{"id":35362,"date":"2022-07-03T10:15:38","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T14:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=35362"},"modified":"2022-10-01T13:26:19","modified_gmt":"2022-10-01T17:26:19","slug":"what-would-nature-do-what-would-nature-have-me-do-the-next-thirty-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/what-would-nature-do-what-would-nature-have-me-do-the-next-thirty-years\/","title":{"rendered":"What Would Nature Do? What Would Nature Have Me Do? The Next Thirty Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to September 2022 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

\"KatherineWhen I was pensive as a child, I\u2019d hop on my bike and ride to a little creek down the lane, where I could watch the caddisflies assemble their crazy pebbly houses.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When I was yearning to consolidate my thoughts after divinity school, I walked 500 miles through the fields of wheat and sunflowers in northern Spain.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When I was returning to practice in a large financial institution, I endlessly studied the interactions my honey bee hives.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In the early days of the pandemic, I began to stop on my daily walk to lean against a 200 year old oak, though it was weeks until I was aware of this habit.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And once, at a conference in Las Vegas, I hid amidst the branches of a big potted ficus tree, the only thing around that was not flashing lights or bleeping at me.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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It is perhaps no surprise, then, that I see a great reconnection in business and investing taking root \u2013 a joining-up of finance and the wisdom of our natural world. I don\u2019t mean a focus on investing in <\/em>nature, though in many ways that is vital. I mean a focus on investing as <\/em>nature, a shift in how our decisions are considered and made and monitored. This shift goes beyond the changing jargon and labels and frameworks of our profession, important though they can be. It reflects a deeper level of reunion, a reconnection of investing with the world it is meant to serve.<\/p>\n

I acknowledge that this trend is not so visible some days.<\/p>\n

Here in our \u201cnow,\u201d things are pretty complicated.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, we have witnessed the tragic and disruptive impacts of the pandemic; continued evidence of racial injustice in the United States; record-breaking fire, hurricane, drought, and flood conditions across many parts of the world; and the ongoing polarization of civil discourse. Recent months have brought news of the horrific invasion of Ukraine, inflationary pressures, and tumult in economies and financial markets. The opportunities to improve the systems that support our well-being, livelihoods, and societies are enormous, sometimes overwhelming.<\/p>\n

And yet.<\/p>\n

When times are difficult, both shortcomings and strengths are revealed. Individuals, communities, companies, and societies have the chance to rediscover our most valuable assets. Amid the challenges noted above, we have also experienced the joy of reunion, the power of effective collaboration, and the glory of our natural environment. We are reminded daily of the power of social connection, positive technological advances, and effective systems of care and governance.<\/p>\n

What are the common characteristics of these newly vivid assets?<\/h3>\n

Effectiveness over efficiency.
\nConnection over isolation.
\nAdaptation over rigidity.
\nPartnership over predation.<\/h3>\n

These are also the design principles at work in healthy natural systems, the ideas that sit at the heart of the practice of biomimicry.<\/p>\n

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