Reflecting on 5 Weeks of Observation at Mount Sutro

What has changed about my place?
Nature is cyclic and in stable non-equilibrium. Which means there is constant change. Both with the seasons and with longer term changes in climate and weather and shifting balances in biotic factors such as predators, viruses and fungus.

Today I went back to the same exact spot I sat for my first observation a little over a month ago. The place felt more lush and over grown. I took pictures to compare with my first visit. Just looking at those pictures I can see that the grass is a little taller but not as much as I expected.There are some new plants that were not apparent during my first visit. They may have been under the cover of the other plants and have since grown and emerged. This furry plant is one of them. I wonder what function the fuzzy covering conveys? Is it a strategy for protection? From predators? or maybe from temperature fluctuations? Does it prevent adhesion of some kind?
I look at the shiny leaved vine that I wrote about in the first post. It seems to be suffering from an attack of some sort. There are these brown radiating circles with a hole in their center. I wonder if the foamy discharge I noticed on the under sides of the leaves last time was the cause. I could find no evidence for this. But turning over some more leaves I noticed that some of the leaves have fresh deposits of foam. Though non of the leaves had both the dark circles and the foam. Further the foam carrying leaves were a much lighter shade of green. Is there some reason that the insect is avoiding the darker leaves? Is it because of the infection? Or do the light green leaves fit the requirements better? Interesting implications here.

This time I also touched the foam and it has a smooth slick feeling and no smell or at least non that I could detect.

What has changed about me?

As I reflect back on the 5 weeks of observation pondering this question, I am not sure. I have always enjoyed time spent in quiet observation out doors and I definitely continue to enjoy this. I really appreciate the extra lens of biomimicry in this pursuit. I find that now beyond just being surprised, intrigued and delighted by nature I am asking so what? What is nature achieving and how? How can this shape my approach to challenges I face.

It has been a long time since I have systematically returned to the same outdoor space every week. This systematic approach is a really beneficial change that allows the identification of patterns over time. I think this is essential to a deep understanding of any natural system. I am excited to continue this as I move forward with my Masters Thesis Project.

Thanks,

Lorris

Evaluating the Good Garden

Evaluating the Good Garden based on Life's Principles

This post will be a systematic evaluation of the Good Garden self watering multi level garden against the 6 major principles on the Life's Principles check list. The goal being to understand how well this design meets these principles and thus how well it is suited to life on this planet.

1) Is the design locally attuned and responsive?

The good garden is a resourceful design that passively gathers resources including water and nutrients. Local opportunities and limitations will drive the look, size and species composition of the resulting garden. It uses shape to gather and wick water as well as for water storage and providing habitat. Micro shades in the material will generate hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas. It uses free local energy to harvest water for irrigation.

The design does not specify materials. The design would be stronger if it used locally available and abundant materials. The water gathering surface and wicking areas could be made of locally sourced and recycled plastics. The base could use waste cement or bricks from building demolitions or construction projects. The design would be further strengthened if it used modular parts that could be assembled in a multitude of configurations depending on where it was being installed.

2) Does the design integrate cyclic processes?

The passive irrigation is a cyclic process that takes advantage of local seasonal shifts. Local feedback loops would decide what organisms flourish in the garden.

Again the design would be stronger if it took into account materials and material configuration, if it was disassemblable and reusable or reconfigurable.

The back yard at my apartment. Not a very resilient system. Requires lots or care and chemicals.

3) Is the design resilient?

The design encourages the adoption of passive gardening where by the make up of the garden is in constant flux (dynamic non-equilibrium) as the design experiences disturbances at various scales, from seasonal fluctuations in weather to climate change over a longer scale. This design will encourage back yard evolution. Allowing users to be amazed by the adaptation, co-evolution and idea generation of nature.

The design would be stronger if it integrated some way for the shape of the structure to be modified by the gardens constituent species over time.

4) Does the design optimize rather than maximize?

The Good Garden is multifunctional in that it provides s substrate for the design as well as condensing water, catching rain water, distributing water and capturing nutrients. All these functions are accomplished passively requiring energy only for initial manufacture. It gathers and reuses the products of it's constituent organisms.

The design would be stronger if it were recyclable. It should be designed for disassembly, reuse and reconfiguration.

5) Does the design use benign manufacturing?

The good garden would be built to shape. It is constructed from materials from a safe subset of the periodic table. Since it would support organisms and might be used to produce food it is essential the it be non-toxic.

