Nature for everyone

Born in the Netherlands and raised in Canada, I developed my love for the outdoors and my commitment to conserving nature from a young age. Reading works by trailblazing urbanists Jane Jacobs and James Howard Kunstler as a teenager, I questioned the imbalance between nature and the encroaching urban sprawl I saw around me in suburban Canada.

As an ecological engineer, driven by a love for ecology and a fascination with technology, I research, develop, and bring to market emerging technologies to build better communities for people and nature. A concept I call the “Internet of Nature” (IoN).

The IoN is now a global movement of courageous practitioners who are leveraging emerging technologies to build nature-rich communities. My podcast, Internet of Nature Podcast, with over 25K downloads, showcases the incredible work of these entrepreneurs and innovators.

Photo credit: Roger Cremers for National Geographic

With over a decade of experience in academia across four continents, scientific research is squarely in my wheelhouse. But my research combined with my years working at—and building my own—tech start-ups is where I stand out. I now deliver keynotes, moderate global events, disseminate knowledge, and launch products at the nexus of nature, people, and technology.

My work has been featured in documentaries produced by BBC Earth and arte.tv; on multiple British, Irish, and Dutch radio shows; and in several print publications, including Newsweek, ELLE, and National Geographic, in which my Ph.D. research at was the subject of a five-page feature.

I have been the recipient of both academic and entrepreneurial awards, including a Fulbright scholarship for a fellowship at MIT Senseable City Lab, where I still hold a research affiliation; inclusion on the Sustainable Top 100 list of young Dutch entrepreneurs for three consecutive years in a row (the maximum allowed); and the European Space Agency’s top prize, a “Space Oscar,” for my work on individual tree crown delineation to combat urban deforestation. Forbes and Elsevier selected me for their respective “30 under 30” lists.

Clients, colleagues, and friends value my ability to take ownership of the results. I like to think this ability, combined with my honesty, empathy, and ingenuity, is what makes me a leader capable of successfully leading teams to accomplish a shared mission.

I am excited about the path I'm on, researching and building knowledge to “take nature online” and I take great pride in the fact that my head is in science, but my heart is in communicating. I look forward to translating academic and technological discoveries into public information across different media.

In 2024 I was named a National Geographic Explorer, researching how growing cities across Latin America are plugging into the Internet of Nature. My debut book, The Nature of Our Cities: Harnessing the Power of the Natural World to Survive a Changing Planet, will be published by HarperCollins on June 18, 2024. You can now pre-order the book here.

Media highlights

My work picked up across different media channels.

Videos

Podcasts

Human-Centred AI Podcast

How can we apply emerging technologies to improve the health of urban ecosystems.

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Tall Stories 206 Podcast

What can we learn from the biological networks that exist in our cities.

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Podcast NRC Future AffairsPodcast REACT Community RadioPodcast The Green UrbanistPodcast Inspiring Social EntrepreneursPodcast Making GoodPodcast TangledPodcast How to Biodesign

Interviews

The Internet of Nature | National Geographic

I argue for a better balance between people and nature in cities. How? By applying modern technologies.

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Digitizing Nature | Stories of Impact

How taking nature online could be the answer to greener and smarter cities.

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Turning the Heat: Interview with Nadina Galle, Urban Design Forum
On The Roof With...Nadina Galle, Living Architecture Monitor
How Internet of Nature can help optimize water use for cities’ ambitious tree-planting targets, Amsterdam International Water Web
Trees, Urban Ecosystem Services and Internet of Nature, Next City
Meet Nadina Galle Part 1/2, Urban AI
Meet Nadina Galle Part 2/2, Urban AI
How Geospatial AI Leads to Smart Urban Ecosystems, GIM International
Alumni Portraits: Green Cities with Dr. Nadina Galle, University of Amsterdam Green Office
Celebrating ELLE's 30th anniversary with the top-30 Dutch environmentalists, ELLE Magazine
Forest Ranger 2.0: The data science of forest monitoring, Net Impact Amsterdam
How Internet of Nature can protect, restore, and enhance urban nature, Irish Tech News
Nadina Galle previews her presentation for Trees, People and the Built Environment 4, Institute for Chartered Foresters
Internet of Nature begins in the soil, Biind Magazine [Dutch]
Internet and nature go hand-in-hand, Biind Magazine [Dutch]*
* English translation in my blog
More houses and more greenery in Amsterdam: how?, Het Parool [Dutch]
Diversitree shows the importance of urban tree diversity, Straatbeeld [Dutch]

Awards

My work has been recognized at both the academic and entrepreneurial levels.

Awards

Forbes 30 under 30

Made the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for the Science and Healthcare category.

