The naturethrive podcast

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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On this episode Jonathan Withey hosts Peter Dorans, Business Development Director at the charity Plantlife. Peter shares his unconventional career path into the NGO environment sector, including roles in the civil service, New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment, 15 years at The Wildlife Trusts, and moving to Plantlife to build commercial engagement in nature restoration. Plantlife was founded by botanists to address the lack of attention on plants and fungi and focuses on species-rich grasslands and the UK’s rare temperate rainforest, working mainly through partnerships rather than a large reserve estate. Peter explains Plantlife’s role as a Defra-designated responsible body for biodiversity net gain via conservation covenants, adding legal assurance and long-term monitoring to restoration. They discuss workplace nature, wellbeing benefits, and Peter’s best and worst nature experiences.

00:00 Podcast Welcome Updates
02:23 Meet Plantlife Focus
03:41 Pete Career Journey
09:33 Plantlife Mission Habitats
14:27 Why Restore Nature
15:58 Everyday Nature Business Sites
24:12 BNG Responsible Body Explained
29:34 Cathedral Thinking Long Term
30:18 Best Worst Nature Stories
36:38 Wrap Up Listener Takeaways
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In this episode Jonathan interviews Nick White, Principal Adviser for Net Gain at Natural England, about his career path into biodiversity work and his 14-year involvement in developing biodiversity net gain (BNG). Nick explains how Brexit created a political window to help get BNG onto the national agenda and ultimately enshrined into law, and discusses BNG’s global influence, including international uptake of the metric. They explore what natural capital means, why habitats are used as a practical proxy for biodiversity, and how environmental net gain seeks to capture wider ecosystem benefits beyond wildlife value. The conversation also covers the importance of numbers for business decision-making, the need to ensure long-term on-the-ground outcomes, and Nick’s first, best, and worst experiences in nature.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
03:11 Setting the Scene
04:03 Nick’s Career Journey
06:28 Brexit and Policy Window
07:54 From Idea to Global Impact
10:39 Supply Demand and Trust
12:12 Natural Capital Explained
14:58 Keeping BNG Simple
18:44 Environmental Net Gain
20:46 Private Sector Motivation
21:06 Beyond Compliance Value
23:09 Metrics That Move Money
24:14 Making the Business Case
26:06 How BNG Should Evolve
29:09 Nature and Development Together
29:56 First Memory Fishing
32:29 Worst Night Exercise
34:20 Best Moments in Nature
35:57 Everyone Can Act
38:14 Host Wrap and Next Guests
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On this episode Jonathan frames the conversation as a focus on Anglia Water’s work for nature recovery and biodiversity, while acknowledging wider water industry challenges around drinking water, sewage treatment, and infrastructure. Angus explains Anglia Water’s geographic coverage (from the Humber Estuary to the Thames Estuary and inland to Northamptonshire) and discusses work across the UK’s driest region, including river restoration, slowing flows, habitat creation and some wetland creation as part of catchment management, alongside future-focused initiatives like desalination plants and new reservoirs. Angus shares his career path from studying geography and management at the University of Leeds into practical woodland management, then environmental land management at the 11,000-hectare Auburn Wise estate, before joining Anglia Water in April. The episode explores land sharing vs land sparing, including agroforestry projects integrating nature corridors within arable farming and the role of agri-environment schemes and emerging biodiversity net gain markets as income streams. Angus outlines key drivers for Anglia Water’s biodiversity work, including the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) within AMP8 (2025–2030) and the new Biodiversity Performance Commitment requiring measurable habitat unit uplift using the biodiversity metric on a four-year cycle (2025 baseline to 2029 reassessment), with penalties for non-delivery. He also notes Anglia Water’s obligations as a significant landholder managing many SSSIs—about 99% by area in favourable condition—while continuing to improve remaining sites. Angus highlights a project at Grafham Water near Huntingdon, linking fragmented ancient woodlands with woodland creation and grassland along reservoir shores to improve connectivity and resilience for woodland species. In the recurring segment, Angus shares early memories growing up on a rural farm, his worst experience of seeing habitat reverted to arable despite efforts to influence decisions, and best experiences including delivering a 40–50 hectare agroforestry project in Norfolk and cycling from east Norfolk to southwest Wales to experience landscapes at a slower pace. Jonathan closes by emphasizing the importance of recognizing positive work within water companies and previews a future episode with Nick White of Natural England.

