Nature has the best R&D in the world. We can learn from it. 

We often think of collabs as an abbreviation for “collaboration” in today’s truncated instant messaging world.  That’s cool with us, but the origin of the concept came from the New York City artists’ group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines back in 1977. Today, many are referring to “coopetition” as a new way of collaboration between competitors, in the hope of mutually beneficial results.

But rather than collaborating with competitors, what if we collaborated with nature in the hope of mutually beneficial results? Forestry does just that by being regenerative by nature. 
When you think of the lumber industry, the first images that come to mind aren’t usually of scientists in lab coats, engineers designing prototypes, or technologists slaving over data sets.  We generally think of flannel-clad lumberjacks taking down trees with powerful saws, huge sawmills cutting massive trees into neatly stacked boards, and construction workers building a new home from the foundation up.  Truth is…they’re ALL part of the wood products industry.  And we owe it all to the brilliance of Mother Nature. 

Biomimicry is the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes. It looks at nature’s designs in adapting to environmental factors and tries to “mimic” how nature adjusts to the pressures of life. Modern-day forest management has taken many generational techniques and improved them through greater understanding coming from scientists, engineers, and technologists who borrow insights from nature’s patterns. By combining generational techniques with modern science, the wood products industry can create a beautiful collaboration with nature.  
What this all means is that the images of the wood products industry and forestry management will have a whole new set of subjects and topics of interest. Those who are coming into the industry now are shaping a whole new set of regenerative solutions for now and the future.