The naturethrive podcast

On this episode host Jonathan Withey speaks with Jim Day, founder of Naturefy, a BNG tech platform aimed at operationalising Biodiversity Net Gain by making the market more transparent and liquid. They discuss how Naturefy helps landowners map habitats and estimate unit potential, helps developers find available off-site units via a marketplace map, and uses data insights such as tracking BNG unit sales by local planning authorities. Jim shares his background in economics and tech, argues that nature is part of national wealth, and explains how a functioning BNG market could shift value from development land to nature restoration while reducing political risk. They also cover trust and delivery risks over 30-year obligations, bureaucratic hurdles, shifting demand due to exemptions, and end with Jim’s best and worst nature experiences.

00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup
00:38 What Naturefy Does
02:41 Nature Tech Momentum
08:36 Meet Jim Day
09:14 Jim’s Path to BNG
14:29 Nature as Wealth
18:28 Trust and Long-Term Risk
22:15 Naturefy Tools and Marketplace
30:10 Demand Mapping and AI
32:47 On-Site vs Off-Site Debate
38:49 Nature Memories Segment
39:12 First Nature Connection
40:38 Worst Nature Moment
42:57 Best Nature Experience
45:24 Closing Thoughts and Thanks
45:46 Final Wrap and Call to Action

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On this episode host Jonathan Withey speaks with Jack Sherborn Hoare, founder of RevVerte, a platform where developers list biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements and habitat banks submit quotes in one place. Jack shares his farming and land management background, how he moved from regenerative agriculture into BNG, and why Revert aims to build market infrastructure rather than act as a broker, combining an online marketplace with human support and exploring an assurance scheme. The conversation covers BNG market growth and challenges, including LPA inconsistency, the mitigation hierarchy, on-site vs off-site delivery, spatial risk multipliers, and risks of double counting in voluntary nature markets. Jack also shares early pricing insights, citing an average transacted unit price of about £21,300, with variability by habitat and location.

00:00 Welcome and Episode Intro
00:34 Travel and Family Update
01:19 Shingles and Recovery
02:24 Naturethrive BNG Projects
04:10 Introducing Jack and Revert
05:37 Meeting Jack in Bedfordshire
06:39 Jack’s Farming Background
07:30 From Carbon to BNG Opportunity
10:22 Why Developers Needed Help
11:54 Building BNG Market Infrastructure
14:23 Why Nature Needs a Price
17:17 On-Site vs Off-Site Debate
20:05 LPA Inconsistency Challenges
23:50 Revert Platform Elevator Pitch
25:51 Developer Needs Posted
26:31 Internal Deal Screening
27:06 Quotes Plus Human Support
29:04 Revert Special Sauce
29:46 Assurance Scheme Vision
31:12 Voluntary Credits Register
34:07 Market Size And Pricing
36:27 Pricing Drivers And Deals
40:37 Nature Memories Segment
45:19 Final Wrap And Outro

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On this episode Jonathan has a conversation with Tom Butterworth, Fellow Director and Nature Lead at Arup, at Arup’s Goodge Street office. Tom shares his career path from studying ecology and volunteering at the Natural History Museum to working on nature reserves, conservation coordination, Natural England, and consultancy, including biodiversity net gain and natural capital. The conversation focuses on cities as living ecosystems and why urban design must account for water, species movement, air and climate, highlighting urban heat island impacts, flooding risks, and the multiple benefits of green infrastructure and sustainable urban drainage. They discuss equity of access to green space, growing demand for ecology roles, the need for diversity of views, and examples of nature engagement, ending with Tom’s first, best, and worst experiences in nature.

00:00 Welcome Back and Road Trip
01:30 Meet Tom at Arup
03:43 Tom’s Career Journey
05:44 Nature Careers Then and Now
10:18 Cities as Ecosystems
15:25 Heat Islands and Cooling
16:49 Spongy Cities and Flooding
24:17 Funding and Stakeholder Buy In
31:34 First Best Worst in Nature
35:22 Awe Forests and Living Cities
39:07 Wrap Up Key Takeaways

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On this episode host Jonathan Withey takes a walk across Port Meadow in Oxford with Bruce Howard, head of the Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN), discussing Bruce’s shift from mining and pollution management to nature restoration and knowledge sharing. They explain EKN’s origins in the UK Government’s 2011 white paper, its transition to an independent charity in 2015, and its UK-wide membership of around 4,000 spanning environment professionals and other sectors. The conversation covers why language matters when discussing “nature” versus “environment,” how EKN facilitates collaboration through events, webinars, communications, and signposting, and why business is increasingly investing in nature recovery, including examples involving Aviva, Network Rail, and peatland finance. Bruce also shares first, best, and worst experiences in nature, including time in Australia, the Amazon, and Greenland. Jonathan announces a short pause in episodes while traveling in Canada.

