Win $15,000 CAD

By Redesigning the Future of Water

The B-Prize is an annual design challenge created by the Biomimicry Commons to explore real-world problems that matter. Each year, we select a pressing, complex challenge - often one that has resisted conventional solutions - and invite fresh thinking to reimagine what’s possible. Rather than applying the same approaches that created today’s wicked problems, the B-Prize asks participants to step back, question assumptions, and design from a different place.

At its core, the B-Prize is about asking,

IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS?

THIS YEAR'S CHALLENGE

Unshackling the Water

The 2026 B-Prize Design Challenge is calling on students across Canada to rethink one of Ontario’s most complex regional water systems: the 57 km Collingwood–New Tecumseth pipeline.

This system serves thousands of people and represents critical infrastructure supporting Ontario’s current and future housing needs. To meet growing demand, an upgraded treatment system was proposed for Collingwood, which, within one year (between 2022 to 2023) increased in projected costs from $121 million to $270 million - presenting a clear opportunity to ask whether there might be a better way forward.

Recognizing the importance of this infrastructure, which serves multiple municipalities, industries, and ecosystems, this challenge invites a fundamental rethink of how water might be distributed more efficiently, equitably, and resiliently in the region. And can biomimicry inspire a better solution?

Your task is to explore alternatives to the proposed $270 million Collingwood treatment plant upgrade and to consider a regional solution for how raw water - nature’s offering - could be distributed to meet diverse human and ecological needs across multiple municipalities, with maximum efficiency and adaptability.

Once registered, you will have access to an information package and will be invited to explore creative approaches that respond to the full complexity of the system, including:

  • A shared raw water source

  • Multiple end uses (commercial, agricultural, residential, industrial, groundwater recharge, and more)

  • Varying water quality and treatment requirements

  • Infrastructure that spans municipal boundaries

  • Diverse stakeholder perspectives, priorities, and leadership structures

  • Pressures from development, climate change, reconciliation, community needs, and economics

This water design challenge is not simply an exercise in reducing costs. It is an opportunity to demonstrate what becomes possible when fresh thinking meets real-world constraints - and when we allow nature to inform how we design the systems we depend on.

Make it better, naturally

To effectively solve this problem, you will need to think holistically; think naturally. Bringing in a multitude of relevant considerations and assessing them from a higher-level paradigm, we invite you to think with a biomimetic lens. In nature, when things are left alone, a system will naturally evolve to higher states of complexity. Yet, within that, everything is working, without waste, evolving towards greater diversity and natural abundance. Nature can teach us how to design systems that work for the greater good without harming the planet. Nature creates engineered systems that serve the planet and support the stability of our species. It is now our opportunity to learn from this genius to find a better way of doing things. To create the foundation – the soil – based on a new way of thinking that will lead to a more dynamic and beautiful world that our future generations will be proud of.
satellite imagery of Georgian Bay

How to enter

  • Register by enrolling in the competition as an individual or as a team

  • Download the information briefs

  • Research the complexity of the problem

  • Design a solution

  • Submit your idea by May 1st, 2026

  • Win $15,000

What will your bold new solution be?

Look beyond the obvious

Register Now

FAQ

  • Is this limited to students only?

    No, we are open to anyone joining this competition, but are aiming it at students with the intention of provoking very creative, yet practical, solutions. We want out of the box thinking.

  • Do I have to be in Canada?

    No, this is open to anyone in any country, but we are aiming it at Canadians because of the regional context of the problem.

  • Do I have to be a part of a team?

    No, you can submit as an individual.

  • Does it cost to sign up?

    No. It's free to access the materials and to submit a final solution.

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Join the Commons

The Biomimicry Commons is more than just a community; it represents a movement toward rethinking how we approach the world's most pressing challenges. In an era where conventional solutions often fall short, the Biomimicry Commons advocates for looking at problems through different lenses, particularly through nature-based design principles. By encouraging creative, out-of-the-box thinking, the community pushes for solutions that are not only innovative but also sustainable, resilient, and reflective of the complex systems found in nature. The goal is to inspire participants to reimagine how we solve today’s challenges—whether environmental, social, or infrastructural—by drawing on new perspectives and being willing to test unorthodox ideas. One way the Biomimicry Commons does this is through B Prizes, competitions that challenge participants to tackle significant, real-world problems with groundbreaking solutions. These prizes incentivize participants to go beyond traditional approaches, offering rewards for creative thinking and practical results.

Thank You