Marjolein Pijnappels
Marjolein Pijnappels helps organizations develop innovative, future-proof strategies inspired by 3.8 billion years of natural evolution. As the first Dutch future ecologist, she translates the strategies of trees, fungi, and ecosystems into concrete solutions for sustainability, innovation, and collaboration within organizations.
As a former climate researcher at Wageningen UR, co-founder of Speculative Futures Maastricht, Next Nature Fellow, and owner of the speculative design studio Wondermash, Marjolein understands better than anyone how urgent it is to design a world that can last for generations to come.
In her approach, she combines biomimicry with scenario thinking. She has developed nature-inspired scenarios for government organizations and companies, designed prototypes for a compostable city, and envisioned a decentralized healthcare system that functions like an ecosystem. Her speculative future work has been published by De Gruyter, Lecturis, and the Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends. Marjolein’s method, “future ecologies,” has been included in the national Handbook for Future Thinking by the Chief Government Architect of the Netherlands.
Photo: Minted Media
Eco-centric thinking
With eco-centric thinking, Marjolein invites people not to place themselves outside or above nature, but right in the middle of it. We are not the pilots of spaceship Earth; we are part of a multispecies crew that must work together to keep our planet livable. In her work, she shows how organizations can learn from natural systems, such as the Wood Wide Web of fungi or the symbiosis between trees and microbes. What happens if we make space for other species and treat nature as an equal partner? It starts with how we design our society and our organizations.
With her infectious enthusiasm for nature, she challenges every audience to see their surroundings, technology, and the future through a different lens. A healthcare system that works like a fungus? Construction advice from ants? Marjolein gives you access to biodiversity as an ever-growing source of inspiration for innovation.
Talks Marjolein has given before:
Collaborating like an ecosystem
What does effective collaboration look like when we take inspiration from nature? What can we learn from underground fungal networks, symbiotic relationships, and the resilience of ecosystems? In this keynote, Marjolein Pijnappels takes the audience on a surprising journey through the natural principles of collaboration. From microbes in our bodies to global ecosystems, nature offers a wealth of insights into how we as humans, organizations, and societies can work together. Symbiosis is not a magical solution, but a dynamic process of giving and receiving, competing and collaborating.
During this keynote, Marjolein explores collaboration at the micro level, ecosystem level, and planetary level, challenging the audience to reflect on their own role: are you a resilient fungus or a deeply rooted tree? By using ecosystem functions as metaphors, people become more aware of their roles.
Biomimicry: sustainable innovation inspired by nature
Imagine a world where hospitals prevent infections with surfaces inspired by shark skin, where healthcare systems are as resilient and decentralized as fungal networks, and where buildings are designed not only for humans, but also for birds, insects, and plants—just like a tree does. This is not science fiction, but biomimicry in action. Over 3.8 billion years, nature has developed smart solutions for efficiency, resilience, and collaboration—without waste, without excess. Biomimicry goes beyond mimicking natural forms: it is an invitation to see nature as a mentor and designer. How can we apply its principles to our own work, organizations, and future?
In this keynote, Marjolein takes you into the practice of biomimicry and shows how you can apply it in your own work, organization, or life.
Resilience in a changing world
Imagine a future in which your sector, organization, or city thrives like never before by learning from the smartest designer we know: nature. Over 3.8 billion years, nature has developed solutions for efficiency, resilience, and collaboration. But what does your future look like when we apply these principles to your specific challenges?
In this keynote, Marjolein Pijnappels creates a unique and inspiring future narrative tailored to your sector, organization, or city. Not a generic talk, but a customized story based on in-depth research, concrete examples, surprising natural innovations, and futuristic solutions that connect directly to your world.