00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup
03:49 Meet Bruce at Port Meadow
05:21 Bruce Career Turning Point
08:18 Nature Versus Environment
12:11 What EKN Does
15:28 Membership and Collaboration Tools
21:14 Business Steps Into Nature
26:40 Partnerships and People First
31:13 First Best Worst Nature Stories
41:39 Nature Finance and Carbon Codes
47:37 Wrap Up and Podcast Pause

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In this episode host Jonathan Withey speaks with Lesley Wilson, policy and engagement lead at ISEP (formerly IEMA), about business, biodiversity, and natural capital. They discuss ISEP’s role as a global membership body, its biodiversity and natural capital network, and how member insights inform policy and consultations. Lesley explains IPBES as a science-policy platform similar to the IPCC, how its assessments inform the Convention on Biological Diversity, and why the Manchester plenary and side events were notable, including IPBES’s first business-and-biodiversity assessment. They explore ISEP’s paper “Nature is Critical Infrastructure,” linking natural capital to UK GDP and planning, and cover how companies can measure nature impacts using tools like TNFD and other frameworks, along with personal reflections on experiences in nature.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:32 Host Updates on BNG
02:49 Episode Topics Preview
04:32 Meet Lesley at ISEP
05:50 Lesley Career Journey
08:02 ISEP History and Growth
09:22 Why Membership Matters
12:28 Sustainability Roles Debate
13:49 What Is IPBES
19:18 How IPBES Links to CBD
20:44 Business Engagement at IPBES
22:47 Nature as Critical Infrastructure
25:55 Defining Natural Capital
26:50 Ecosystem Services Explained
27:30 Biodiversity Hidden Benefits
29:22 Climate Threats to Supply
31:08 Nature as Business Risk
32:12 Local Nature Action Wins
34:04 Measuring Biodiversity Impacts
36:03 Metrics Not Magic Numbers
38:47 Tools and Frameworks TNFD
40:52 First Best Worst Nature Stories
46:41 Closing Reflections and 30x30

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Jonathan Withey welcomes listeners to episode 33 featuring a conversation with Ella Moseley, Director of Ecology at Pegasus Group. Ella describes her path into ecology through a physical geography degree in the UK and Australia, the value of gaining construction-side experience, and how Pegasus brought ecology in-house to complete a multidisciplinary offer and support clients from early land appraisals through post-consent delivery. They discuss biodiversity net gain (BNG) as a way to communicate value, guide development viability, and support placemaking, alongside ecosystem services examples such as natural flood management, hedgerows for carbon and biodiversity, and re-naturalising chalk streams. Ella shares first, worst, and best nature experiences, including childhood lizard-watching, handling habitat damage incidents, and releasing a rehabilitated tamandua in Guatemala.

00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup
01:46 Attenborough and Spring Notes
03:04 Meet Ella in Soho
03:27 Ella’s Ecology Career Path
07:13 Field Trips and Early Nature
08:50 Winning Hearts on Site
11:35 What Is a Smooth Snake
12:26 Why Pegasus Went In-House
16:09 BNG as Business Language
18:55 Ecosystem Services in Action
23:32 Delivering BNG at Pegasus
30:32 BNG for Placemaking
35:34 First Nature Memories
37:48 Worst Moments and Resilience
42:00 Best Moments in the Wild
45:31 Wrap-Up and Takeaways

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Jonathan is joined in central London by Julia Baker of Mott MacDonald to discuss how nature services connect biodiversity, climate resilience, carbon, and social wellbeing, arguing that nature recovery is a solution society and the economy need. The conversation focuses on biodiversity net gain (BNG), especially for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), including the government’s announcement that mandatory BNG for NSIPs will go live on 2 November 2026 and planned interim publications such as biodiversity gain statements, an updated metric user guide, and additional guidance. They explore mitigation hierarchy, stakeholder engagement, local nature recovery strategies, on-site versus off-site delivery, funding and corporate frameworks like TNFD, and Julia shares formative childhood and UK woodland experiences in nature.

