For most amateurs who wish to start by using their own backyard as the means to create what they would consider their own version of ‘heaven’ there are a couple of landscape design tools needed in order to start with, which some can be as cheap as they comes.

The basic tools needed are a bit of imagination, which would also include reference tools and even popular media such as the internet and any movie or television show. Of course, starting off landscaping with grandeur would result to disastrous results, not to mention the cost needed and the energy to expend if needed to haul rocks or sand. The latter may be optional, but can be started out in small quantities. Computer programs (and one popular PC game) about landscape design would allow users to create a blueprint on how they want their yard to appear the way they like it, even leaving room for some last-minute changes before doing the initial work.

Other basic tools are mostly garden tools like spades and garden forks, which is an essential to start landscaping. Of course it may not involve having to move trees, which would require some heavy equipment to begin with, but knowing the placement and how they would actually want to appear before their eyes starts with moving plants in a more elaborate manner.

The more heavier landscape design tools would require some machines such as lawnmowers would help when it comes to cutting the grass of any lawn. Not just for those with a perfectly manicured lawn, but in order to trim down hedges and even topiaries if available. There are times when wheelbarrows are needed when it comes to carrying flagstones in order to create stone pathways, or even enough to create a miniature waterfall with a few pipes and a small water pump. Of course the mechanical aspect should be left for the experts, but if confident enough to use them, it should suffice.

Most homeowners have managed to create some impressive gardens using only garden tools and a few spades and a bit of planning as they move rock, soil and plants the way they want to. It does take a lot of effort on their behalf, but the tools shouldn’t be too costly, considering they may already have it in their own storage shed.

By: Tim Lee

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There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies, from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers to swallow. (Qur’an, 16:66)

And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed on them and on ships as well. (Qur’an, 23:21-22)

Before scientists and research and development experts embark on new projects, they usually look for models in living things and imitate their systems and designs. In other words, they see and study the designs created in nature by Allah and, inspired by these, go on to develop their own new technologies.

This approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science that seeks to imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of science has come to be widely applied in the world of technology. The use of the word “ibratan,” (to learn from, advice, importance, important thing, or model) in the above verses is most wise in this regard.

Biomimetics refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms, and systems that people produce in order to imitate the systems present in nature. The scientific community currently feels a great need for the use of such equipment, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology, robot technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, and the military.

Biomimicry was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and scientific observer from Montana. This concept was later analysed by many other people and began to find applications. Some of the comments made regarding biomimicry are as follows:

The theme of “biomimicry” is that we have much to learn from the natural world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in common is a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use them to solve human problems. 1

David Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that uses nature to increasing product quality and productivity, says:

Nature is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of life. Nature’s system has worked for millions of years … Biomimicry is a way of learning from nature. 2

Scientists who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated their studies by using nature’s incomparable and flawless designs as models. These designs represent models for technological research, for they provide the maximum productivity for the least amount of materials and energy, and are self-maintaining, environmentally friendly, silent, aesthetically attractive, resistant, and long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper described biomimetics as “a scientific movement” and made the following comment:

By using natural systems as models, we can create technologies that are more sustainable than those in use today. 3

Janine M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be imitated, gave the following examples in her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (Perennial: 2002):

o Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one tenth of an ounce) of fuel,

o Dragonflies outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,

o Heating and air-conditioning systems in termite mounds are superior in terms of equipment and energy consumption to those made by human beings,

o A bat’s high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive than our own radar systems,

o Light-emitting algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,

o Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected their organs from ice damage,

o Chameleons and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend instantly with their surroundings,

o Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and

o Whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.

These astonishing mechanisms and designs in nature, of which we have cited only a few, have the potential to enrich technology in a wide range of fields. This potential is becoming ever more obvious as our accumulated knowledge and technological means increase.

All animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have the ideal hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water, and others employ senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these are features that researchers have encountered for the first time, or, rather, that they have only recently discovered. On occasion, it is necessary to bring together prominent scientists from such fields as computer technology, mechanical engineering, electronics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology in order to imitate just one feature of a living thing.

Scientists are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures and systems they are discovering with every passing day, and use that amazement to inspire themselves to produce new technologies for humanity’s benefit. Realising that the existing perfect systems and extraordinary techniques applied in nature are far superior to their own knowledge and intellect, they became aware of these matchless solutions to existing problems and are now resorting to the designs in nature to resolve problems that have eluded them for years. As a result, they will perhaps achieve success in a very short time. Moreover, by imitating nature, scientists are making very important gains with regard to time and labour and also to the targeted use of material resources.

Today we see the developing technology gradually discovering the miracles of creation and using the extraordinary designs in living things, as in the case of biomimetics, in the service of humanity. Benyus has stated that “‘Doing it nature’s way’ has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business.” 4 The following are just a few of the many scientific papers to have considered such subjects:

“Science is Imitating Nature,” 5

“Life’s Lessons in Design,” 6

“Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” 7

“Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature,” 8

“Biomimicry: Genius That Surrounds Us,” 9

“Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature’s Blueprints,” 10 and

“Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice.” 11

In the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic terms. Artists and architects of that time were influenced by nature and used examples of the structures’ external appearances in their works. Yet the realisation of nature’s extraordinary designs and that these could be used to benefit human beings only began in the twentieth century with the study of natural mechanisms at the molecular level. Scientists today are learning from living things, as revealed in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago.

Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites http://www.harunyahya.com

By: Harun Yahya

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