Revolutionising Nature Restoration: A Chat with Benedict McDonald from RestoreWelcome to the latest episode of the Biodiversity Podcast by Teals, recorded at Groundswell 2025. In this episode, host Teasels is joined by Benedict McDonald from Restore. They discuss the exciting advancements in nature restoration, the financial viability of such activities, and the shift from governmental reliance to private market solutions. Benedict shares valuable insights into making nature restoration projects sustainable and government-proof, utilizing natural capital markets, biodiversity net gain, and carbon markets. Learn about the nuances of local land management, the importance of community knowledge, and how Restore's unique model can adapt to various landscapes. Tune in to discover how nature and agriculture can coexist sustainably, bolstered by long-term financial stability and impactful environmental change.00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:29 Groundswell 2025: Nature Restoration Insights01:19 Making Business Government Proof01:38 Challenges with Government Policies03:12 Private Markets and Natural Capital07:11 Understanding Natural Capital Markets12:33 Restoration Units: A New Approach19:52 Success Stories and Future Plans29:25 Conclusion and Future Collaboration
in this podcast, we discuss the following ;Interconnectedness of Ecology and Health: The discussion highlights how our mental and physical health crises are interconnected with ecological and social justice issues. Recognising this interconnectedness is crucial for holistic well-being.Cultural and Indigenous Perspectives: Emphasizing the importance of learning from indigenous cultures, which view nature as an integral part of life rather than something separate. This perspective encourages a deeper connection and respect for the environment.Gardening as a Form of Eco-Activism: Gardening is portrayed as a powerful tool for eco-activism, allowing individuals to engage with nature directly and promote biodiversity through practices like using local seeds and fostering natural plant succession.The Role of Language in Ecology: The conversation touches on how language can both help and hinder our understanding of ecological relationships. There's a call to move beyond buzzwords and engage in meaningful discussions about native versus non-native species and their ecological roles.The Value of Wild Plants: There's a strong emphasis on the importance of preserving wild plants and their natural relationships with the soil, as they are foundational to biodiversity and ecological resilience.Reimagining Gardens and Landscapes: The idea of gardens as dynamic, evolving spaces rather than static, controlled environments is explored. This approach encourages a more sustainable and ecologically sound way of interacting with the land.
In this episode in chat with Blanche Cameron from The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. We discuss the integration of biodiversity in the build environment.
I interview the wonderful gardening team at Knepp.
.Episode 26- Benny Hawksbee
In this podcast I sit down with the boys from Wild City Studio, Jon Davies and Steve Williams.
Footnotes:
Rewliding of Allestree Park- Mentioned at 11mins 30
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/11/derby-approves-uk-largest-urban-rewilding-project-aoe
Affric Highlands Rewilding - Mentioned at 40-mins
https://rewildingeurope.com/landscapes/affric-highlands/
Langholm Moor and Tarras Valley- Mentioned at 48-mins
https://www.langholminitiative.org.uk
Little Green Spec- Mentioned at 53:58-mins
http://www.littlegreenspace.org.uk
https://twitter.com/LGSpace?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
The state of Nature report - Mentioned at 1 hour : 6 mins
https://nbn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/State-of-Nature-2019-UK-full-report.pdf
Lynx to Scotland Project - Mentioned at 1 hour: 9 mins
Footnotes:
Rewliding of Allestree Park- Mentioned at 11mins 30
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/11/derby-approves-uk-largest-urban-rewilding-project-aoe
Affric Highlands Rewilding - Mentioned at 40-mins
https://rewildingeurope.com/landscapes/affric-highlands/
Langholm Moor and Tarras Valley- Mentioned at 48-mins
https://www.langholminitiative.org.uk
Little Green Spec- Mentioned at 53:58-mins
http://www.littlegreenspace.org.uk
https://twitter.com/LGSpace?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
The state of Nature report - Mentioned at 1 hour : 6 mins
https://nbn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/State-of-Nature-2019-UK-full-report.pdf
Lynx to Scotland Project - Mentioned at 1 hour: 9 mins
https://treesforlife.org.uk/about-us/lynx-to-scotland/
Nigel's bio
A background in both art and zoology has led me to working with our own species as well as a bunch of others. I like group or collective working, collaboration and mixed discipline problem solving. I’m interested in the nurturing of social capital & natural capital and the impacts they have, to a lesser degree, on economic capital and to a greater degree on the functionality of commnuities. Note: I think ‘capital’ is an unfortunate term, for me, in this case, social and natural capitals are more about healthy stocks of informal community value and less about how cash rich a place is.
