Six Pitches To Tackle Global Environmental & Conservation Challenges From The HATCH: Taronga Accelerator Program
HATCH 2023 participants alongside the delivery team.
How might we address some of the globe’s most pressing environmental and conservation challenges?
HATCH: Taronga Accelerator Program aims to inspire, support and launch innovative ideas and actions to help address some of the most pressing environmental and conservation challenges currently facing our planet.
2023 is the third year of HATCH and this year the program ran both in-person and online. The program supported 6 of Australia’s top, emerging impact-led initiatives. Impact Boom was the proud delivery partner and was impressed by the founders and delivery team.
Alongside Taronga Conservation Society Australia, we’re proud to share some of the incredible outcomes from the dedicated participants of HATCH. On 26th June a sold out audience gathered at Taronga Zoo for the Showcase event and a national audience tuned in online. Below, you’ll find the pitches presented on the evening and we’d encourage you to get in touch with the entrepreneurs, buy their products and support their campaigns.
We’d like to graciously thank the entire team at Taronga Conservation Society Australia who made this possible, as well as the amazing presenters and program mentors. Without their support, expertise and contagious positivity, creating a program of this calibre would not be possible.
Keep your eyes on these inspiring initiatives as they evolve, develop their projects and maximise their impact.
Watch the pitches from HATCH 2023 participants and learn some of the key insights from the program delivery team, Christie Gazal, Belinda Fairbrother and Paul Maguire.
[Tom Allen] - Can you please tell us more about the HATCH: Taronga Accelerator Program and why Taronga invested in this program to support the community?
[Christie Gazal, Belinda Fairbrother, and Paul Maguire] – HATCH was created to accelerate a positive impact on our natural environment and the wildlife that inhabit it. Whilst there are several accelerator programs that support innovation, HATCH is very particular about supporting ideas that will tackle or reverse some of the most pressing environmental issues.
The 14-week program supports founders to assess, test and validate their early-stage ideas and to establish themselves as social enterprise or not-for-profit organisations to drive their initiatives forward. We do this by harnessing the power of innovative thinking, and collaboration and fostering the founders' passion for the natural world to solve big issues. HATCH is here to accelerate the changemaker journey and hatch brilliant ideas for the planet.
Taronga believes that innovation is a key part of securing a shared future for people and wildlife, and that brilliant ideas to address these challenges can come from any corner of the community. This year’s program was a great example of this with our founders coming from a range of professional backgrounds and applying their experience to tackle sustainability and environmental issues in new and different ways.
What have some of the key outcomes been?
This year we were finally able to run elements of the program in person which created a uniquely collaborative, safe, and nurturing environment for these initiatives to thrive. Our fantastic cohort established strong bonds with each other that will last beyond the program and a number are collaborating within their initiatives. This was really pleasing to see, as a key purpose of the program is to connect founders with other environmental changemakers to make the journey a little less lonely. Across the program, we delivered 40 hours of learning and collaboration, and our amazing Mentors provided more than 100 hours of pro bono advice and guidance. Our Mentors are a core part of the HATCH Program and we are so grateful to them for their support!
The program culminated in the teams pitching to our esteemed Judging Panel and then sharing their initiatives at the public HATCH Pitch Event at Taronga Zoo Sydney. The caliber of the founders and their initiatives was recognized by all who were able to see it and the Judges had a hard time deciding on which worthy cause would take out the final prize money. ReHabitat (Habitat Pods), founded by Dr. Alex Carthey, was crowned the 2023 HATCH Winner and recipient of the $50,000 HATCH Grant. ReHabitat was so impressive it was also voted the $5,000 People’s Choice Winner. This was the first time a team has been awarded both prestigious prizes.
It has been so wonderful to see the participants receive external recognition in the media, with Be The Future from Founder Sally Giblin featuring on Channel 10 News and has launched their Kickstarter with great results; ReHabitat was shared on Yahoo, SMH, AusBiz, and ABC Canberra; and LOWN featuring in Women Love Tech. Founder Dr. Chris Gillies signed up 6 restaurants to his Seafood Positive initiative on the day of the Pitch Event. This year’s cohort all worked so hard throughout the program and are a truly inspirational group of people committed to creating a better future for all. We look forward to continuing to support them as HATCH alumni and to seeing the positive impact they will achieve.
It has also been incredible to see the success and progress of our previous cohorts, and a number of them have been able to connect and share their insights with this year’s cohort. 2020 Winner Good-Edi (edible coffee cups) has gone from strength to strength and hit the 200,000 cups sold milestone, which means 200,000 fewer disposable cups in the landfill. Likewise, the 2020 team RePlated (takeaway without the waste) has partnered with Sustainability Victoria and Waverly Council in NSW to run large-scale trials of their business. We’ve also had great success from 2021 Founder Camille Goldstone-Henry, who has launched a podcast, became a finalist in the Commonwealth Bank Young Hero Awards, and won the KPMG Australia Natura Positive Challenge, whilst 2021 HATCH winner Kimberly Bolton is launching her seed funding round for Carapac in the coming weeks.