The design would be stronger if it were self assembling at ambient temperatures and ambient pressures.

Another pic of my back yard. Imagine a more interdependent system.

6) Does the design leverage its interdependence in the system?

Designed to foster encourage and support it's own ecosystem, Good Garden gets high marks in this category. It will result in your own back yard symbiotic, cooperative and community based garden system. Creating new niches for a dynamic set of organisms. This system will be self-organized and maintained by the sun's locally available energy.

Conclusion:

The design is strong in categories 1,3,4 and 6. It meet some of the requirements in categories 2 and 5 but could improve drastically in these areas.

Notes from San Diego Zoo Biomimicry Conference

San Diego Zoo Biomimicry Conference

Tom Mckeag: Lessons from an egg

· Ostrich can grow to 350lb and produce largest birth egg.

· Largest single cell.

· Elegant elemental shape.

· Chucked on a lathe will run true. Circular cross sections ellipsoidal shape.

· Egg solves contradictions.

· Egg smallest in comparison to the size of the animal that produces it.

· Protect and open.

· Keep out dangerous stuff and let in oxygen.

· Come out and rotate but not roll away.

· Structural solutions. “Nature surfs for free” Air pocket on end nearest to center of gravity.

· Nature operates on multiple levels/scales. Domed and palisade structures protect against compression. Macro and micro scales.

Jane Fulton Suri: Why biomimicry? Why now?

· To design like life is to seek harmonies

· “Nature inspired design is a logical evolution of human centered design”

· Why now? “We are at an inflection point between realizing we are approaching limitations and on the brink of exciting discoveries.”

· Human centered design not just asking what people want but observing, being curious.

· Human centered design is not enough. Not dealing with social and environmental impacts

· For people who have always felt a connection to the environment biomimicry allows people to bring this to work.

· Evolution of design ergonomics-to-cognitive and social science approach-to-anthropology and ethnography-to the next phase-biology and ecology biomimicry.

· Biomimicry helps overcome limitations. Metaphor from how fungus and trees are symbiotic to structure for U.S. green building council.

· Biomimicry extends human centered design. Relies on curiosity and openness just like human centered design.

· Emerging opportunities. Developments in life sciences at cellular, molecular and mechanical levels raise ethical questions and opportunities. Like “what would it mean to nurture living probiotics? What would a deeper relationship with bacteria that live on us look like?”

· Social media tech changing how we gather and distribute information. Similar to bottom up sensory reception in nature. Developing an ecology of ideas. –open ideo-

· Tim brown says it is a shift from Newtonian physics thinking to Darwinian evolution thinking.

· How you frame a problem effects what info people want and their design solutions. Metaphors hugely powerful. Study on the solutions when presented crime as a beast or a virus.

· At inflection point of limitations and new possibilities. Add to human centered approach how would nature…..?

· Nature is a place to look for solutions.

· Nature solutions are sustainable

· Nature fascinates, unifies and motivates

· Nature is inspiring at many levels materials and metaphors.

· Nature provides new ways of thinking.

Dr. Lyn Reeser: biomimicry and money

· By 2025 report states biomimicry could bring in 30 billion per year. Plus savings of 150 billion in less destruction and CO2 reductions.

· “biomimicry is a game changer another major revolution”

· Wood welding and bone welding.

· Biomatrica - dry storage.

· Biomimicry bridge collaboration in San Diego is very focused. This area is going to prove the concept in the next few years.

· “Not about sustainability it’s about better products and services. I can’t sell sustainability. The sustainability is a beneficial by product”

· “Don’t be afraid to put together things that don’t match at all.”

James Burke: Culture of Scarcity and the history and future of innovation

· “Descartes reductionism has led to a descent into desecration of nature” There is an understanding that we need to stop and listen to nature.

· How will we deal with abundance? Possibly panarchy, how ecosystems function. Capable of self realignment in face of shock.

David Schenone: Biomimicry at the Nike Innovation kitchen

· Asafa Powel psychology wanted to look really fast. Cheetah as his animal. Analysis of the spots to come to a pattern for his signature spike.

· Fly wire from the vein structure of plants with really large leaves. Allows a large reduction in the amounts of material in a shoe.

· Venus fly trap to a visual machine for customizing shoes in an interactive way while customers wait.

· Nike free from the human foot.

· This whole journey started with his mentor who was on the design team for the 77 firebird. The rims sold the car, shape from a pine cone.

