Accelerating Biomimicry
Education and
Entrepreneurship
BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT 2015-16
PICTURE THIS:
AGE 8: You and your classmates are on a biomimicry walk where you are asked
by your teacher, “How does nature stay warm?” You look down and notice a fuzzy
down bird feather. Something clicks as you realize that the natural world does
nearly everything our man-made world does.
“Biomimicry is no
longer just a new
way to see and
value nature, it
is also our path
to survival.”
- Janine Benyus
AGE 19: You’re in college and, having now spent years practicing the process
of learning from nature instead of only about nature, you decide to enter the
Biomimicry Global Design Challenge. You and your team develop a forest-inspired
way of redesigning a city block.
AGE 31: You’re an engineer and, because of your skill in biomimicry, you were
chosen to lead an innovation team. When you can’t get outside, your tool of
choice is AskNature, replete with 3D models of bird bones and feathers, termite
mounds, and a few thousand other natural organisms. Your clients are thrilled
because biomimetic inventing yields more radical, more beautiful, more hopeful
solutions than what is being replaced. You feel your eight year-old self would be
quite proud.
These experiences are happening by the hundreds, but they could be happening
by the hundreds of thousands, or even millions. How different would our world
be if education changed at this scale? Every student would graduate high school
“bio-lingual.” Budding entrepreneurs would know how to ask nature for design
guidance and have wide-ranging support to bring their innovations to market.
Industry would change because employees would have a shared vision of a
circular economy that functions like a healthy forest.
This is the future that we’re working towards. Through our platforms - youth
education, the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, and AskNature.org - we’re
creating a critical mass of new thinkers, confident in how to translate nature’s
design principles to create a better world.
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
2
Biomimicry
Global Design
Challenge
SUPPORTING NATURE-INSPIRED
ENTREPRENEURS WORLDWIDE
From humble beginnings as a project-based
learning exercise for select university partners, the
Biomimicry Global Design Challenge has grown into
an international design competition and entrepreneur
accelerator program that crowdsources nature-inspired
solutions and helps bring them to markets where they
are needed the most. With the support of the Ray C.
Anderson Foundation, the Challenge is not only a
platform for students and professionals to directly apply
biomimicry solutions to sustainability challenges such as
climate change and food system issues, but a pathway
for biomimicry entrepreneurs to receive support to
bring their innovations to life.
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
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Design Challenge
BIOMIMICRY GLOBAL DESIGN CHALLENGE
2011- PRESENT
OUTCOMES
6
38
DESIGN
CHALLENGES*
BIOMIMICRY GLOBAL
NETWORKS
(36 regional and two
professional) amplify the
Challenge’s reach.
over
350
1,829
MENTORS AND
ADVISORS
PARTICIPANTS
44
360
COUNTRIES
SUBMISSIONS
50%
IN PRIZE MONEY AWARDED
SINCE 2011
*From 2008-2010, TBI ran two affiliate university student-only challenges.
5
THE BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE
CAMILA HERNÁNDEZ (CHILE), BIONURSE TEAM LEADER,
WINNER OF THE 2016 RAY OF HOPE PRIZE™.
50% of participants continued working
with biomimicry after graduation.
14%
“The Challenge helped me to realize what I want to do in my future
life. Professionally, before the BGDC, I had been a designer and
educator that was more theoretically based. Over the last year, I
learned so many new skills. In September 2015, I did not even know
what the word “pitch” meant. Now we are presenting our project in
front of famous investors.”
ZUZANA TONČÍKOVÁ (SLOVAKIA), BIOCULTIVATOR TEAM LEADER,
2015-16 BIOMIMICRY ACCELERATOR
14% of respondents continued to
evolve their submissions, pursuing
thesis studies, prototypes and
field tests, partnerships, patents,
venture capital, and market launch.
BIOMIMICRY ACCELERATOR
(2015-2016)
13 Accelerator teams
$249,750
“The Challenge gives you an opportunity to work with people that
believe in your project. Plus, the feedback you get from the people
involved in the Challenge helps you to keep going forward. [The
Challenge is] a real test of your abilities, and you learn to explain to
others why you believe in what you are doing.”
From 9 countries
5 businesses launched
3 active and pending patents
$100,000 Ray of Hope TM
grand prize
2015-2016 HIGHLIGHT
In October 2016, the first $100,000 Ray C. Anderson
Foundation Ray of Hope Prize™ was awarded to BioNurse,
a team from CERES, Valparaíso’s Regional Center for Fruit
and Vegetable Innovation in Chile. By mimicking the way
hardy “nurse” plants establish themselves in degraded
soils and pave the way for new plant species to grow, the
team created a way to grow and protect new plants and
ensure that the soil can be regenerated to feed our world’s
growing population.
117 press mentions
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
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AskNature
A PORTAL FOR BIOMIMICRY DISCOVERY
AskNature is the most comprehensive and accessible
online catalog of nature’s solutions to human design
challenges. In the fall of 2016, the Institute released
a brand-new version of AskNature, with an improved
navigation and search experience that is fast, mobile
friendly, and contains new tools that make it easy
for members to collect, create, and share content.
This upgrade paves the way for more nature-based
design strategies, greater collaborative power among
biomimics, and thousands of innovative ideas, just
waiting to be discovered.
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
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AskNature
75,000+
60,000
SESSIONS
EACH YEAR
UNIQUE VISITORS
EACH MONTH
900+
55%
NEW ACCOUNTS
CREATED EACH
MONTH
VISITS FROM
OUTSIDE USA
30,000+
12.8 MILLION
REGISTERED
USERS
PAGE VIEWS SINCE 2008
ASKNATURE
“Often students think that everything has been invented already and
that the way we do things is the only way. AskNature shows [students]
that they can be tomorrow’s innovators, that innovation can be done
sustainably, creatively, and beautifully, and that you can feel good about
a product, a process, a system. AskNature shows us how to be a partner
with nature rather than an owner of nature.”