As the Program Leads, what's one of the main learnings you'd apply to future programs?
The most important learning is always the importance of relationships and collaboration. Effective relationships and collaboration are critical to achieving the best outcomes, whether that’s in delivering the HATCH Program or for new startups. Our founders are incredible individuals – smart, passionate, and driven – but it’s true that we can all go further together. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the amazing relationships and support we’ve had from our HATCH community, including yourself Tom. It is so important to build and nurture your community and relationships and ensure you’re constantly meeting their expectations.
Another key learning is to drive innovation within the program to ensure that we remain attractive and influential in this space. It is so important to communicate HATCH’s unique position in the accelerator world and the importance of evaluating and sustaining our impact, not only on the participants but the impact HATCH has on reducing or reversing key threatening processes.
HATCH participants during an immersive session at Taronga Zoo.
What advice would you give to other organisations seeking to provide this type of support?
Similar to the above answer, find your strength in this space and connect with complementary partnerships and stakeholders to build your community. HATCH has worked very hard to establish our community and connect with like-minded organisations and individuals which has been the key to our success. When starting in this space, we were overwhelmed with how open, generous, and collaborative the innovation ecosystem was in Australia. I strongly recommended getting out there in the community and connecting with people who already understand this space and what works, then finding your own little piece of the pie.
It is also really important to assess your program as you go along. Listen to the feedback from your community and participants and work under the principle of continuous improvement. Working with the participants as the program unfolds and making adjustments in the moment can really ensure you’re meeting the expectations and needs of those in the program.
What’s next for Taronga and HATCH?
There are always new developments at Taronga especially as we see a return of guests after lockdowns. Our latest addition to the Zoo is the Nura Diya Australia exhibit which allows guests to immerse themselves in native Australian flora and fauna, connect with Country and reconnect with nature. Behind the scenes, our wildlife conservation and science teams continue their important work including breed and release programs for endangered native animals, rehabilitating injured wildlife, and field research.
In terms of HATCH, we are exploring new opportunities to engage with people across the country and to connect with new community interstate and regionally. We are even going to explore a youth arm of HATCH to engage and support the next generation of ecopreneurs. Another step for HATCH, is to reflect and measure our impact not only on the participants but on broader environmental outcomes. Now that we are in our third year of the program, we need to reflect and communicate our outcomes and demonstrate the impact our teams and HATCH are truly having. Furthermore, applications for our Pre-Accelerator program will open in late July. If you are interested in the role of innovation to support conservation and the environment, please follow us on LinkedIn or join the HATCH mailing list to keep up to date with program plans and news.
watch the pitches
BE THE FUTURE
After noticing that climate change educational tools focused heavily on doom-and-gloom, founder Sally Giblin set about changing this.
Be The Future’s edutainment kits are creating a new generation of young climate champions through playful fun, hope, and humour.
Co-Founder: Sally Giblin
HABITATS PODS
Habitat Pods are lightweight, modular, and biodegradable emergency refuges that can be rapidly deployed to protect wildlife after natural disasters and habitat degradation.
Founder: Dr. Alex Carthey
LOWN
LOWN is the world’s first dedicated market for products made of fibers from farms embracing regenerative practices, whilst tailoring their service to busy hybrid workers that don’t have time or money to waste on quality products they don’t wear much.
Tapping into the new financial incentives showing up in the fashion rental business model, LOWN’s mission is to finally fix toxic fashion for good!
Founder: Emma Foster-Geering
One Fish Two Fish (Seafood Positive)
OneFishTwoFish (Seafood Positive) is Reversing biodiversity loss in the oceans by moving towards a ‘circular’ seafood economy.
For every fish sold, caught, or consumed, they will return two fish to the ocean.
Founder: Dr. Chris Gillies
Reviving Cultural Practices
Reviving Cultural Practices aims to address the need for increased cultural and environmental awareness among landowners and managers of the importance of cultural fire burning and its role in maintaining healthy ecosystems whilst preserving traditional knowledge and practices.
Managed by Tara Mercy and Rebecca Woods through the Bandjalang Aboriginal Corporation, they are handing down generations of traditional practices to tackle biodiversity loss.
Leadership Team: Rebecca Woods and Tara Mercy
Scrunch (Scrunched Solutions):
Scrunched Solutions is empowering households to efficiently compress soft plastic in the home.
By simplifying storage and facilitating recycling its mission is to keep soft plastics out of our oceans by making sure it gets recycled efficiently.
Founder: David Roberts