Tom McKeag: How Biomimicry

· Observe principles, then abstract and apply

· Nature builds to shape

· Always think about: Material, Information and Energy

· “surf for free”

Geckos: advancements other than feet

· Chromatophores and melanophores

· Autonomy some can re-grow their tails. Cells undergo de-differentiation and then redifferentiation.

· The spinal cord does not reform. Cool applications for moving information through nodes. How does the tail still function?

Robert Full: UC Berkley on polypedal labs

· Entering the age of biology.

· Nature tends to be small, curved human tech large, straight.

· “as human technologies take on more natural characteristics nature has more to teach us”

· Engineers have goals nature does not

· Questions to ask: 1) is it based on a principle, rather than a blind copy or a weak metaphor. 2) Is this the best organism for inspiration? 3) Are you understanding the problem at the right scale? Organism’s way to complicate and no design plans. Simplify just enough surf robots 9 joints to 2, muscle synergies. 4) Is this design compromised some way? Understand Developmental constraints and functional constraints.

· “Natures technology the only know alternative to our own.”

· Relative leg stiffness the same for all animals.

· Boston dynamics, robots rex 6 legs.

· Multi functional materials integrated and flexible. Artificial muscles and soft robotics.

· Effective interaction with the environment. Gecko feet vanderwals. Gecko glides and steer tail.

1. Demand a deeper understanding

2. Do transformative and research and be curious

3. Be mutualistic and interdisciplinary

4. Redesign education for collaboration

5. Preserve the environment for the massive innovation source it is

Life's Principles

Life's Principles: A Low growing wide branching tree

This morning I headed out to my spot in the park under gray overcast skies. I sat down in an area dominated by these interesting low growing trees. I don't think these trees are actually that low but compared to the giant eucalyptus and spruce trees in the park they look tiny. As I sat their I decided that these trees were like apartment buildings in a city. They were providing homes to many of the organisms in this system. From birds and squirrels to insects, lichens and mosses. As such I decided to dedicate this post to these organisms and some of the ways they seem to exemplify natures principles.

my spot

1) Optimizing rather than Maximising:These trees grow relatively close to the ground in some places their trunks grow parallel to the hill side. They seem to be seeking sun light. I peculate that this strategy, of reaching and spreading allows them to really efficiently harvest sunlight. The are very efficiently "fitting form to function".-Fitting form to function to optimize available space could be applied to the solar industry or what about designing cities to maximise horizontal and vertical space to ensure every one access to sunlight, fresh air, water and other resources while drastically reducing our foot print.2) Leveraging Interdependence:The branches, leaves, bark and stabilized hill side, that these trees provide are a home to many plants and animals. The trees in turn rely on nutrients provided from the break down of the "waste" these animals and plants produce.-This kind of systems thinking could help us redefine our systems for manufacturing, distribution and consumption. possibly resulting communities that function in cycles with this type of interdependence where local resources (possibly waste), is manufacture locally for local consumption.
3) Benign manufacturing: This tree constructs it self from available, renewable and non-toxic resources at ambient temperature. This tree does this because it has no choice.-Neither do we! We are going to make this planet uninhabitable, even for us, if we don't follow natures example and manufacture every thing in benign ways.

Leaf buds

4) Locally attuned and responsive: This tree times it's growth to correspond with availability of resources such as sunlight and water. Both are readily available now as the days get longer and spring brings copious rain. These trees are covered in buds and new leaves, very "resourceful and opportunistic". Even as I write this it starts to rain.

raindrops on my note book

-Just in time manufacturing can allow manufacturers to respond to demand and avoid over stock. As 3D printers and other rapid production techniques advance we will be more and more able to respond really quickly to changing local demands.

5) Integrates cyclic process: This tree recaptures and utilizes the "waste' of many organisms it supports. Even it's own leaves, which are broken down by other organisms, provide nutrients that the tree uses to produce new leaves. Over and over again.
-Much like benign manufacturing, cyclic process must be integrated into all our production flows. Our insistence an maximising through put of resources in our economies means we are on a trajectory to run out of resources. Mining our landfills for resources and hopefully putting these resources into cycles.

6) Resilient: The leaves of these trees are a prefect example of redundancy. Many, many leaves means the tree can afford to loss some with out catastrophe.
-Imagine a solar power system for your house that only needed half of its cells to provide enough energy for your needs. How much more reliable would system like this be than one that had to run all it's cells? Storms, clouds no problem!