LAUNCHED IN 2008
MARJAN EGGERMONT, ASSOCIATE DEAN (STUDENT AFFAIRS),
SCHULICH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
“AskNature is a great tool for learning, for ideation, and for fulfilling
personal curiosities. These are the benefits that are seen at first
glance; however, the most valuable thing that it does when people
use it is that it makes you aware of how everything is connected.
Not only does it show you how we should be working together with
nature, but also how we can learn to work better with each other.”
JORGE ZAPOTE, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
75+ CONTENT
CONTRIBUTORS
1,682
199
15
97
BIOLOGICAL
STRATEGIES
COLLECTIONS
2015-2016 HIGHLIGHT
INSPIRED IDEAS/
PRODUCTS
EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES
OVER 1150 VOLUNTEER
HOURS FOR CONTENT
DEVELOPMENT
In fall 2016, AskNature.org launched its most significant
update since its creation in 2008. Now, AskNature not
only offers a smoother search and navigation experience,
but all registered users can now create and share life’s
strategy pages with the world, connect with the AskNature
community, curate collections, create groups, and
contribute new ideas.
Figures reflect status as of February 2017
9
THE BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
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Biomimicry
Education
CREATING A NEW GENERATION OF
NATURE-INSPIRED INNOVATORS
Education is at the root of everything we do at the
Biomimicry Institute. Our education initiatives amplify
the impacts of AskNature and the Biomimicry Global
Design Challenge by nurturing a continuum of natureinspired innovators and educators who see that a better
world is possible, and have the knowledge and capacity
to bring it forth. The cornerstone of this effort is our
Biomimicry Education Network, a thriving community
of youth and university educators sharing and
implementing biomimicry lessons and programs. We
also partner with leaders in youth education to create
new biomimicry-based science curricula and accelerate
the adoption of biomimicry in STEM education, provide
a robust how-to “Toolbox” of resources to support
Challenge participants, and offer one-of-a-kind business
training in the Biomimicry Accelerator program.
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
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Biomimicry Education
The Vision
How We’re Making
it Happen
K-12
HELPING EDUCATORS GET THEIR
STUDENTS TO “THINK OUTSIDE”
Every student
graduates high school
“bio-lingual” - able to
see and appreciate
the sustainable
technology in nature.
• Biomimicry curricula and training in
partnership with national and regional
education organizations.
• Resources, lesson plans, professional
development, and education summits.
• The Biomimicry Education Network
(5,500 members and growing).
UNIVERSITY
Future innovators
and entrepreneurs
have the resources
and knowledge they
need to incorporate
biomimicry into their
chosen careers.
PROFESSIONAL
Professionals from
all fields are able to
create solutions to
pervasive sustainability
problems by looking
to nature as a guide.
13
THE BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE
CREATING PLATFORMS TO
SUPPORT LEARNERS OF ALL AGES
BIOMIMICRY EDUCATION
“Biomimicry opens our eyes to the reality that many human challenges
have a correlation in nature, and natural organisms have already come
up with solutions that are far more elegant and sophisticated than
our own could ever be. This way of thinking that has humans working
with, instead of against, nature, is an exciting, empowering, and everadaptable tool for students to use as they set about creating a future for
themselves, no matter which field they enter.”
JENJI HENSON, CHIEF OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,
ECORISE YOUTH INNOVATIONS
“The process or journey of engaging in biomimicry, creative problem
solving, and teamwork will be invaluable to students as they move
forward in life and careers. It will help them learn to live in the “fuzzy
zone” of uncertainty with more comfort, and this can open up space for
truly creative thought processes.”
DOROTHY GINNETT, SCIENCE CURRICULUM SPECIALIST AND GIFTED &
TALENTED EDUCATION COORDINATOR, COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES AGENCY #5, PORTAGE, WISCONSIN
• AskNature.org, which includes a
new resource library for educators
and learners.
• The Biomimicry Toolbox, an online
quick-start guide to biomimicry.
SUPPORTING EMERGING
BIOMIMICRY INNOVATORS AND
ENTREPRENEURS
• The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge,
a project-based learning tool and
innovation driver.
• The Biomimicry Accelerator, a program
2015-2016 HIGHLIGHT
In 2016, the Institute collaborated with EcoRise Youth
Innovations to author a biomimicry-based high school
science curriculum that reinforces core content in
chemistry, physics, and biology. An additional design
challenge module prepares students to enter the
Biomimicry Global Design Challenge or pursue a similar
project in which they apply biomimicry to a design
problem of their choosing.
that helps bring biomimetic innovations
to market.
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
14
2015 Financials
Financials &
Support
EXPENSE BY PROJECT
REVENUE BY SOURCE
2015
Grants
76%
Corporate Giving
1%
Major Donors
8%
Individual Supporters
2%
10% Communications & Outreach
Sponsorships
2%
12% Fundraising
Earned Income
10%
20% AskNature
43% Education & Design Challenges
9% Biomimicry Global Networks
6% Admin & Finance
2016 Financials
EXPENSE BY PROJECT
REVENUE BY SOURCE
2016
Grants
68%
Corporate Giving
0%
Major Donors
13%
Individual Supporters
3%
9% Communications & Outreach
Sponsorships
3%
18% Fundraising
Earned Income
12%
21% AskNature
43% Education & Design Challenges
2% Biomimicry Global Networks
7% Admin & Finance
2015-2016 IMPACT REPORT
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