Footnotes:
Paul Farley; As mentioned at 1 hour 19 minutes
https://www.leadinglanguageandliteraturepodcast.com/episodes/paul-farley-poet-and-professor-of-creative-writing-lancaster
Soil Inversion case study;
https://cieem.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1.-Philip-Putwain.pdf
Tony Bradshaw- Restoration ecologist- As mentioned at 1 hour 42 minutes
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/11/evolution
Halewood Triangle- As mentioned at 1 hour 42 minutes
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/halewood-park-triangle/
Gunnersbury Triangle- As mentioned at 1 hour 42 minutes
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/halewood-park-triangle/
Wheeldon Copse Cheshire- As mentioned at 1 hour 47 minutes
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/wheeldon-copse/
National Vegetation Classification (NVC) with John Rodwell - As mentioned at 1 hour 49 minutes
https://englandscommunityforests.org.uk/ecf-news/national-vegetation-classification-with-john-rodwell
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Footnotes:
Paul Farley; As mentioned at 1 hour 19 minutes
https://www.leadinglanguageandliteraturepodcast.com/episodes/paul-farley-poet-and-professor-of-creative-writing-lancaster
Soil Inversion case study;
https://cieem.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/1.-Philip-Putwain.pdf
Tony Bradshaw- Restoration ecologist- As mentioned at 1 hour 42 minutes
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/11/evolution
Halewood Triangle- As mentioned at 1 hour 42 minutes
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/halewood-park-triangle/
Gunnersbury Triangle- As mentioned at 1 hour 42 minutes
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/halewood-park-triangle/
Wheeldon Copse Cheshire- As mentioned at 1 hour 47 minutes
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/wheeldon-copse/
National Vegetation Classification (NVC) with John Rodwell - As mentioned at 1 hour 49 minutes
https://englandscommunityforests.org.uk/ecf-news/national-vegetation-classification-with-john-rodwell
Useful resource;
The Ecological Restoration and Habitat Creation Special Interest Group: Practical Restoration and Creation: Lowland and Upland Grasslands
https://cieem.net/resource/cieem-erhc-sig-east-midlands-section-committee-2019-conference-dr-phil-sterling/
Jane Jacobs- The Death and Life of Great American Cities - As mentioned at 11 minutes
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Great-American-Cities-Vintage/dp/067974195X
National Vegetation Classification:As mentioned at 13 minutes
https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/a407ebfc-2859-49cf-9710-1bde9c8e28c7
St Vincent School- As mentioned at 21:30 minutes
https://www.stvin.com
Useful resource;
The Ecological Restoration and Habitat Creation Special Interest Group: Practical Restoration and Creation: Lowland and Upland Grasslands
https://cieem.net/resource/cieem-erhc-sig-east-midlands-section-committee-2019-conference-dr-phil-sterling/
Jane Jacobs- The Death and Life of Great American Cities - As mentioned at 11 minutes
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Great-American-Cities-Vintage/dp/067974195X
National Vegetation Classification:As mentioned at 13 minutes
https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/a407ebfc-2859-49cf-9710-1bde9c8e28c7
St Vincent School- As mentioned at 21:30 minutes
https://www.stvin.com
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In this podcast, I chat with a kindred spirit, Sam Taylor Hunt. This podcast is a no-holds barred podcast on biodiverse gardening. We slay (and savagely discredit) a few sacred canards of the (biodiverse) gardening world.
Fancy hearing some free-range conversation instead of the usual battery-thinking around horticulture?
Sam Taylor Hunt is the owner of Modica Gardens-. Check them out at https://www.modicagardens.com. They undertake some fabulous projects in the Cheltenham /Cotswold area. Please subscribe to follow clips of this podcast and the other podcasts I have recorded, discussing the subject of biodiversity.
