These Tech Companies Are Reviving The British Countryside

The UK’s green spaces are in crisis, says Matilda Cox – here are three tech companies helping to revive them and support biodiversity.

These Startups Are Supporting Biodiversity & Reviving The British Countryside

The Problem

The countryside is as much a part of Britain’s national identity as our literature, language, and royal family – from the rolling hills of the South Downs to the Yorkshire Dales. These green spaces, whether farmed fields or wild woodland, make up over 90 percent of the island’s total land area. That figure might paint a picture of a thriving natural environment, but the UK is considered one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, with one in six species threatened with extinction. And as the planet warms, it puts extra pressure on struggling vegetation and dwindling animal populations. Luckily, initiatives like the UK government’s ‘30 By 30’ – a target to conserve at least 30 percent of our land and sea for biodiversity by 2030 – aim to reverse this trend. But ambition isn’t enough, and these startups are here to bring these targets to fruition.

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The Answers

Regenerative Grazing To Revive Grassland

Grazing cattle have been a part of the British countryside for millennia and these animals can play an important role in preserving grassland ecosystems and getting rid of unwanted plants and weeds. But over-grazing is becoming more and more common, meaning the land doesn’t get a chance to regrow and eventually degrades. UK agri-tech Pastoral AI wants to change that. Using the startup’s system, which involves solar-powered GPS sensors, farmers can accurately track the location of a herd and where it’s eaten. That way, farmers know when it’s time to move cattle to a new spot, allowing grazed land and biodiversity to regenerate. pastoral.ai

Fungi Boosts Tree-Planting

When we think of British wildlife, it’s probably squirrels and blackbirds that spring to mind. But what about what’s going on under our feet? Edinburgh-based startup Rhizocore Technologies recognises just how important soil health is to overall biodiversity. Without the mycorrhizal support network, a system of fungi in the soil, trees can’t share essential nutrients and water and therefore won’t grow. To restore woodland, Rhizocore is giving this underground ‘woodwide web’ a boost. It turns locally sourced fungi into pellets that are planted alongside saplings, to give new trees the best chance to grow and thrive. rhizocore.com

Plant Food Made From Air Pollution

Carbon dioxide and methane might be the most abundant greenhouse gases but there’s another gas wreaking havoc with the ozone layer: nitrous oxide. This gas, which is generated during various agricultural practices, has a global warming potential 300 times higher than CO2 over 100 years. Lincoln startup Crop Intellect wants to put this gas to good use and convert it into fertiliser. The company does this using R-Leaf, a formula that contains photocatalytic particles suspended in a liquid. When sprayed onto plants, R-Leaf uses sunlight to transform the pollution into nitrate that then nourishes the crops. cropintellect.co.uk

Matilda Cox is a content editor at Springwise, the leading global innovation platform with over 14,000 ideas for positive change. springwise.com