A Hopeful Nature

A HOPEFUL NATURE

What trees can teach us about plastic

by Marisa Morby

For millions of years fallen trees stacked up on top of one another, unable to decay. And then one day, they could. What changed? And can this help us solve our plastic problem?

Art & magazines for dreary February days

by Marisa Morby

Art and magazines help me get through the last days of February.

Reaching out

by Marisa Morby

The reaching branches of ancient trees bend but don’t break. How is it possible that they withstand these winds of time? And how does the science behind this impact design?

Beauty

by Marisa Morby

What is beauty and why does it exist?

Resilience

by Marisa Morby

Nature shows us resilience.

A Hopeful Nature

by Marisa Morby

Hope is action.

Nature in Art

by Marisa Morby

Art can inspire us and help us connect with the world in ways that maybe we haven't been able to before.

Nuffin’ But Puffins

by Marisa Morby

A whole bunch of puffin pictures (and cool facts!)

How Bees See the World

by Marisa Morby

The world looks very different to a bird, to a deer, to a bee. I'm finding that the world is made of colors that don't exist, at least not to all of us. So what does the world look like to those who see color and even light differently than us? Like, perhaps, a bee?

When our gardens smelled good

by Marisa Morby

Why flowers smell, how we've changed flowers so they're not as fragrant, and a fascinating exploration for extinct scents.

Termites

by Marisa Morby

Finding wonder

by Marisa Morby

Data storytelling

by Marisa Morby

How data tells beautiful stories

I am on my way

by Marisa Morby

A couple stories that have changed my perspective and given me hope.

Winter Beauty

by Marisa Morby

The beauty of nature in winter and how artists highlight it.

What we see

by Marisa Morby

Small stories about what we see, or don't see, in some cases.

Finding connection instead of despair

by Marisa Morby

Evolution in Industrial Design

by Marisa Morby

Issue #52

by Marisa Morby

This week I wanted to highlight nature and design writing from some publications I like and interesting tidbits that I found in my research this week!

How color works

by Marisa Morby

Today I want to explore how structural color works and how scientists and artists are using it.

The science of autumn

by Marisa Morby

The power of stories

by Marisa Morby

Telling stories was the basis for this newsletter. I wanted to find ways to connect people with nature and bring hope through small stories about our natural world. This is what our reality is built on. The stories we tell ourselves, the stories we tell others, and the stories we feel make us who we are.

A cheese on the verge of extinction

by Marisa Morby

Carbon Conscious Airports and Weak Jalapeños

by Marisa Morby

Gardens for living

by Marisa Morby

Today's newsletter is about gardens and wildlife; and being able to connect with nature through garden design.

Systems

by Marisa Morby

Relationships

by Marisa Morby

This week's newsletter is about relationships. Mainly relationships with fungi.

Mystery

by Marisa Morby

There are so many natural mysteries that we can't answer today and may never be able to answer. And from the right angle, mystery can bend and refract into a little bit of magic. I've always found nature magical because it's at once complex and simple, beautiful and terrifying. It is

AI and nature?

by Marisa Morby

Coral

by Marisa Morby

Keeping cool

by Marisa Morby

Issue #39

by Marisa Morby

Issue #38

by Marisa Morby

Issue #37

by Marisa Morby

Biomaterials

by Marisa Morby

New medical technology from a combination of 3D printing and mineral isolation.

Canopy Science

by Marisa Morby

When I think of forests, the first thing that comes to mind are huge trees, dense vegetation with ferns, and the ground littered with leaves. What I've not really considered before is the forest canopy.

Showcasing nature

by Marisa Morby

How photography shows us nature in new ways.

Can we create a living battery?

by Marisa Morby

Every leaf that you see on a plant or tree is a tiny, living, solar battery. For years I've wondered why we haven't invested more in figuring out solar storage by mimicking leaves.

Immortal Ginkgo

by Marisa Morby

How a ginkgo tree may hold a secret to (almost) immortality.

How bioswales manage stormwater

by Marisa Morby

Bioswales help cities manage stormwater in a way that's more cost-effective and sustainable.

Going Bananas

by Marisa Morby

As weather patterns become more erratic, storms become more intense, and desertification grows, we are seeing increased instability in food production. And this instability may be coming for bananas.

GMO trees for faster growth?

by Marisa Morby

As trees mature, they tend to take up more CO2. Is there a way to speed up their growth?

Nature belongs everywhere (Part 2)

by Marisa Morby

Previously we talked about what rewilding is and how it looks in different landscapes. This week I want to talk about the benefit and impact of rewilding.

Nature belongs everywhere (Part 1)

by Marisa Morby

Rewilding is becoming a growing movement throughout Europe to catalyze conservation efforts. What is rewilding, and how does it change our landscape and promote biodiversity? This is part 1 of a rewilding series I'm writing.

