Learning from Nature’s Genius

Can we learn from nature to solve some of life’s most challenging problems? In this episode, Dr. Dayna Baumeister, the co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8, joins us. She is dedicated to applied natural history and passionate about sharing nature’s genius. The Wise Effort Show is all about using your energy wisely, and there’s a lot we can learn from nature about how to do that. Let’s see what we can learn from nature’s genius.

We have been talking a lot about this concept of genius—the genius energy inside you, your talents, your strengths, that wisdom within that can propel you forward in life but also trip you up. Today, we explore what we can learn from nature’s genius to help us solve some of humanity’s most challenging problems. The discussion delves into the principles of biomimicry and how they can be applied to psychology, problem-solving, communication, and adapting to change.

Dr. Baumeister has worked in biomimicry with her business partner, Janine Benyus. Since 1998, they have used biomimicry in education, research, and design and have helped more than a hundred companies consult the natural world for elegant and sustainable design solutions, including Microsoft, Nike, Interface, General Mills, Boeing, Kohler, Seventh Generation, and Proctor and Gamble.

We are going to talk all about biomimicry. What is it? How can we learn from nature? We’re going to apply some of these concepts to psychology. Let’s see what we can learn from nature’s genius about how to adapt to change and respond to stress about communication, trust, and even dying?

Listen and Learn

Examples of Biomimicry in Action
Psychological Insights from Nature
Adapting to Change: Lessons from Nature
Exploring Trust in Nature and Human Relationships
Lessons from Nature on Death and Dying
How to Engage with Biomimicry in Everyday Life

Dr. Baumeister shares insights from her extensive work in the field, providing examples of nature-inspired innovations and touching on deeper themes like trust, stress management, and even perspectives on death.

About Dayna Baumeister

Dr. Dayna Baumeister is the Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8. With a devotion to applied natural history and a passion for sharing the genius of nature, Dayna has worked in the field of biomimicry with business partner Janine Benyus since 1998, traveling the world as a biomimicry thought-leader, business consultant, and professor. Together they founded the Biomimicry Guild consulting practice, The Biomimicry Institute 501c3, and in 2010, Biomimicry 3.8, a B-Corp social enterprise that helps clients find innovation inspired by nature and offers the highest level of biomimicry training to professionals worldwide.

Her fascination with the natural world began with daily forays into the woods and mountains around her childhood home in Colorado. Since, Dayna has fused a lifelong fascination with nature into a career that began after she received a B.S. in marine biology from New College in Sarasota, Florida. After several years of exploring the intricate relationships of coral reefs, she turned in her wetsuit and headed back to the mountains. She earned an M.S. in resource conservation and a Ph.D. in organismic biology and ecology from The University of Montana in Missoula, where she specialized in the dynamics of positive interactions among animal and plant life.

It’s Time To Ask Nature

The Biomimicry Center at Arizona State University

Biomimicry 3.8

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