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Duurzame Jonge 100

Made theSustainable Young Top 100 list of Dutch entrepreneurs, three years in a row.

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Elsevier Weekblad (EW), made the 2021 30 Under 30 list
Fulbright Award, for research at MIT Senseable City Lab
ELLE Magazine, selected as a top-30 sustainable changemaker in the Netherlands
Copernicus Master, Green City Watch won ESA's top prize at European Space Week
Planet Daily Change Challenge, Green City Watch was the overall first place winner
UvA Alumni Award, for making a unique contribution to society through a thought-provoking project
Viva400, nominated for outstanding work in my field
GBDX for Sustainability Challenge, Green City Watch won out of 70+ submissions
T500, list of Dutch digital top talents under 25

Publications

An overview of my academic and professional publications. For more, please see my Google Scholar or follow me on ResearchGate.

Select academic publications

Ghahramani, M., Galle, N.J., Ratti, C., & Pilla, F. (2021). Tales of a city: Sentiment analysis of urban green space in Dublin. Cities, 103395.

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Galle, N. J., Brinton, W., Vos, R., Basu, B., Duarte, F., Collier, M., ... & Pilla, F. (2021). Correlation of WorldView-3 spectral vegetation indices and soil health indicators of individual urban trees with exceptions to topsoil disturbance. City and Environment Interactions, 100068.

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Galle, N.J., Halpern, D., Nitoslawski, S.A., Duarte, F., Ratti, C., & Pilla, F. (2021). Mapping the diversity of street tree inventories across eight cities internationally using open data. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 127099.

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Ghahramani, M., Galle, N.J., Duarte, F., Ratti, C., & Pilla, F. (2021). Leveraging artificial intelligence to analyze citizens’ opinions on urban green space. City and Environment Interactions, 100058.

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Galle, N.J., Nitoslawski, S.A., & Pilla, F. (2019). The Internet of Nature: How taking nature online can shape urban ecosystems. The Anthropocene Review, 6(3), 279-287.

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Nitoslawski, S.A., Galle, N.J., Konijnendijk van den Bosch, C., & Steenberg, J.W.N. (2019). Smarter ecosystems for smarter cities? A review of trends, technologies, and turning points for smart urban forestry. Sustainable Cities and Society, 51, 101770.

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Galle, N.J., Brinton, W., Vos, R., Duarte, F., Collier, M., Ratti, C., & Pilla, F. (2021). Spatial variability of urban forest topsoil properties: towards representative and robust sampling design. Open Research Europe, 1(45), 45.

Roemers, G., Galle, N.J., & Giezen, M. (2016). Planning the Circular City: lessons from post-industrial Amsterdam. Resilient Cities: Rethinking Urban Transformation. UK: Springer Publishing.

Select professional publications

Galle, N.J. (2018). The Metabolism of Amsterdam Open Air. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Metabolic.

Galle, N.J., & Kotvis, X. (2018). Circular DGTL Amsterdam 2018: Staging a revolution. Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Galle, N.J., Van Exter, P., & Tauber, M,. (2018). Circulair Eigen Haard (Circular Eigen Haard). Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Gladek, E., Van Exter, P., Roemers, G., Schlueter, L., De Winter, J, Galle, N.J., & Dufourmont, J. (2018). Circular Rotterdam: Opportunities for new jobs in a zero-waste economy. Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Gladek, E., Galle, N.J., Kennedy, E., Mason, T., & Thorin, T. (2018). The Metabolism of Schiphol: Towards a circular airport. Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Galle, N.J., De Haes, S., & Hemmelder, A. (2017). Afvalvrij DGTL: Op weg naar het eerste circulaire festival ter wereld (Zero-Waste DGTL: Enroute to the world’s first circular festival). Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Galle, N.J., De Haes, S., & Hemmelder, A. (2017). Handbook for a zero-waste festival: Transitioning to a circular economy. Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Galle, N.J., & De Haes, S. (2017). Welcome to the Circular Village. Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Galle, N.J., Roemers, G., Gladek, E., Verkooijen, L., & Roosendaal, J. (2017). Circulair Vlieland (Circular Vlieland). Retrieved from Metabolic.

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Roemers, G., Faes, K, Gladek, E., Galle, N.J., & Blok, M. (2016). Amsterdamse roadmap voor circulaire gronduitgifte (Amsterdam’s roadmap for circular land tendering). Retrieved from the City of Amsterdam.

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Roemers, G., Galle, N.J., & Kennedy, E. (2016). Notitie Rijk van Nijmegen: Regionale visie en uitvoeringsprogramma (Report on Nijmegen: Regional vision and implementation program). Retrieved from Metabolic.

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