Thanks

Biomatrica case study

Biomimetic Case Study

This week it was difficult for me to choose which example of biomimicry I wanted to present here. Last week I attended the San Diego Zoo Biomimicry Conference. Two solid days hearing and talking about biomimicry. There were examples from educators, design firms like IDEO and corporations like Qualcom and Nike. Biomimicry applied to the tech industry, the sports industry, biotech and medical industries. Alas I had to choose one.

Biomatrica

Biomatrica is a biotech company that provides storage and stabilization solutions for biological materials. Instead of shipping on dry ice and storage in freezers, biomatrica's products allow room temperature storage. This allows for reduced energy use due to the elimination of refrigeration. Shipping becomes much cheaper and easier. For example Stanford University estimates that switching to room temperature stability would save them 16 million dollars over 10 years. The fact the no cold chain is required makes the chances of sample damage much less. This has applications not only in academic lab settings but also for forensics labs. In addition this type of product could greatly aid the distribution and access to medications in the third world where cold storage is often impossible.http://www.biomatrica.com/technology.php

This product was inspired by anydrobiosis, the ability of some organisms to survive being completely dried out for long periods of time. Tartigrades are an example of this type of organism. The creators of SampleMatrix the technology sold by Biomatrica also looked at the Resurrection Fern and Brine shrimp among others.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-mqNKvdcaI1sdySRNjq1X67IvbyCmWCh7ywQxfhD0TdB5jyNckC0PTIs7CEFhs-Olxa3vBOhhWVNkmte7MwdgxhUn2wXkELHCJHO8Om-76L7Gt5hmCEbIPi7cE2-gtzZELuKun8zPcGO/s1600/after+and+before.JPG

Rolf Muller and Judy Muller-Cohn a husband and wife team of laboratory scientists needed their own solution for sample storage. They were inspired by sea monkeys at a toy store. Sea monkeys are actually dried up brine shrimp that come to life when water is added. They studied the mechanisms that make this possible in nature and built a company, Biomatrica, around their discovery.

http://pistolshrimp.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/tardigrade.jpg

The amazing function behind this innovation is Anydrobiosis, or life without water. Tartigrades for example have been know to completely dry out for as many as 120 years and amazingly when water is added they come to life. Additional information can be found at Asknature.org as well as on Biometrica's website.

Observing for Function

My trip to the park this morning was a little soggy, thought the rain conveniently cleared up as soon as I was done. Now looks like the rest of the day is going to be beautiful.

This massive Eucalyptus captured my attention. As I approached I noticed that half the tree had died and fallen. This huge tree is really only half the size it once was. As I got closer I could see the ground littered with strips of bark, most rolled up into tube like shapes. I looked up into the tree and could see the bark in the process of peeling off the trunk. The wind even blew some down while I was there. I thought that this bark peeling is the STRATEGY the tree is using to protect itself. Protection being the FUNCTION. The tree might be applying the strategy of shedding bark to maintain it's physical integrity.
Why does the tree need this function? Here in San Francisco the climate is fairly warm and fairly wet, very conducive to many forms of life both plant and animal. The smooth sides of the eucalyptus could reduce the opportunities for insects to attack the tree. The bark shedding could be simply a way to maintain this smoothness as the tree grows.

Though what if as insects or fungus attacked the tree and penetrated the bark the bark simply peeled off and feel to the ground. This could prevent the invaders from penetrating to and impeding the function of the vascular system.
Many organisms employ the strategy of shedding their outer layers. Even us humans are constantly shedding skin and hair. Both insects and reptiles shed their outer layers as they grow. All organisms have the need to maintain their physical integrity against both biotic and abiotic factors.

Implications for sustainable design are likely numerous. This type of strategy might be applied to structures to prevent biotic invasion and loss of structural integrity. In this way we would avoid having to apply pesticides or other chemical or high energy mechanical means of protection. I was also thinking that this idea could be applied such that high wear products such as bearings or pistons that require a smooth surface could constantly shed and regenerate the wear surface. This would greatly increase the life of the product. The less often we have to replace these the better.
The first place I went for more information was asknature.org which yielded some information about the fire resistance of Eucalyptus. PDF version below.
Near my house I have the Sf botanical gardens and the California Academy of Science. Both these places are great resources for biological information.

Thanks for following.

