So Much to Learn from a Feather

If you follow our calendar and events, you will recognize that we have been very busy. One of the fun happenings this past week was a visit from the ASU Biomimicry class.

I have written in the past about my fascination for the study of biomimicry because it adds so much “juice” to the importance of our work at Liberty Wildlife related to conserving the natural world. Those who study this science have found so many solutions to worldly problems…solutions that already were working in nature as a result of Mother Nature’s clever efforts. A very familiar example of biomimicry is the invention of Velcro by a ‘biomimic-er’ who had burrs stick to his socks as he hiked. Brilliant observation and successful employment of mimicking nature to produce the practical and useful Velcro products.

When the ASU class visited this past week, they made a stop in the Non-Eagle Feather Repository. There, they were introduced to an eagle down feather. As the feather was placed on a student’s palm, the increase of warmth accompanying it was obvious. The conclusion was that the down feathers of birds, particularly geese and ducks, was a natural insulation for these animals in the wild. Now, coats, vests, gloves and other outer-wear were and are traditionally filled with down feathers as were comforters and bed clothing in cold climates.

Then along came the inventor who said, I can make some improvements here that eliminate the issue of water soaking the clothing and flattening the insulation properties of down. The result now is, voila…synthetic down! This synthetic down is made to mimic the qualities of goose or duck down by copying closely the structure of the down feather. While the natural down is less effective by a lot when it gets wet, the synthetic down has been designed to be only moderately impacted when wet. In nature this is less of an issue, since a bird’s outer feathers protect it from massive amounts of moisture it encounters, so its natural down does a dandy job of protection. The synthetic down just had to get around that protective quality of outer feathers. And, it has.

Hats off to human ingenuity! While study and use indicate that natural down has a better “warmth to weight ratio,” and it is said to “pack down smaller and loft up bigger”, science and technology will have a little work ahead of them to totally master the overall insulation capacity of the natural down feather.

But, the terrific upside to this invention is longevity of the fiber and best yet, no animals are harmed as a result. That has to be the win-win here!

Biomimicry studies nature’s solutions to everyday needs. “Biomimicry encourages conservation for ecosystems and its inhabitants, because they hold much of the knowledge we need to survive and thrive.” These students from ASU were engaged by what they saw and learned at Liberty Wildlife, and hopefully they will take this passion forward for the good of all.

This was just one visit to our campus this past week. Each one can reap the same kind of learning and enthusiasm. We encourage you to visit whenever possible as nothing really stays the same for long on our campus.