Picture of parent Grebes with stripey chicks on their floating nest

Future of the Birmingham Natural History Society

The Society has been dissolved. Unhappily there will be no further meetings or publications.

For some time, the Society has had falling numbers attending meetings, and difficulty in finding people willing or able to become officers. Towards the end of 2021, the situation was reached that there were not enough officers left to operate the Society, and no prospect of finding new ones. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society was held on 20 May 2022, at which it was agreed with great sadness but unanimously that the Society should be dissolved, and its financial assets divided between the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. It is intended to maintain a website for some years to keep alive the name and history of the Society.

The Birmingham Natural History Society was founded by a group of Victorian amateur naturalists in 1858, and has played a leading role over the years in the study of natural history in the Midland Region, and beyond. Scientific articles by members, and other naturalists reporting on their studies are still to be read in the 'Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society', a journal of high repute and still available in many libraries.



Edgbaston Nature Reserve

For many years the BNHS played a significnt part in maintaining the reserve and was largely responsible for its designation as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). Please see fuller account - link to right.



Recent Achievements


The Society has always had distinguished Members, who have made studies and collections, which have sometimes resulted in publications.

Amongst the publications associated with the Society are.

'A Computer Mapped Flora' by D. A. Cadbury, J. G. Hawkes and R. C. Readett, 1971 - a study of the flora of Vice-County 38, Warwickshire, published in conjunction with the University of Birmingham.

'A Fungus Flora of Warwickshire' edited by M.C.Clark, 1980, published in conjunction with the University of Birmingham and the British Mycological Society. Described

'Lepidoptera of the Midland (Birmingham) Plateau', published in 'Proceedings of the Birmingham Natural History Society ' Vol.26, Nos.3 and 4, 1992/93.
The relevant collections are housed in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.


 



Copyright
The bird in the logo is from Freepix, 'Edgbaston Nature Reserve' is ours.
All other photographs are copyright and belong to North East wildlife Our thanks for quality photographs.
Webmaster Clare Hinchliffe
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