Lorris

Biomimicry Basics 2

Bikes And Cycles:

Life works in cycles. My bike is propelled by a cycle. This is an extremely efficient and robust mode of transportation. The way I service my bike is in cycles. The routs that my bike transports me on are cycles, too and from places.

http://antbikemike.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/basket-bike-08-014.jpg

The manufacturing of my bicycle is not cyclical. Even it's parts are not made in cyclical ways. When a tire wears out it is discarded and while there are attempts to recycle tires they generally are down cycles. That is the recycled material is less useful than the original and still destined for the landfill. A bike manufactured as a part of an industrial ecology, where all it's materials were in a cycle of their own would be much more sustainable.

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/industrial-ecology.jpg

I also wish my bike could be a part of more of my weekly cycles, too and from school with tools, the grocery store or even longer trips like vacations. Maybe a bike like this.

From huntercycles.com

Thanks

Patterns at Mount Sutro

Short video showing patterns I heard, felt and saw. At Mount Sutro in San Francisco this morning.

BIO-WHAT? Biomimicry Basics

In this blog post I will be discussing the Whats, Whys and Hows of Biomimicry. After watching some video interviews of Janine Benyus, as well as one of her TED talks, reading the first chapter of her book (Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature) as well as a Biomimicry primer she wrote, I will be synthesising some of the concepts presented and communicating them here. This post will be an effort to compellingly and succinctly introduce biomimicry.

What is biomimicry?

• To quote Janine Benyus at its most basic Biomimicry is "learning an idea from an organism and applying it".
• The idea behind biomimicry is that nature has already solved a lot of the problems that currently plaque us: energy sources and production, food production, shelter, micro and macro climate control, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, etc. So why not tap into what nature has already discovered and tested over 3.8 billion years of natural selection?
• In the biomimicry primer Janine Benyus introduces the idea that there are three levels of biomimicry: The first is to imitate natural forms, this does not necessarily result in green solutions. The second is to be inspired by natural processes, how nature makes things, this adds a level of authenticity to the first level.The third is to imitate the systems of Natural Ecosystems, this should result in a closed loop economy. The three together result in a really honest application of natures ideas.

A picture I saw this morning on design boom, helmet inspired by
an armadillo from:http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat
/8/view/13767/modern-bicycle-helmets.html

Why biomimicry now?

• In the first chapter of her book Janine Benyus speculates "My guess is that Homo Industrialis, having reached the limits of natures tolerance, is seeing his shadow on the wall". As we see the cumulative effects of our existence take hold of the planet and these effects increasingly manifest in ways that negatively effect our and our planets mates abilities to flourish we are starting to look for alternatives. How can we change our relationship with the planet (our home).
• Species are disappearing rapidly. Possibly as many as 25% of species on the earth will be extinct in the next few decades. This will represent the loss of a huge wealth of information and design opportunities.
  
• A rapid acceleration of the volume of knowledge in the biological sciences gives us an unprecedented access to nature's success full designs.

What are nature's common principles?

• Janine Benyus talks about the necessity for every natural organism to meet their needs while ensuring that they preserve or improve the place their offspring will successfully reproduce in. She says "life creates conditions conducive to like".
• All organisms face the same struggles for: food, water, space and shelter. All organisms(with the possible exception of HUMANS) accomplish this while: running on sunlight, using only essential energy, fitting form to function, recycling everything, rewarding cooperation, banking on diversity, demanding local expertise, curbing excess(self limiting) and using limits as opportunities.

What does nature as mentor, measure and model mean?

• In the Biomimicry Primer by Janine Benyus this question is answered by posing 3 questions. Biomimicry is exploring problems and solutions by asking these questions:
• "What would nature do here?" Nature as Model
• "What wouldn't nature do?" Nature as Measure
• Why would or wouldn't nature do this? Nature as Mentor
• The idea is to move from a human centric perspective to one where we see our selves as a part of nature.

How will biomimicry influence the field of sustainable design?

• Biomimicry is integrative it offers solutions in context. The context that the earth is our home and just like our personal residences we have to take care of it.
• We are as a species have struggled, since the development of agriculture to break free of ecological laws. In order to be sustainable we must(just like all of our planet mates) operate within these rules. Biomimicry offers a way to reconnect with these laws.

What can designers learn from the natural world?

• The most basic thing we can learn from nature is integration. In nature everything fits in, a part of a massive system that is tested and proven(over a few billion years) to work. Our current path is an experiment with a new way and preliminary results suggest strongly that it is not working!
• The areas where nature has the most to offer us is where our approach is the opposite to nature's. For example our economies focus on maximising through put, nature focuses on cycles, very little input very little out put. Nature selects for integrative systems.

Picture from: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National

-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2009/Mimicking-Mother-Nature.aspx

What can industry learn from the natural world?

