Children may be better at identifying Pokémon characters than real animals and plants but is that really the problem?
The Lost Words
Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble and Acorn, are all not part of the vocabulary anymore. A 2016 study by Cambridge University researchers tried to “quantify children’s knowledge of nature” and they surveyed a cohort of four- to 11-year-old children in Britain. Two sets of picture cards were used, 100 cards showing common species of British plant or wildlife, including adder, bluebell, heron, otter, puffin and wren, and 100 picture cards showing a Pokémon character, including Arbok, Beedrill, Hitmonchan, Omanyte, Psyduck and Wigglytuff. The children could name more Pokémon characters.
The reserachers pointed to evidence linking “loss of knowledge about the natural world to growing isolation from it”. It was suggested that we need to re-establish children’s links with nature.
What is the extinction of the sloth to a child who has never seen a fox”?
The visually stunning book, illustrated by Jackie Morris, is a wonderful celebration of nature words and the natural world that these words relate to.
I love the book and the fight to capture the magic of language and nature.
‘Where have these lost names gone?
Yet, the problem is of course not the loss of words as such but what the loss of wild play and wild imagination is having on children and the world.
A think dive into nature is so much more than words. For a young child who loves biomimicry, it is a invitation to be curious and creative. To observe and to use all senses to understand and admire nature and to use this as a stepping stone to invent and solve problems. Solving everyday problems, designing things and make innovations by studying nature is just a different way to use wild imagination. A wild play that takes place in your head and in your hands when you draw or build a model of you fascinating innovation.
Teaching young children to use creative techniques and tools is vital if they are going to help solve problems that they will face in the future. To value animals and plants is necessary to develop a desire to save and care for them.
David Attenborough’s Tv-serie Planet Earth 2 devoted a whole episode to urban wildlife. Watching this taught me that animals living in cities and built-up areas are just a fascinating to study. And maybe we need start valuing these animals and plants as well. After all, more and more children grow up in urban areas as compared to rural areas.
The Lost Words
Twenty spells or charms, from acorn to bluebell and kingfishers and willow, with beautiful illustrations make this a book that will be dived into again and again. The book is designed to be read out loud, under a tree, or on the window sill while watching the urban pigeons on the street below. It is a book for adults and children, for adults to read with children. It is a book filled with magic as well as inspirational ideas, thoughts and observations.
“Willow, when the wind blows so your branches billow, will you whisper while we listen so we learn what words your long leaves loosen?”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
AI was used as a Thinking Partner.
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