Who we are:
A group of people of all ages who enjoy looking in depth
into the workings of the natural world:~ animals, plants and geology. Our
members range from beginners to expert amateurs and wildlife professionals.
Our background:
The SNS was set up in 1929 by a group of amateur naturalists
who saw the need to pool their knowledge. The information has always been used
in a spirit of scientific enquiry and SNS is careful to maintain its amateur
and scientific basis. We are Registered Charity no. : 206084 with the UK Charity Commission.
You can find out more about us by entering our number on their
website: www.charity-commission.gov.uk/
What we do:
We produce several publications, hold field meetings, members evenings
and a biennial conference. Members findings are published in its thrice-yearly
newsletter White Admiral (now in it's 1oth year
on the internet, see floating menu at top left) ; annually in the Society's
transactions Suffolk
Natural History, the bird report Suffolk Birds and
occasional books.
How this helps wildlife:
The records collected are compiled at the Suffolk Biological
Records Centre, part of the National Biodiversity Network. which monitors species
abundance. Data is used to assemble distribution maps. In this way increases
of species like the white admiral butterfly and the decline of others like
the red squirrel can be monitored. The material is made available to Local authorities,
English Nature and the Wildlife Trusts and is essential for making decisions
about conservation in Suffolk, compiling Biodiversity Action Plans and monitoring
their success.
How this helps the environment:
The Society encourages debate on environmental issues at meetings
and the conference where there are presentations by national and local experts.
Records of species distribution can shed light on climate change, pollution
events, building developments or the spread of introduced species but the information
is always subject to interpretation and SNS does not act as a lobbying group.
How you can get involved:
Join us, whether a complete beginner who would like to learn
about wildlife from experts or an expert who would like to interact with others
and have their studies to be put to good use.
Joan Hardingham,
Our previous chairman, retired April 2008.
The position of chairman is currently awaiting an appointment.
These web pages compiled for the SNS by Adrian Chalkley.
Please use the floating menu to the left to navigate your way around the site.
Please note also that membership enquiries are handled by SNS staff based at the Suffolk Biological Records Centre (Ipswich Museum) and any persons interested in joining are advised to read the information on the SBRC website. Here information on the SNS books about Suffolk wildlife and other publications may also be found. Click here to visit the SBRC site.
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into the workings of the natural world:~ animals, plants and geology. Our
members range from beginners to expert amateurs and wildlife professionals.