• If you want to be around for a long time you need to mimic a mature ecosystem. Industry needs to become a massive interconnected network.
• In a mature ecosystem there is no "waste". Manufacturing needs to be designed such that waste becomes a resource. Eco-parks are a move in this direction.
  
• Nature manufactures with sunlight in conditions friendly to life. Industry, if it wants to stay here, must learn to produce in this way.

Picture from:http://www.taiganova.com/site/networking.asp

What can designers learn from biologists?

• Earlier we talked about nature facing the same problems we do. Nature is a massive collection of successful solutions to these problems.
• Biologists study these solutions and their combined knowledge of them doubles every 5 years. As designers we have the opportunity to tap into this huge resource by, as Janine Benyus says, "having biologists at the design table".
• Nature has brilliantly "made a world that works". Biologists study this world. As designers we make our world, it is ignorant to do this with our looking at how nature has accomplished so much. Biologist offer a portal to this knowledge.
  

What has changed in the last decade since Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature was written?

• The amount of biomimetic research has increased.
• There has been a movement from research to implementation of biomimicry.
• The sources of funding have moved from being primarily public(military and transportation/energy departments) to increasing private R&D. From the Biomimicry Primer.

What is asknature.org?

• Asknature is an open online source of natural solutions. A place where people can go to find out how nature solves problems.
• It also has a networking aspect where you can connect with fellow biomimics.

Biomimicry is a method of utilizing the rich collection of design solutions that are represented in the natural world. Through the it's application biomimicry also encourages us to again become a part of the natural world. To be a productive cog in the system of nature that has worked so well for so long.
Do I see biomimicry as a tool to help us move toward environmentally and socially sustainable design? Yes! But much more than that. I love to be out side and am constantly amazed by the accomplishments visible in nature. I think that biomimicry offers us a chance to inspire and amaze through design in a way that will result in consumers demanding these designs and in using these designs people will celebrate being part of nature.

Thanks for following along.

Nature Journaling

Mount Sutro:

• This is Mount Sutro. A Park owned and maintained my UCSF. It is a large forested park behind UCSF hospital a 5 minute walk from my apartment.Mostly heavily forested with some more open areas around the edges.

• Dirt and gravel paths run through the park.

• This area is very hilly and lush. The forest is dominated by huge old Eucalyptus trees. Obviously not native to this part of the world these trees were planted all over San Francisco in the late 19th century by Adolph Sutro.

• This first observation was conducted in a fairly clear area near the edge of the forest.

• This is where I sat on the remnants of a brick ring that circled the tree before the tree out grew it. Makes me wonder about trying to control or confine nature.

• Sunny, warm day with just a hint of wind from the north west. It has been raining for a few weeks and everything seems so lush. How has the activity changed with this new weather?

• I can hear birds high in the tree canopy and occasionally see them flit about. What is all their chatter about?

• I still hear the traffic on a nearby road.

• I can faintly make out the rustling of the grass and bushes as the wind passes

• I see grasses, low vines with shiny green leaves even the single vine has a multitude of shades of green.

• Can smell rotting material under the grass. Some fallen eucalyptus leaves and branches.

• Under the grass are other plants trying to grow. Will they emerge from the shade of the grass?

• Is the tall grass weakening this tiny blackberry bush and resulting in it being eaten by insects?

• Will this bush survive to shade out the grass?

• In a crack in that crumbling brick wall I sat on, this beautiful little patch of moss is growing.

• Can we learn about building or growing things in constrained places from this organism.

• How is the moss attached, how does it get water and nutrients?

• Looking at the bark on the tree I saw this small insect. I believe it is a Rove beetle.

• What happened next confirmed this.
  

• I guess I got too close taking this picture.

• Rove beetles are know to cure their abdomens up in a way that looks like they are going to sting. Just a bluff though these insects don't sting. What can we learn from this protective bluff? Applications in safety maybe instead of warning signs things can be made to look dangerous?

• Under some of the really smooth vine leaves I found this. Looks like spit. Has little yellow flecks in it.

• How does this adhere? Is it protecting some thing? Does it hurt the leaf?
  

Can we develop exude-able temporary structures?
This post feels to me like a bunch of really random observations, Sorry for that. I got really engrossed in examining closely what was happening in these different small scale habitats. On in and around the bark, under the grass and on the bottom of the leaves.
Stay Tuned for more next week!

Introductory Biomimicry for Designers Post

This is my initial post for the biomimicry for designers class. This blog will get more interesting!