This interview is an article from the TU Delft
How can city kids reconnect with nature? What if they could shape a clay-like material, place it outside, and watch life emerge from it? These questions inspired Lars Behnke’s graduation project. Drawing on research into living artefacts and fungi, Lars developed a nature education toolkit that encourages children to engage with nature through shaping clay-like objects, placing them in local outdoor environments, and returning to observe and reflect on the changes in the objects and their surroundings that occur over time.
Can you describe your research project?
I explored how engagement with so-called mycelium-receptive living artefacts can help primary school children reconnect with nature. Living artefacts are designs that integrate living organisms to enable novel forms of interaction in everyday contexts. For example, in this project, mycelium-receptive artefacts were envisioned as small, biodegradable, clay-like objects that children could shape themselves and place outdoors. Over time, they could observe fungi and other organisms growing on these artefacts, transforming both the artefacts and their surroundings.
I investigated the role these living artefacts can play in nature education, aiming to contribute to the development of educational methods and tools. To do this, I conducted material experiments with mycelium-based living artefacts and facilitated a workshop with primary school children to explore how nature-based learning can lead to a better understanding and empathy towards non-human organisms.
From this research, I created a nature education toolkit consisting of a presentation, workbook, and shapeable material. While the toolkit was informed by my experiments on clay-like, mycelium-based materials, the educational activities with children were conducted using clay as a substitute material. This allowed the research to focus on children's experiences of shaping, placing, observing, and reflecting in nature.
Why is your work important?
Children growing up in urban environments often have limited access to nature. As a result, they tend to know less about it and feel less connected to it. This disconnect affects not only their wellbeing, but also their future attitude and behaviour towards the environment. It is therefore crucial to use nature education in primary schools to raise future generations who understand, care for, appreciate, and protect nature. By inviting children to discover and engage with natural spaces in their urban environments through living artefacts, we can help them develop behaviours and values around sustainability that will stay with them throughout their lives.
It is crucial to use nature education in primary schools to raise future generations who understand, care for, appreciate, and protect nature."
― Lars Behnke , IDE alumnus
What inspired you to choose this specific project?
During my bachelor’s, I worked as a teaching assistant in primary schools, tutoring children who needed extra help. I noticed how little room there is for learning beyond what is considered essential. Education continues to prioritise language and maths, while overlooking ecological understanding and the relationship between people and nature. If we want future generations to navigate environmental challenges responsibly, ecological literacy cannot remain optional. Nature education in schools can help reduce inequality in accessing nature by offering children knowledge and experiences they might not get at home.
What part of your research did you enjoy doing the most?
I really enjoyed the workshop and evaluation sessions. I was excited (and a little nervous) to see how the children would respond to the activities and ideas I had developed, but their reactions were incredibly motivating. What stood out to me was seeing how the activities influenced the way they looked at their surroundings and how they were able to apply their knowledge using their creativity and imagination. During both the workshop and evaluation, the children seemed genuinely joyful and engaged, which made all the effort worth it.
What stood out to me was seeing how the activities influenced the way they looked at their surroundings and how they were able to apply their knowledge using their creativity and imagination."
― Lars Behnke , IDE alumnus
What was the biggest (personal) challenge you faced, and how did you deal with it?
The biggest personal challenge for me was managing my time. I can be quite a perfectionist, which makes it difficult to let go of work that doesn’t yet meet my own expectations. This can make it hard to decide when something is “good enough” to move forward. Over the course of this project, I’ve learned that it’s better to move forward with something and to iterate it than to strive for perfection and risk leaving something unfinished.
What is the next step now that you’ve graduated?
I would love to continue working on research-informed design projects that address complex challenges with strong social and ecological impact. I’m particularly interested in roles where design bridges research and practice, contributing to systemic and behavioural change, whether in sustainability, education, or broader societal transitions.
BioDesign’26 Conference
This project will be showcased at the inaugural BioDesign Conference, taking place at TU Delft from 26–28 August 2026. For more information about the conference and registration details, visit www.biodesignconference.com.