Following the UK’s most famous horticultural event, we take a closer look at the innovations helping rewild and green in densely populated locations.
With the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in full bloom last week, it’s uplifting to see nature flourishing in central London. It offers a powerful reminder of what’s possible when we embrace the natural world in our cities.
The gold medal winning “Grow The Rainbow” exhibit at this year’s show, created by heirloom seed company She Grows Veg, is an example of how climate technology can play a role in greening and regeneration. A Healthier Earth provided compost enriched with carbon removal technology biochar, to support the thriving growth of the exhibit. When used as a soil additive, biochar is a sustainable alternative to peat and a powerful tool for transforming how we think about urban regeneration and green space creation.
Our urban areas are starved of nature
Urban regeneration is often framed in terms of buildings and infrastructure. True regeneration should also include the natural systems that support life in our cities. That means embedding soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience into the very fabric of urban planning.
But our urban environments face a serious challenge: degraded soils, compacted ground, air pollution, and lost biodiversity. Here, green spaces are our lifeline. They cool our cities, filter our air, support biodiversity, and provide vital spaces for physical activity, mental wellbeing, and social connection.
Urban green spaces need to be viewed as essential infrastructure. But many cities and towns suffer from a chronic lack of accessible, quality green space, a critical equity and health issue. According to DEFRA, only 33% of London households have access to green space.
To rebalance our cities and support local communities, we need healthy soils, thriving biodiversity, and nature embedded in new developments. This is where smart climate tech comes in.
Biochar: carbon removal rooted in soil
One such climate solution is biochar, a form of captured carbon. Biochar is produced by heating garden or food waste in a low-oxygen environment, a process known as pyrolysis. Recognised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a viable carbon removal technology, biochar binds carbon into a stable form that can remain locked away for hundreds of years.
Crucially, its impact extends far beyond carbon removal, unlocking a wealth of environmental benefits. When added to soil, biochar improves soil quality, water retention, nutrient availability, and microbial activity. It helps plants grow stronger and more resilient, even in the challenging conditions of urban environments. It’s low-tech, scalable and high-impact.
As part of our work as Pure Data Centre Group (Pure DC)’s R&D subsidiary, we are bringing biochar to urban environments through partnerships with local councils and authorities. After the Chelsea Flower Show, the exhibit grown in biochar will be donated to community gardens across London in partnership with the charity Seeds for Growth. This isn’t just a symbolic gesture, it’s a practical demonstration of how climate-smart solutions can move from showpiece to street-level impact and benefit local communities.
As well as this donation, we are also providing further funding and resources to Seeds for Growth, developing two school gardens in the London Borough of Brent to bring much-needed green space to schools where children don’t always have access to nature and gardens. These gardens will be grown in biochar, much like the Tiny Forests we’ve planted in North London with Barnet Council and the environmental charity Earthwatch. The creation of these green spaces, which will flourish with the help of biochar, will help bring nature into the daily lives of urban communities, while also providing vital tools in carbon capture and flood mitigation.
Embedding climate tech into urban regeneration projects
Creative thinking will be critical to urban transformation. We hope to see a future where local authorities, NGOs and private businesses pair traditional planting with innovations like sensor-driven irrigation, heat-absorbing pavements and nature-based drainage systems to transform dead urban zones into living carbon sinks.
This could also mean reimagining traditional, ground-level green infrastructure like parks and tree-lined streets, and embracing more vertical, space-efficient approaches to urban greening. Think vertical gardens and sky parks, as seen in cities like Singapore, where innovation meets ecology, or initiatives that integrate nature directly into building façades. Pure DC has announced plans to build one of the world’s largest living walls around its new data centre in Brent, North London, and we are trialling the use of biochar in the substrate to reduce the water needed by over 70% and eliminate run-off entirely. These solutions not only conserve resources but also support rich biodiversity, creating vital habitats for insects and other urban wildlife, all just yards from one of the UK’s busiest roads, the North Circular.
Let’s bring our urban spaces back to life
Beautiful city gardens and creative innovation shouldn’t end at the Chelsea Flower Show gates. We can take climate-smart principles to inform planning, investment, and policy, and bring our urban spaces back to life. With the right tools and partnerships, we can transform our urban environments into living, breathing ecosystems that support both people and planet.
Image: Emma Svalstad / Unsplash
Alastair Collier, Chief R&D Officer of A Healthier Earth, the R&D subsidiary of Pure Data Centres Group