The Biomimicry Institute

When Sudoc was selected as a Top-Ten Nature Inspired Innovation by The Biomimicry Institute, I had no idea of the power their programming would bring to us. First of all, by taking this group of founders to the Redwoods of Northern California provided a natural space to reflect on the development of our company with others in the same crazy start-up game. To retreat with such insightful folks opened up space to see our company in a different light and bring our themes of nature to the fore of our commercial approach. The Sudoc story is a nature story and The Biomimicry Institute helped us to understand ourselves in more powerful ways. Forever grateful.

This institute is future-thinking, forward-moving just by nature of what their focus and integration of what we is needed in the world with the ideas and solution that are right in front of us if we slow down enough to plan our next steps in so many areas- agriculture and food for us all, cultural cohesiveness and our connection to each other and nature, sensible and sustainable technologies, identifying industrial practices that just don’t make sense, transforming our educational system so we all, young and older, are interested and moving in the same direction for the benefit of all.

I write from the experience of Dr. Benyus' first speech that heralded the word Biomimicry in Atlanta, GA many years ago to the journey of learning, being many supporting roles that will never be written about and putting my money where my mouth is as an annual donor .

Now qualified to address this question from a point of view over time, the greatest honor I can express to The Biomimicry Institute is I found my way back to knowing of the magnificent in living systems on earth and the restoration of my being deep in the heart's breath unclouded by damaged perceptions of life on this planet.

Words that come to mind about the Institute.....integrity, grit, regenerative, sustainable, well being, good-will, care, authentic, forward focused, leaders building today with a deep embrace into the generations that follow, strong hold for humanity's creativity to flourish, the restoration of awe and wonder in our relationship with nature and there is more.....so much more!

I doing my best to convince the policy makers that municipal waste is asource of energy. To get the best results we need to separete the waste, with sorted waste we can achive best environment.

Biomimicri enstitüsü, çevresel sürdürülebilirlik temalı projemi geliştirme aşamasında tanıştığım güzellik.
Doğanın ilham verici güzelliklerini bizlere doğanın sürprizleri gibi karşımıza çıkarıyor. Yeni içerikler, araştırmalar, doğadan ilham alınarak geliştirilen icatlar...Doğanın ne kadar mucizevi, enteresan olduğunu bizlere yaşatıyor.

I love your philosophy about respect for nature and observing it to imitate its processes. There is no better teacher than nature, which has been evolving for hundreds of years.
The work you are doing is a huge challenge, but I think it is progressing incredibly. Every day there are more of us who are convinced that the only way to survive is to be in harmony with nature.

i learn lot of in this concept. Really it is a new concept for me. only four years back i heared this word biomimicry. then i search in web i learn lot. Now i correlate with my old learning and use it in my talk.
Thanking you

The information they provide is stellar, practical, and so very much needed in this world where humans exploit the environment. Their approach to taking care of the Earth, biomimicry, should be a part of all school curriculums.

I love The Biomimicry Institute. The people that make it up, the principles they have built upon, and the community and technologies that they fostering are all top notch. Finding paths that align our modern world and the joys and benefits that it provides with the wisdom, efficiency, and inherent beauty of Nature and its systems is an incredible mission.

Our collaboration with the Biomimicry Institute within the Ray of Hope Accelerator has been invaluable to CompPair’s growth in 2023. The program’s structured support and the team’s expertise provided us with critical insights into integrating sustainability with innovation. The focus on community-building allowed us to connect with other forward-thinking companies, expanding our network and knowledge. We applaud the Biomimicry Institute for their commitment to advancing nature-inspired solutions and are grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a transformative initiative.

Our journey with the Biomimicry Institute and the Ray of Hope Accelerator in 2023 has been instrumental in BloomX's development. The program's structured approach and the team's expertise provided us with valuable insights into sustainable innovation. The emphasis on community building fostered meaningful connections with like-minded innovators, enriching our experience. We commend the Biomimicry Institute for their dedication to advancing nature-inspired solutions and are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this transformative initiative.

The Biomimicry Institute is a a unique institution that opens up new opportunities to utilize nature to design the future of the planet. Biomimicry is an under utilized principle in the quest to design and develop new technologies that will decarbonize and detoxify the planet whilst also showcasing the power of nature to deliver new performance benefits that cannot be realized with traditional approaches. Keep up the good work!

Infinite Cooling hash had a great experience working with The Biomimicry Institute. We were part of the Ray of Hope Accelerator program. As a participant, we directly benefited from their exceptional leadership development, mentorship, and invaluable connections to investors and strategic partners. Their efforts in providing media visibility and showcasing startups like ours have significantly amplified our mission to revolutionize water savings in industrial cooling. They continue to provide support even after the program officially ended.

Participating in the Ray of Hope Prize program has been a pivotal moment for Strong by Form, propelling the company to new heights. The experience not only provided valuable exposure but also opened doors to crucial network connections that have been instrumental in our growth. Notably, the Biomimicry Institute became our first client, purchasing a sample that proved to be a catalyst for further success. This initial sale enabled us to secure over $300,000 in grants, significantly boosting our research and development capabilities. The program's impact extended beyond immediate financial gains, as evidenced by the remarkable achievements of the 2022 cohort at the 2023 Hello Tomorrow event. Three companies from our cohort, including Strong by Form, emerged victorious in their respective categories, underscoring the program's role in nurturing and showcasing groundbreaking nature-inspired innovations. This success not only validates our technology but also highlights the Ray of Hope Prize's effectiveness in identifying and supporting ventures with the potential to revolutionize industries through biomimicry.