00:00 Welcome + What This Episode Will (and Won’t) Cover
01:34 Meet Angus Wells: Shared Backgrounds & Why This Story Matters
03:19 Anglia Water’s Region & Big-Picture Catchment Work (Wetlands, Reservoirs, Resilience)
05:04 Angus’s Career Journey: From Practical Woodland Work to Anglia Water
07:27 Land Sharing vs Land Sparing: Making Nature Work in Productive Farmland
10:52 Why Water Companies Invest in Nature: AMP8, WINEP & Regulatory Drivers
15:08 Measuring Biodiversity Uplift: Performance Commitment, Habitat Units & 4-Year Targets
19:30 SSSIs & Flagship Project: Grafham Water Woodland Connectivity
22:08 Why Habitat Corridors Matter: Resilience, Movement & Genetic Diversity
25:05 First / Worst / Best in Nature: Early Memories, Career Frustrations & Agroforestry Wins
34:26 Wrap-Up + Host Reflections and What’s Next on the Podcast
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On this episode Jonathan has a conversation with Peter Rogers, co-founder of Lipton Rogers and former co-founder of Stanhope. They discuss Rogers’ long career in commercial and residential development, including insights into 22 Bishopsgate (“22B”), designed as a “vertical village” with shared amenities such as restaurants, bars, gyms, art in the lobby, and community-focused spaces to offset limited ground-level public realm. Rogers shares how he got into construction through early exposure to his grandfather’s development work in Italy, his civil engineering background, and his belief that people should find work they enjoy. The conversation covers industry challenges such as increasing bureaucracy, planning complexity, rising costs, slow innovation, and the impact of legislation like the Building Safety Act, as well as the role of AI and robotics. Rogers explains his long-standing focus on creating places for people with landscaping and greenery, critiques greenwashing (including green walls and token rooftop measures), and argues for investing in larger-scale, properly maintained parks and biodiversity projects rather than small on-building interventions. They also discuss biodiversity net gain and the value of practical, local, measurable interventions, drawing parallels with approaches like insulating homes for carbon benefits. In the recurring nature segment, Rogers recounts early alpine experiences skiing and staying in remote huts, a safari in the Kalahari Desert, and a “worst” experience at sea involving increasingly severe Mediterranean storms, which he links to warming sea temperatures and global warming.

00:00 Welcome Back + Newborn Night Shift Story
01:16 Meet Peter Rogers: Iconic City of London Developer & Green Building Pioneer
04:22 Deep Dive: 22 Bishopsgate’s ‘Vertical Village’ Concept
06:13 Inside the Building: Lobby Art, Amenities & Tenant Community
08:57 Peter’s Origin Story: From Italy to Civil Engineering & Contracting
11:06 Career Advice at 80: Find Work You Love + Start Early
14:41 Industry Headwinds: Bureaucracy, Rising Costs & Slow Innovation
17:32 Planning Reform, Building Safety Act & Unintended Consequences of Regulation
18:52 Energy Efficiency vs Overheating: Futureproofing Buildings in a Warming Climate
19:43 Safe Homes vs Enough Homes: Finding the Balance
20:50 Designing Developments as Places: Greenery, Parks & Wellbeing
22:08 Calling Out Greenwashing: Why Tiny Green Walls Don’t Move the Dial
23:11 Biodiversity Net Gain Reality Check: On‑Site Rules vs Landscape‑Scale Impact
26:31 Health & Safety vs Biodiversity: What Legislation Can (and Can’t) Fix
28:57 First Nature Memories: Ski Touring to Alpine Huts & Wild Quiet
31:44 Best Experience: Kalahari Desert Safari and Life in Harsh Landscapes
33:16 Worst Experience: Mediterranean Storms, Sailing Risk & Climate Change Signals
37:03 Wrapping Up: Ocean Warming, Seagrass Decline & Final Takeaways
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