Biomimicry in Systems Change: Restoring Public Parks

Solving the challenge of restoring a dilapidated park is no small feat. But through applying biomimicry on systems level and involving a whole community, biodiversity can thrive again. 

When Joana Moreno Rivera (an urban designer and architect) stumbled upon the Biomimicry Practitioner Programme, she wasn’t just looking to learn—she was looking to reimagine how people could co-create urban futures rooted in care, cooperation, and natural intelligence. 

“I was searching for a language that allowed communities to connect through nature—something embodied, something actionable,” she says.

​​That search took root in Tlalpan, South Mexico City. Her local park—a patch of life surrounded by urban sprawl—was simultaneously vital and neglected. It became the ground for her project, Tune in for Parks.

Mexico City is in fact a biodiversity hotspot, home to more than 2,000 different animal species, according to this article by Voices for Biodiversity. Yet the park was not a welcoming environment for wildlife. It was time to revive this space. 

Faced with decaying infrastructure and civic disengagement, Joana turned to a simple but radical question: What would nature do?

Joana's project brought people together, and fostered a (re)connection to nature. Her initial question: "How can we contribute to healthier public spaces through community participation?"

Inspired by ecosystems and social species where cooperation is essential for survival—like meerkats, bees, and clownfish—she explored how nature governs through cooperation, mutual aid, and adaptive communication.

For example, meerkats are highly communicative animals, as they are constantly moving and exchanging calls for security, information and warnings. Their communication is vital for survival. You can read more about communication in meerkats here: How Meerkats Communicate.

Joana took inspiration from the symbiotic relationships between certain organisms during when completing the Biomimicry Practitioner Programme. "Social insects and mammals taught me the value of horizontal social structures such as those of the meerkats, and bees to taught me how to communicate individual initiatives and reach consensus. I also learned from the relationship between a host anemone and the clown fish as its contributing guest."

 “Nature doesn’t govern with hierarchies—it organizes through relationships. That shifted everything for me,” Joana says.

Through “biological blueprints,” she mapped ecological principles to local action. Termite mounds inspired water flow solutions. Soil microbiomes became metaphors for interconnected, resilient communities.  Indigenous wisdom deepened her framework, honoring seasonal rhythms and ancestral knowledge in a participatory action calendar.

"As my literal inspiration models, I studied the biodiversity soil system processes, the importance of tree transpiration for water flows, thermal and water dynamics of vegetation colonies, and the effect of nutrient flow on soil fertility found in termite mounds," Joana says.

"Mexico City was a water city and it was based on deities that respected the natural elements …. it's just been great to go back to the toponomies and of the words of the meanings of places through biomimicry".

And then came the human element. “We didn’t want to ‘fix’ the park. We wanted to learn how to listen to it—and to each other”.

That listening sparked a seasonal calendar blending indigenous knowledge, civic ritual, and participatory design. It also led to one surprising alliance. “When elderly gardeners teamed up with tech-savvy teens, we saw transformation,” Joana says. 

The cross-generational collaboration birthed pollinator gardens, permeable concrete paths, and participatory budgeting, with 70% allocated to environmental needs.

Interested in architecture? Read more here: How to Apply Biomimicry in Architecture

Now based at the Technical University Berlin, her work continues. But Tune in for Parks remains her compass: a call to re-wild public spaces—and ourselves—by tuning in. Treat public spaces as living systems—open, inclusive, and resilient. 

“It’s not just about the park,” she says. “It’s about remembering that we are nature—creative, collaborative, and capable of thriving together.”

Tune in for Parks is about relearning how to listen—to each other, to ecosystems, and to the wisdom around and within us. 

Watch Joana's overview of her project below. 

Are you interested in doing your own biomimicry project? 

The Biomimicry Practitioner Programme is a 6-month programme that lets you bring your dream project to life alongside our expert mentors. 

If you're looking for more examples, you can also read: The Top 10 Biomimicry Examples in Architecture