As the wildfire smoke continued to clog valleys and airways throughout Montana, it was particularly refreshing to receive this photo of three of our current Certified Biomimicry Professional participants enjoying a swim in the aptly named Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park in Montana, USA, just prior to our last immersion in July.

Seth GaleWyrick, left, a design engineer with Bresslergroup who lives in Montana, Billy Almon, center, an architect and designer for Disney from California, and Dr. Anuj Jain, a butterfly biologist from Singapore, are three amazing minds (and hearts) out of 18 that make up the 2016-2018 BPro cohort. Nine of the group met and explored Glacier NP the weekend before we all met for our fourth (of six) immersion. This time into southeastern British Columbia in the Canadian Rockies, when blue skies–not choked by smoke–made for optimal exploring…

To me, this photo is such a perfect view that captures the real joy of the relationships that emerge in the BPro program.

We often talk about all the important training and professional components of the program, but don’t always highlight the unique lifetime friendship bonds that cohort members form. At the beginning of each cohort, I ask the members to look around the room and recognize that soon, these complete strangers will become beloved friends. They look a bit askance, but find, even by the end of our first week together, they’ve already made fast friends. Imagine what happens when they get to spend six weeks together over two years?

That feeling captured so beautifully in Seth’s photo carries through, allowing ‘cohort’ to take on a whole new meaning. I feel so blessed to be apart of these conditions conducive to living. May be one day, you’ll join us?

~Dr. Dayna Baumeister

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