Growing buildings

by Marisa Morby

Including nature in our built environment creates spaces that are healthier for us and the planet.

The universe beneath our feet (Part 2)

by Marisa Morby

Why is fungi nature's best problem solver?

The universe beneath our feet (Part 1)

by Marisa Morby

Fungi are everywhere, and the more I've seen it the more entranced I've become. So let's look at how fungi works, and how we might learn from it. Part 1 will include cool fungus facts (a phrase I never thought I'd say), and Part 2 will reimagine how we might learn from fungus.

Can art give us hope?

by Marisa Morby

I've been thinking a lot lately about how art influences us and the way we influence it. I think that having nature inspired art is a wonderful way to both appreciate nature, and even discover things that you hadn't noticed before.

Can the soil save us? (Part 2)

by Marisa Morby

We're continuing with Part 2 on how the soil can save us, based on the documentary Kiss the Ground. Previously we talked about the importance of soil and the scary realization that desertification was expanding on a global level. The open question for all of us is; what can we do about it?

Can soil save us? (Part 1)

by Marisa Morby

The other day I was watching the Netflix show Kiss the Ground, which is all about soil. I wanted to share what I learned.

Robots in the water

by Marisa Morby

Conservation is a huge part of combatting climate change, because once something is damaged or lost it takes many, many decades or generations to build itself back up again. And refusing to clean up our plastic mess, in addition to refusing to stop using plastic, leads to especially harmful pollution in our water.

How grief can be our gateway to hope

by Marisa Morby

I thought this week I would talk about mental health, climate change, and hope. How do we deal with feelings of grief and loss of what we know?

Understanding the un-understandable

by Marisa Morby

One of the (many) things that makes climate change so hard is the inability to truly understand it. If we don't understand it, it makes it hard to push for change. So, today I want to talk about climate modeling and visualization. How might we use these tools to better understand the challenge that we all face?

A new way to fly

by Marisa Morby

What might we do differently to reduce emissions when using air travel?

The dirty business of healthcare

by Marisa Morby

Healthcare is a unique place for design, innovation, and nature to come in, because healthcare really isn't something that's really in the front of our minds when we talk about waste.

Mass reforestation around the world

by Marisa Morby

A tree is a bet on the future, something that will be most appreciated after you've lived and died, and therefore something that you do for others.

Natural light through the night

by Marisa Morby

As spring comes and brings more light later into the day, I've been thinking a lot about how light plays in our life. It's easy for us to flip a switch as night comes, without even thinking about it. However, a lot of material goes into our lighting and the impact of our lights creates light pollution that confuses migrating birds and nocturnal animals and insects.

Water bears in space!

by Marisa Morby

Today we're gonna talk about tardigrades, also known as water bears. Water bears are some of the strongest little creatures out there.

Do flowers party at night? No they go to bed early.

by Marisa Morby

Purple shamrocks, tulips, lotus, morning glory, and california poppies are just a few of the many flowers that exhibit this behavior.

Look to the birds

by Marisa Morby

How might we reimagine our relationship with nature in order to adapt to a changing climate?

Using mushrooms to fight climate change

by Marisa Morby

Sitting with untapped potential, how could mushrooms help us create a better future and mitigate climate change?

Mimicking nature to help us store and use energy

by Marisa Morby

Opportunities for understanding how nature stores energy and how we might mimic that with our own technologies.

Using mapping to save our coral reefs

by Marisa Morby

This week we'll be talking about a sad subject, but one filled with a lot of hope.

The beauty of bogs

by Marisa Morby

Today I'm going to talk with you about something you probably never thought you'd read about.... peat bogs! Why peat bogs, Marisa, I hear you ask me through the screen.

Solving the plastic pollution problem

by Marisa Morby

This week we're going to talk about plastic. Something that we use every day, and is one of the easiest ways to perpetuate our fossil fuel usage.

An ocean of innovation

by Marisa Morby

I've talked a lot so far about trees and plants, but there's so much more beyond what's beneath our feet. So today I wanted to talk about the ocean. Think of this as an introduction into how the ocean and climate are related.

Connecting with nature through sound

by Marisa Morby

Hope your day is going well. Today we're going to talk about some ways people are using sound to connect with nature.

The Future of Growing Food

by Marisa Morby

How can tech, nature, and innovative thinking reimagine how we plant and what types of food we grow?

Reforesting cities and towns

by Marisa Morby

Some examples of cities and towns that are putting in the effort to reforest their communities in an attempt to make their areas better for themselves and the planet.

Reimagining our cities with vertical forests

by Marisa Morby

We need bolder visions to help us imagine what our cities and towns could be. This post starts to explore what that could look like, starting with a few examples that already exist or are in design.