Innovators chosen to develop projects that connect people and nature

14.01.25 LONDON, Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership, has today announced the names of 12 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) welcomed on to the Design to Deliver programme to develop new design-led ideas to help regenerate nature.

Design to Deliver aims to unlock the potential of the UK design industry to benefit small businesses looking to develop better products and services that can improve wild urban places, help citizens to make nature-conscious decisions, and use satellite data and services to encourage more responsible behaviours towards nature.

The programme is a collaboration between three Catapult centres: Connected Places Catapult, Digital Catapult and Satellite Applications Catapult – developed in collaboration with and funded by Innovate UK. Each Catapult has set a challenge in their respective industries, linked by the theme of regenerating nature.

Each SME is set to receive up to £50,000 to develop their solution alongside a proposed trial plan. In addition to funding, each project will receive support from a specialised design consultancy, the respective Catapults’ technical team and a location partner.

The companies selected for each of the three challenges are:

Challenge 1: Collective solutions for wild urban places – Led by Connected Places Catapult

Companies selected:

Pollenize
Floradex, from Pollenize, is a dynamic software statistical package that analyses insect and plant data observations from a surveyed location and suggests, in ranked order, the best trees, shrubs and flowers you could plant to improve biodiversity.

Openstead
A software platform matching leftover spaces with adaptation interventions that maximise return on investment and property resilience; bridging a gap between property owners, insurers and climate adaptation opportunities to encourage nature-positive action.

Greentalk
Activating communities and businesses to undertake simple, targeted, micro-actions, such as adopting a tree, planting a wildlife garden, or joining a community group. Micro-actions are targeted by habitat, location and capability, helping a local authority deliver on its Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Nuna Studio
Providing a scalable, nature-based architectural facade product for stormwater management and urban biodiversity enhancement, that integrates directly into a building's rainwater gutter system; lowering the maintenance and freshwater needs of traditional living walls.

The companies selected for this challenge will be supported by Arup and Outlandish with Tranquil City and will work with location partner, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Challenge 2: Informed choices for nature positive actions – Led by Digital Catapult

Companies selected:

ReMake Materials
There's marketplace apps for clothes, cars and even food, but not the industry that creates the most waste. ReMake is a first of its kind that matches up people getting rid of unwanted building and home renovation materials with those looking to buy them. The founder had the idea after seeing first-hand the amount of perfectly usable materials going to waste whilst working in the construction industry for eight years.

Lend and Tend
Wilder Gardens from Lend and Tend is a new garden network for nature recovery applying local data to empower gardeners to support nature, from their backyards to landscape-scale. By connecting garden owners with neighbours, groups, and resources, Wilder Gardens transforms small efforts into a powerful collective movement for wildlife, helping people make better choices for biodiversity second nature for us all.

Mechanimal
With a background in theatre and immersive events, Deepwood is Mechanimal’s latest project which adds sensors to a specific tree in a community and translates the sounds it makes into music for members of the community to listen to how their movements and behaviour impacts the health of the tree.

Nature Nurture
Nature Nurture is developing The Web of Life Quest. This immersive audio experience guides people through the web of life in urban green spaces. The aim is to inspire people to venture into the wild and inspire nature positive actions. 

The companies selected for this challenge will be supported by Good Innovation and Hive IT and will work with location partner, WeCanMake at Knowle West, Bristol.

Challenge 3: Space-enabled information for a thriving world – Led by Satellite Applications Catapult

Companies selected:

Optimal Cities
Offering a geospatial platform to support urban planners and Government bodies making planning decisions around the planting of vegetation – specifically with land planning, connection with volunteer groups, funding, management and monitoring the growth of natural assets.

Data Dynamics
An AI-powered decision support system that combines Earth observation data with ground-based sensors and advanced modelling techniques to identify tree species and monitor tree health. This can support proactive management of forestry, and offer early identification and response to disease outbreaks.

Map Impact
Providing reporting tools for clear and concise environmental decision-making with a particular focus on biodiversity reporting, helping local authorities and planners understand, plan and monitor the effectiveness of nature recovery programmes.

REWILD.Life
The Nature of Things project from REWILD.Life aims to connect people to nature through an AI-powered chatbot, converting biologging and environmental data into real-time, interactive experiences.  The company wants local communities to engage and interact with their local river and species, such as birds, to understand more and play a part in their recovery.

The companies selected for this challenge will be supported by Andthen and Mima and will work with location partner, Sussex Bay.

“Design to Deliver is empowering businesses to champion collaboration across the Innovate UK Catapult Network and key partners from the UK’s design sector. By supporting market-ready, nature-positive solutions, we’re helping tackle real-world challenges and drive sustainable innovation. Together, we’re turning ideas into impactful solutions, fostering regeneration, and building a better future.”

Harry Kerr, Head of Design at Innovate UK Business Connect

“Design to Deliver is all about leveraging the power of UK’s design industry in support of our high-potential innovators.

“I’m incredibly pleased to welcome 12 exciting firms onto the programme and look forward to seeing how their solutions can help reconnect people with the natural environment.”

Pete Broadbent, Design Lead at Connected Places Catapult

"We’re excited about the variety, number and calibre of companies who have applied for this programme. Digital Catapult support deep tech companies to scale, and we're looking forward to seeing how these deep tech-enabled solutions will be brought to life with Knowle West, HiveIT and Good Innovation. It’s inspiring to see the passion and commitment of the founders and their teams to help people and places nurture more nature positive behaviours."

Elmer Zinkhann,Head of Design at Digital Catapult

“At the Satellite Applications Catapult we support space companies to develop solutions that meet user needs. Rapid advances in satellite technology bring new ‘powered by space-enabled data’ applications that can help us understand and solve a range of environmental challenges.

“Like other innovative sectors, delivering customer focused solutions can be challenging to achieve. The four SMEs selected to respond to our challenge have identified use cases in land and biodiversity regeneration which are important focuses for government, local authorities, and planners. I am excited to see how the design consultancies and location partners in Design to Deliver can help our SMEs to succeed.” 

Catherine Greene, Head of User Centred Design at Satellite Applications Catapult