We have had a great experience in all our dealings with the Biomimicry Institute over the years. Even years after our inception and original engagement they have continued to be helpful and support of our team and our goals. We look forward to continuing our relationship in a mutually symbiotic way as they pursue such a great cause.

Chad Wasilenkoff, CEO-Helicoid Industries Inc.

The Biomimicry Institute is made up of committed, creative collaborators who are dedicated to inspiring the world. They offer a multitude of high-quality resources to support young and old alike. I have worked with them since the Institute was established in the mid-2000s. They continually adapt and grow to set the standard for integrating biomimicry into human thinking while always emphasizing the necessity of supporting life on our planet. They are paradigm shifters shining a light for the rest of us.

As a donor, I am thrilled to support an organization where I find so much inspiration. From AskNature to the Ray of Hope Accelerator, the Biomimicry Institute is leading the way into a nature-inspired world.

I believe that biomimicry will become one of the major waves of our future, reversing the historical trends of trying to "dominate nature", and instead putting humankind back on track in studing the ingenious infinite coping mechanisms that nature has developed over the eons. Kudos to the Instutite of Biomimicry!


-Rich Wenzel

When I first heard about Biomimicry and wanted to integrate it into my classroom curricula I had to do all the research myself. Now with the creation of the Biomimicry Institute and the Ask Nature resource I am able to bring incredible resources to my lessons.

I am certain that the study and practice of biomimicry in everything we do, business, product design, food production, housing, education--is essential. The Institute of Biomimicry is the organization providing the education, training, network, and awareness to make this happen in society. I have a consumer product prototype. I am determined to integrate bio-inspired principles to solve our design challenges. The Institute has continually provided the expertise, research support, and direct outreach to help me find a designer--which is the make-or-break reality of this project. Because of their personal commitment and stellar professionalism, I am educating myself about how to find biomimicry solutions in my work. The Biomimicry Institute holds, without a doubt, the answers to what we unnecessarily grapple with about environmental and economic recovery.

I came across The Biomimicry Institute a few years ago as I was preparing to teach a high school course on biomimicry. New to the field, but excited to dive in, I contacted TBI so see if they had any curricular materials they were willing to share. When they learned that I was planning to teach a semester-length course for high schoolers on biomimicry, they invited me to share my own materials with them for dissemination to other teachers, as they had little in the way of high school curriculum. Sam Stier, their Education Director, was great. He was supportive and encouraging. After seeing what my students produced, he invited me to attend TBI's education summit and to present my students' work. The summit was full of really interesting presentations and networking opportunities. Since then, I have seen many of the initiatives discussed at the summit implemented - the "Ask Nature" website and the certificate program in Biomimicry. This is an organization that is making things happen!

I have been involved in biomimicry since before the Biomimicry Institute was officially established and have watched it grow into a network of passionate facilitators that have become a crucial resource for teaching biomimicry to University students at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada. The Biomimicry Institute has been instrumental in offering support to our faculty and students, developing curriculum and establishing research projects and networks. Our students have been involved in the Student Challenges, which is leading to ongoing research and potential internships for our students. Through the Biomimicry Institute we have established a broad network of educators across North America and Europe that has helped validate and support our research and curriculum efforts.

The Biomimicry Institute put us in touch with Christopher Viney at UC Merced. They also helped us develop our online and hands-on biomimicry activities. Christoper Viney was a total pleasure to work with. He collaborated with our winner to create a bio-inspired design - the Floppy Flyer. It resulted in a citizen science call to action on our website. For Videos of Christopher and our Biomimicry winner visit kidssciencechallenge.com. We launch a new challenge on October 1st, so after that date the videos and activities will be in our archive. The Biomimicry Institute made much of this possible, and we're extremely grateful!

The Biomimicry Institute promotes learning from nature to create more sustainable human designs. Telling the best stories nature has to offer, provides an ever important vehicle to get our young people inspired to look at the world through a different lens; a lens that sees the amazing design lessons nature has to offer, a lens that sees we humans are just a part of nature, a lens that is inspired about what the future has to offer.

The Biomimicry Institute has been a great resource for us as we design programs around the topic of biomimicry. In 2011 we will offer an entire overnight experience that is supplemented with educational material and insight from the institute. What was most helpful was their educator's conference in 2010, which provided an enlightening and inspiring experience for us as we entered the early stages of development. We are very excited to share our program with the institute and get useful feedback from them in the near future.

Working with The Biomimicry Institute (TBI) has given us the opportunity to bring our laboratory research to a general public audience, enhancing the visibility and usefulness of our research beyond academia and industry. The free, online database of sustainable technologies inspired by nature (www.AskNature.org) is unlike any other resource out there. TBI is also helping us to create a physics lesson plan based on our research for high school teachers, connecting laboratory research to youth education. We envision that partnerships like ours will enhance the level of science available to the public, and increase scientific and engineering awareness.

The Biomicry institute assisted me in preparing a middle school museum visit about biodiversity. Biomimicry forms a core of the visit as it is a great way to give students tools to look at nature's genious and to have hope forour future.

The Biomimicry Institute Provided information about biomimicry and lesson plans for helping teachers do design-based classroom lessons around biomimicry. The Biomimicry Institute has been very proactive in providing us with appropriate materials and helping us make the best use of materials form the Biomimicry web site. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Institute.

I first heard about Biomimicry at the annual Bioneers Conference in 2002 and was immediately drawn to the notion of innovation inspired by nature. Since its founding in 2004, the Biomimicry Institute has actively promoted the concept of learning from and then emulating natural forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable and healthier human technologies and designs. The organization has grown to a team of eleven full time staff with programs spanning K-12 to professional education. Our "Ask Nature" database is a first of its kind resource that organizes biological knowledge by function.