Getting Mentorship From Nature

One fascinating thing about nature is that it has the world's most efficient resource cycling system

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Nature uses all of its resources and doesn’t waste any, it has a circular economy. We can learn from nature about how to be more efficient with our resource use and adapt it to create our own circular economy. is that it has the world’s most efficient resource cycling system.

Imagine nature as a society of fungi (the structure that produces mushrooms), insects, plants, algae, birds, fish, reptiles, frogs, humans and other animals.

The plants and algae create oxygen, which humans breathe in and expel carbon dioxide. The plants then use the carbon dioxide again to photosynthesize.

Fungi grow on trees to get nutrients and in return the fungi helps the trees get better access to water and nutrients. Fungi are like water pipe systems that help trees drink. Fungi are also a network system that allows for trees to communicate.

When an animal or a tree dies, it does not go to a grave. Insects, fungi and bacteria break down everything. The birds, fish, frogs and other small organisms eat the insects. The bigger organisms eat the smaller organisms. Humans can eat everything along the food chain. Everything that is waste to one being becomes nutrients for another being.

Birds and fungi are natural pesticides from insects. The branches, rocks and tree stumps are homes for different living things. The birds, insects and animals help plants reproduce by spreading

In nature, everything has a role and nothing is wasted.

In the human economy, natural resources are equivalent to money and money is equivalent to food/shelter. We tend to use a resource (plastic, tree, clothing, food, gas) and just throw it in the landfill. This is called linear economy. Is there anything that is going to eat or take nutrients from the landfill? The landfill is a place where a bird could accidentally eat a piece of plastic, step on a needle or touch a chemical liquid. The landfill is not a safe place to get food.

Overtime we are changing our selves and the economy. We are realizing that using and throwing stuff away is not an efficient way to take care of our resources. If we take care of nature, preserve our resources by getting efficient, nature will in turn take care of us by cleaning our waters, providing food and resources for shelter.

Let’s introduce a new economy, the circular economy, where we compost, recycle, reuse, up cycle, repair, create quality over quantity and share. Here are some ways you can encourage a circular economy;

Create good quality stuff that people will want to use for a long time. If you have an old bike that you don’t use anymore, let someone borrow it. Let the bike see the sun and bring joy to someone’s life. Let your food scraps provide nutrients for new plants. Create disposable products out of agricultural waste or don’t use them at all. Recycle your old technologies to allow for the precious metals to be used to invent something else. Donate your clothing to someone, as opposed to throwing it away. Donate wood from a table to create a new table. It is about being resourceful. The zero waste movement is a great example of circular economy as well.  

Turning the tides is an example of circular economy. Coconuts get sold and there is a waste produced which are the coconut shells. The coconut shells are picked up and turned into beautiful bowls which people can enjoy eating food out of, with their morning cup of tea. Agricultural waste from rice and tapioca can be used to create straws that are sturdy and good quality to use for bubble tea stores and parties. The straws can then be composted and the nutrients can help another plant.

Circular economy is about being efficient with what we have. It is an economy where nothing is wasted. The nutrients and resources are used to help ourselves and then used to feed trees, insects, fungi and animals. Having healthy ecosystems will clean our water and create more nutrients and resources for us again. Why are we feeding the landfill and the ocean with plastic, when we can be feeding ourselves? Being creative with our waste does not only take care of nature, but also gives us income to take care of our families. Humans are a part of nature. We can observe nature as our mentor, towards a new circular economy.

To learn more about the circular economy, follow @sashaadventures on Instagram, or stay tuned!

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