The Grand Challengers Podcast Episode #43

Answers to sustainability are in the links between green roofs, beer, mushrooms, golf, water, cowboys and community

Guest: Tom Young

May 6th, 2025

Episode Teaser

Introduction

“…There’s answers in lots of different places, but you have to package that up and make that relevant to where you’re from…”

Thomas Young is an Associate and Blue-Green Infrastructure Specialist at The Environment Partnership (TEP) in the UK. Tom’s passion for green roofs and sports has led him on a diverse journey in supporting the implementation of blue-green infrastructures by harnessing the hidden value that green spaces can contribute toward water security, biodiversity and better understanding and communication among its diverse stakeholders. Following his PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2010, he has gone on to become a Nuffield Farming Scholar, Green Roof Organisation Board member and CIWEM Environmental Partner.

On today’s show, Tom and I embark on a vivid discussion around how seemingly unrelated topics such as green roofs, beer, mushrooms, Wimbeldon, pub names, 5 star rating systems, golf courses, water, cowboys and community have shaped his holistic thinking around creating future sustainability and better stakeholder collaboration in the UK.

Biography

Thomas Young is an Associate and Blue-Green Infrastructure Specialist at The Environment Partnership (TEP), where he leads multidisciplinary projects focused on sustainable water management. With a Master’s in Ecology and a PhD in Applied Ecological Science specializing in green roof substrate optimization, Tom has established himself as one of the UK’s leading experts in sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) and green infrastructure. His expertise spans SuDS opportunity mapping, green-blue roof design, landscape hydrology, and water masterplan projects. As a board member of the UK Green Roof Organisation, Tom played an instrumental role in developing the UK’s first dedicated green roof British Standard (BSI 8616:2019) and updated industry guidelines.

Prior to joining TEP, Tom worked as a Research and Environmental Consultant, managing over 100 research trials and client projects. His notable achievements include designing and supervising the installation of smart blue-green roofs and developing innovative concepts for using golf courses to store stormwater and reduce pressure on drainage networks. Tom’s credentials are further enhanced by his status as a 2022 Nuffield Farming Scholar studying water security across agricultural, landscape, and horticultural sectors, and as a Building with Nature Approved Assessor. His interdisciplinary approach combines rigorous scientific research with practical applications, positioning him as a leading voice in the integration of natural processes into built environment solutions.

Resources Related to the Episode

  • Here’s the map of pubs around Scheffield! You can print your own over at this link
  • Pictures of Tom’s Green Roofs and shed – “Just put a green roof on it”

Episode Chapters

(Chapters are embedded in the episode for quick access, click this to expand and view all chapters and time stamps)
  • 0:00 Intro
  • 1:59 Guest Intro and a house tour
  • 4:09 Origins of Tom’s Ecology Inspiration
  • 7:13 Sheffield and Tom’s PhD side project
  • 12:59 Green Roofs 101
  • 22:30 Fungi to help Green Infrastructure
  • 28:12 Writing the British Standards for green roofs
  • 32:20 Blue-Green or Green-Blue Infrastructure? Return of Terminology
  • 35:10 Venturing into Sports Turfs
  • 41:56 Joining TEP and thinking about golf courses
  • 53:08 The Nuffield Farming Scholarship and Tom’s world travels
  • 1:03:52 Learning for the UK’s future cities and sustainability
  • 1:07:40 Tom’s current endeavours
  • 1:12:47 Q&A Start
  • 1:13:14 What does “innovation” mean to you?
  • 1:13:53 Key event book person
  • 1:14:43 Time Management
  • 1:16:56 Favourite childhood memory
  • 1:17:36 Biggest Challenge to date
  • 1:18:37 Advice for young professionals
  • 1:19:42 What would you most like to be remembered for?
  • 1:20:27 Where can people find you?
  • 1:21:08 Final Message
  • 1:21:36 Outro

Connect with Tom Young

Related Episodes

Episode #13 – Veljko Prodanovic
Going vertical in a green horizontal world and promoting urban water and nature co-design
(Related Topics: building greenery, substrates, blue-green infrastructure)
Episode #26 – Manuel Fischer
The Good, the Bad, and the Socio-Political – can science really support collaborative policymaking?
(Related Topics: biodiversity, golf courses, stakeholders, policy, socio-ecological networks)
Episode #30 – Tobias Baur
From tropical Singapore to Europe – the “ABC Waters” of sponge cities and climate adaptive design
(Related Topics: Singapore, urban greening)
Episode #38 – Patricia Cuervo Uría
The human side of planning and flood risk in London – the challenge of embedding history into policy
(Related Topics: UK, planning, sustainable drainage systems, stakeholders)

Credits