The environmental and spatial data collection experts

Natural Apptitude is a leading UK software development company specialising in ecological and nature based citizen science data collection apps and websites.

Phone with a screenshot from the mammal mapper app on it showing a list of spotted mammalsPhone with a screenshot from the Dawn Chorus app on it with a globe illustration and the words "join the global dawn chorus" on it
Photo of a bee sitting on a purple flower inside a hexagon shape
Photo of an range landscape of brush and trees with mountain in the background in a hexagon shape
Laptop with screenshot of the Big Butterfly Count website map on it

We specialise in creating citizen science and data collection apps and websites that support ecological and conservation efforts.

From defining the problem to final delivery, we work closely with you to understand your project, audience, and goals.
We prioritise long-term engagement over quick turn around, and are heavily invested in helping you to fulfil your mission. Our collaborative approach ensures we achieve your project goals and objectives in the most intuitive and user-centred way possible.

What we offer
Photo of green countryside with green field and a blue sky with clouds

At Natural Apptitude
we believe in...

Environment first

We are passionate about the environment and doing our part to help tackle the many challenges facing the natural world, both in the UK and abroad.

Trust

We take ownership of everything we do. We value transparency at every level, both within our team and with everyone we work with. We strive to build long lasting, rewarding relationships that grow together.

Collaboration

Combining the diverse perspectives from everyone involved in our projects is the key to creating innovative solutions. Working with users, stakeholders and the entire team in between, we aim to design simple-to-use solutions that reduce barriers and maximise impact.

Flexibility

Recognising that both project requirements and personal commitments can change, we pride ourselves on our flexibility with both our customers and our team’s needs.

Doing good

When we’re not working on projects that help the environment we focus on projects that help improve lives, in crowdsourcing and citizen science projects, health and education.

BBC logo

Featured on the BBC’s One Show, Springwatch and Countryfile

Small but mighty

Our dedicated and highly skilled team offers a wide range of services including front-end development, research, ideation, user-experience and interface design, marketing and environmental expertise.

Based in the the UK we are remote first, which allows us to gather the best talent from across the country. With a flat team structure we make sure that everyone’s voice is heard.

Picture of Dave Kilbey

Dave Kilbey

Founder and CEO
Dave founded Natural Apptitude in 2013. With over 25 years of experience in ecology, IT, education and business, he has grown the company from a part-time venture to a thriving enterprise that supports the ecological, conservation and wider environmental sectors. Dave is committed to conservation and when not working likes to spend his time working on nature restoration projects.
Picture of Joe Woodhouse

Joe Woodhouse

Chief Technology Officer
Joe began his tech career in database development at Nokia before focusing on front-end coding and gaining a deep understanding of a wide range of technologies and languages. This full-stack expertise allows him to tackle problems from multiple perspectives and solve even the most complex issues. Outside of work and developing new apps, Joe enjoys spending time with his family.

Eli Newman

Digital Product Designer
Eli is a mother of 2 with over 15 years of experience working in digital product design. With past clients including Amazon and Disney she love solving complex UX problems, UX strategy and building design systems. When not at work she splits her time between her family, kickboxing, biohacking and Web3.

Paul Smith

Customer Success Manager
Paul has been building websites for nearly 30 years, working with a wide range of commercial and educational clients and audiences. Outside of work, Paul enjoys camping, swimming, and photographing wildlife and landscapes, and sometimes wishes he’d been an archaeologist. Indoors, he enjoys baking, playing guitar, piano, and video games.

Allan Vargas

Full Stack Software Engineer
Allan is a full stack software engineer with over 7 years of experience, specialising in backend development. He began his tech career after graduating from University in 2016 with a degree in Computer Science. Allan enjoys staying active through running and doing long challenging walks in the Peak and Lake District

James Meechan

Front End Software Engineer
James has over six years experience as a Frontend Software Engineer working on mobile apps, web apps and websites. When he's not working he's enjoying time with his family and getting out into nature cycling, walking and camping.

Artur Zakharchenko

Front End Developer
Artur is a front end developer with experience in Angular, StencilJS, and React. He absolutely loves working with Capacitor/Ionic. In his free time he enjoys kayaking, spending time in nature, and watching horror movies with friends.

Nick Slatton

Marketing and Documentation specialist
Nick started his career working in wildlife conservation, working on projects around the globe. Nick brings a range of skills to Natural Apptitude. When he's not working on marketing or putting together guides and tutorials you can find him out hiking and admiring the local wildlife.

Ali Harvey

Marketing Specialist
Ali is a Chartered Marketer who specialises in helping SMEs. Passionate about nature and the environment, Ali spends her free time walking or cycling in the Wiltshire countryside.

What customers say about us

The Dawn Chorus team greatly appreciated and enjoyed working with Natural Apptitude. They are extremely professional, creative, knowledgeable and hands on. They built the original app incredibly fast and have had our back ever since. They have been very approachable and considerate and came up with targeted solutions for all our needs.

Susanne Schmitt
Project Head STEAM-Projects
Naturkundemuseum Bayern & LMU

The Dawn Chorus team greatly appreciated and enjoyed working with Natural Apptitude. They are extremely professional, creative, knowledgeable and hands on. They built the original app incredibly fast and have had our back ever since. They have been very approachable and considerate and came up with targeted solutions for all our needs.

Susanne Schmitt
Project Head STEAM-Projects
Naturkundemuseum Bayern & LMU

"It feels very much like a bespoke service… There’s a real understanding at Natural Apptitude of what’s needed – as new features have come out they are all things that make my life easier."

Heather Dickie
Programme Manager
Bore Place

"When choosing a provider to develop this app, we had no doubts that we wanted to work with Natural Apptitude as they are renowned for excelling when it comes to creating user friendly data recording apps. The team understand exactly what it takes to make an effective and engaging tool, and this is demonstrated by their impressive portfolio of citizen science and data collection apps.”

Megan Gimber
Key Habitats Officer
People's Trust for Endangered Species
Photo of green grass fields with pathways cut through them and a blue sky