Is ecological Design imitation of nature?

Design can imitate nature on many levels: from structure and process to landscapes shapes and patterns. We can imitate the structure of mature forests by planting on every level of the forest hierarchy, from canopy to below ground. We can use native species. We can imitate the process of forests by allowing birds, bats, and other animals opportunity to distribute seeds and energy to other areas or prey on “pests”. We can create microclimates within the landscape that may shift the landscape in new directions. Planting trees, for instance, allows new species to become established in their protection, and form soil and participate in cycles. Ecosystem health is one of the goals of design. The goal, of course, is not an end point that can be reached once, but is rather a continual striving.

The landscape provides its own metaphor for design. The landscape is a unique individual, a community, a dynamic system of interacting patterns—the human pattern is a part of it now and should be preserved as part of the whole pattern, but not necessarily as the only pattern or a completely dominant one. Most products of an ecosystem are produced and consumed and recycled within the ecosystem. Humans need to minimize the external inputs in the form of energy and exotic substances. The community must be restored to health. This means balancing human needs with bird or fish needs in a sustainable pattern. Each element in a pattern relates to others and to the whole.