In this podcast, I chat with a kindred spirit, Sam Taylor Hunt. This podcast is a no-holds barred podcast on biodiverse gardening. We slay (and savagely discredit) a few sacred canards of the (biodiverse) gardening world.
Fancy hearing some free-range conversation instead of the usual battery-thinking around horticulture?
Sam Taylor Hunt is the owner of Modica Gardens-. Check them out at https://www.modicagardens.com. They undertake some fabulous projects in the Cheltenham /Cotswold area. Please subscribe to follow clips of this podcast and the other podcasts I have recorded, discussing the subject of biodiversity.
In this podcast, I chat with a kindred spirit, Sam Taylor Hunt. This podcast is a no-holds barred podcast on biodiverse gardening. We slay (and savagely discredit) a few sacred canards of the (biodiverse) gardening world.
Fancy hearing some free-range conversation instead of the usual battery-thinking around horticulture?
Sam Taylor Hunt is the owner of Modica Gardens-. Check them out at https://www.modicagardens.com. They undertake some fabulous projects in the Cheltenham /Cotswold area. Please subscribe to follow clips of this podcast and the other podcasts I have recorded, discussing the subject of biodiversity.
Dick is a lifetime birdwatcher. He has applied his experience as an engineer and software designer to the problem of halting the decline of Swifts with the team at Action for Swifts.
The team, headed by Dick Newell, has an extensive knowledge of the needs of Swifts and the requirements of the construction industry.
The S Brick is the culmination of many years of research and experience aimed at providing a simple, long-lasting and sustainable solution to reversing the decline of the endangered Swift.
Action for Swifts mission
Our mission is to reverse the decline of Swifts.
Swifts in the UK are on the Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) Red List and are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List assessment of extinction risk for Great Britain. Swifts declined by 58% between 1995 and 2018. They declined by 41% in just 10 years up to 2018, that is over 5% per annum!
One of the reasons, perhaps the main reason, is loss of nest sites.
Provision of new housing provides a big opportunity to install Swift bricks for Swifts, and other small cavity-nesting birds. We regard the S Brick as a ”Universal” nesting brick as it can accommodate Swifts, House Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Starlings and even House Martins.
It is our goal to find the optimum compromise between the requirements of the birds and the constraints of the building, making it as easy as possible for the builder on site, as well as resulting in something aesthetically pleasing, and at a low cost.
In this podcast, I chat with a kindred spirit, Sam Taylor Hunt. This podcast is a no-holds barred podcast on biodiverse gardening. We slay (and savagely discredit) a few sacred canards of the (biodiverse) gardening world.
Fancy hearing some free-range conversation instead of the usual battery-thinking around horticulture?
Sam Taylor Hunt is the owner of Modica Gardens-. Check them out at https://www.modicagardens.com. They undertake some fabulous projects in the Cheltenham /Cotswold area. Please subscribe to follow clips of this podcast and the other podcasts I have recorded, discussing the subject of biodiversity.
Is this episode I sit down with John and Joanne and we discuss Biodiversity Net Gain, both strategically and how it will be implamented on the ground. Furthermore we discuss how the importance of establishing the baseline calculations.
Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt is the result of a union between Nicholsons, who provide high quality landscaping, forestry and arboriculture services and Lockhart Garratt, who are industry leaders in environmental planning, forestry, ecology, arboriculture, soils and landscape architecture.
Bio's;
John is the Principal Consultant at Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt.
Over 30 years experience as a Rural Chartered Surveyor, specialising in forestry and environmental planning. Fellow of the British Agricultural Consultants since 2014 and participates in numerous government-led forums on forestry, tree health, carbon, biodiversity net gain and natural capital. In 2020 I was appointed as Non-Exec Director to the Forestry Services Board and sit on the Conservation Committee of the Queen's Green Canopy. More recently I have been taking a lead in green infrastructure planning for large developments and supporting Defra in promoting woodland creation on vacant and derelict land.
Joanne is an Ecological Consultant and Head of Ecology at Lockhart Garratt
Experienced ecological consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the law practice industry. Skilled in faunal surveying techniques, report writing, and development mitigation practices for wildlife. Strong administrative professional with a Bachelor of Science honours degree in Land Management from the University of Northampton.
