enthusiasts and scientists around the world and pondering his own encounters with fishes, Balcombe examines the fascinating means by which fishes gain knowledge of the places they inhabit, from shallow tide pools to the deepest reaches of the ocean.
Teeming with insights and exciting discoveries, What a Fish Knows
offers a thoughtful appraisal of our relationships with fishes and inspires us to take a more enlightened view of the planet’s increasingly imperiled marine life. What a Fish Knows
will forever change how we see our aquatic cousins—the pet goldfish included.
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness
In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.
Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus
reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.
Joe Zazzera’s Pinterest Board of Books for Biomimicry Professionals
Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World
A paradigm-shifting book in the vein of Sapiens that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability--and offers a new template for living.As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from a unique perspective, one tied to the natural and spiritual world.
Sweet in Tooth and Claw
People in modern societies often have a harsh view of nature, believing that competition reigns supreme and that the flourishing of one individual or group must necessarily come at the expense of others. In Sweet in Tooth and Claw, Kristin Ohlson argues (gently!) that nature is instead shaped and knitted together by mutually beneficial relationships, many of which humans unwittingly disrupt as we build our homes, expand our cities, divert water, and grow food.
Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squids
In
Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid,
Thor Hanson
explores the remarkable ways that plants and animals are responding to climate change: moving, adapting, and even evolving. A story of hope, resilience, and risk, sure to be remembered as the defining natural history of an unnatural time.
Videos
Biomimicry Introduction Video with Janine Benyus ~ DiCaprio Foundation
Biomimicry Introduction Video with Janine Benyus ~ DiCaprio Foundation
A great introduction on where and how Biomimicry is being introduced. Produced by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
Magazines
ZQ Journal
ZQ Journal
An amazing magazine featuring mind-blowing stories about the science and art behind all things nature. A visual feast for designers.
Blogs
How I wonder What You Are
How I wonder What You Are
A wonderfully magical blog by one of our own, Anjan Prakash, Biomimicry Professional. In her own words (because she is a wonderful crafter of words) “I invite us to sit together in-between these spaces with curiosity, openness and wonder, so we can learn and bring into our fold, ways to once again tread the earth lightly, a lot wildly, certainly more playfully, and yet a touch deeply with responsibility.”
Mind-blowing
PBS: Silent Flight of a Barn Owl
PBS: Silent Flight of a Barn Owl
The magic behind the silent flilght of barn owls - tested against other birds
Jewel-Thief Birds
Jewel-Thief Birds
Thievery is real in nature - watch how this bird would steal anything to impress his mate
Fibonacci Sequence Visually explained
Fibonacci Sequence Visually explained
A series of 3 videos that visually explain where the golden ratio can be found and how it is calculated and integrated into natural artifacts
Organizations
B3.8 Bio-inspired Consultancy
B3.8 Bio-inspired Consultancy
The world’s leading bio-inspired consultancy offering biological intelligence consulting, professional training, and inspirational speaking
Bio-sis: Biomimicry for Social Innovation
Bio-sis: Biomimicry for Social Innovation
Founder Toby Herzlich engages in amazing conversations about how nature can help us become better leaders, connect with our community and increase compassion in the world
Natur&D
Amazing collaborative of creative team to help you design with nature run by my friend Anne-Marie Daniel
Tools
asknature
asknature
A searchable and fun database that translates nature’s strategies into easily understandable terms - go ahead and ask nature now, be ready to be amazed!
Life’s Principles Handout
Life’s Principles Handout
One of the foundations of Biomimicry - these 26 Principles define how nature works. These design principles can help in asking the right questions and to evaluate your ideas
Articles
ASU’s BMY Science toolkit for kids
ASU’s BMY Science toolkit for kids
A toolkit that can be downloaded virtually with activities for kids
Biomimicry Center: A case study of a nature-inspired Renovation
Biomimicry Center: A case study of a nature-inspired Renovation
ASU’s Biomimicry center went through an evolution into a Biomimetically designed center. The results were stunning! This renovation won the 2019 | ENR Southwest Best Project Winners - Interior/Tenant Improvement
Workshops
Biomimicry Week-long Immersion Workshops
Biomimicry Week-long Immersion Workshops
Want to learn by doing Biomimicry hands-on? Join Dayna Baumeister from B3.8 on a week-long immersion.
Education
ASU Biomimicry Master’s Program (Online)
ASU Biomimicry Master’s Program (Online)
Interested in getting a Master’s degree or Certificate in Biomimicry? Join us at ASU online. The program is well designed and can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
Bite-sized Biomimicry
Bite-sized Biomimicry
A blog by my friend Lily Urmann that introduces Bite-sized Biomimicry tidbits for any audience
K–5 Biomimicry Education
K–5 Biomimicry Education
Biomimicry Institute’s resources for Educators of K–5
ASU’s BMY Science toolkit for kids
ASU’s BMY Science toolkit for kids
A toolkit that can be downloaded virtually with activities for kids
asknature education resource
asknature education resource
tools and resources for sharing Biomimicry with young kids
Learning Biomimicry: A Course
Learning Biomimicry: A Course
A beautifully designed online course that introduces you to the foundation of biomimicry