00:00 Spring Garden Update
01:42 Bird Flu Reminder
02:03 Meet Julia Baker
04:06 Nature Services Big Picture
08:56 Biodiversity as a Market
13:27 TNFD and Funding Nature
18:39 BNG and NSIPs Explained
22:53 Making BNG Work Locally
28:11 Future of BNG Policy
31:16 Onsite vs Offsite Debate
33:13 First Nature Memories
38:45 Closing Thoughts Outro

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Jonathan Withey hosts a conversation with David Hill CBE, described as a key architect of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), discussing its origin from David’s experience in environmental impact assessment, his push from biodiversity offsetting to mandated BNG, and why voluntary adoption failed. David argues onsite BNG is ineffective and advocates professional, audited offsite habitat banks, noting BNG costs about 0.6% of gross development value and warning that exemptions, environmental delivery plans, and a levy-based Nature Restoration Fund could undermine private investment and market stability. He outlines his new venture, Foundation for Nature, a ratings agency for nature restoration projects using pillars of ecological integrity, financial security, governance, and community benefits. The episode also covers career advice, policy context, and David’s best and worst nature experiences, including concern over declining curlew populations.

00:00 Podcast Welcome and Context
02:10 Finding Hope in Nature
03:13 Meet David Hill and Episode Preview
05:20 Career Beginnings in Ecology
07:38 Breaking Into the Industry Today
08:52 Skills Volunteering and Higher Study
13:27 The Origin of Biodiversity Net Gain
18:43 Politics and the Economics of Nature
22:34 How to Improve BNG Policy
23:35 No Exemptions and Real Costs
24:53 Why Environmental Delivery Plans Worry Him
28:08 Levy Risks and Nature Restoration Fund
28:27 Policy Scares Off Investors
30:37 Why The Levy Fails
32:13 Foundation For Nature Explained
35:18 Corporate Biodiversity Reporting
38:46 Ratings Pillars And Scoring
42:24 Onsite Versus Offsite BNG
45:42 First Nature Memories
47:50 Best Wildlife Encounters
49:37 Curlew Decline And Solutions
52:41 Rewilding And Shifting Baselines
55:41 Wrap Up And Reflections

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On this episode Jonathan Withey chats with Laurence Cummins, Sustainability Manager at Wates Group, who describes his path from a biology degree and applied research role into leading the nature strand of Wates’ environmental strategy. They discuss drivers behind Wates’ nature work, including the Nature Based Neighbourhoods programme and research with More in Common showing cross-political support for green spaces. Laurence outlines nature tech uses such as high-resolution satellite imagery and the need for a “green thread” of accessible project information to avoid biodiversity outcomes being lost through complex delivery chains, then they close with Laurence’s early nature memories and standout experiences, including seeing dolphins in Cornwall.

00:00 Podcast Welcome Update
01:07 BNG Market Momentum
02:05 Meet Lawrence Waits
04:38 Cafe Intro HiveTrackX
05:41 Laurence's Career Journey
09:33 Waits Nature Strategy
13:48 Nature Based Neighborhoods
16:52 Green Space Business Case
19:37 Skills Capacity Challenges
22:22 Nature Tech In Planning
24:55 Policy Cuts Uncertainty
25:31 Nature Tech Adoption Gap
27:34 Project Complexity Needs Tech
30:34 Green Thread Information
33:03 People Not Just Process
34:49 Childhood Nature Memories
36:41 Nature Discomfort Moments
38:27 Awe Struck Encounters
41:24 Wrap Up Reflections

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In this episode host Jonathan  speaks with Joseph Gridley, CEO and founder of Soil Association Exchange, a for-profit arm distinct from the Soil Association charity, which helps companies and about 2,200 UK farms (around 4.5% of UK agricultural land) measure and improve environmental impacts through finance, advice, and simplified access to public and private funding options like SFI and other schemes. Gridley explains the business value for partners—supply chain resilience, credible field-level data for reporting, and stronger storytelling—and shares first, worst, and best nature experiences.

00:00 Welcome and Episode Intro
00:37 Life Updates and New Baby
01:42 Nature Thrive Wins at Rankin Farm
03:05 Why Soil Association Exchange Matters
05:50 Meet Joseph in Peckham
06:23 Jonathan’s Soil Story
07:32 Joseph’s Career Journey
11:49 Launching Soil Association Exchange
13:00 How the Exchange Model Works
16:44 Stacking Public and Private Funding
19:44 Farmers, Trust, and Transition
22:55 What Brands Get in Return
24:04 Data, Reporting, and Storytelling
28:36 First Memories in Nature
31:27 Worst Nature Experience
33:45 Best Nature Experience
36:37 Wrap Up and Key Takeaways

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