NatSCA Digital Digest – May 2026

Compiled by Ellie Clark, Curator of Fossil Cnidaria at the Natural History Museum.

Welcome to the May edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.

Digital Digest is a monthly blog series featuring the latest on where to go, what to see and do in the natural history sector including jobs, exhibitions, conferences, and training opportunities. We are keen to hear from you if you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest, please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.

Sector News

Registration Open for SHNH Summer Meeting 2026

After months in the planning, registration is now open for ‘The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) at 200: Science, Society and the Natural World’, the SHNH International Summer Meeting in partnership with The Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

This three-day conference, held in SHNH’s 90th year, will mark the bicentenary of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and delve into its history and impact on our knowledge of the natural world. Founded in the age of empire and Enlightenment science, ZSL has shaped – and been shaped by – transformations in zoological knowledge, conservation practice, and human-animal relations. The bicentenary offers a timely opportunity to explore ZSL’s history and to reflect on its legacy in Britain and beyond.

Location: Hybrid – Huxley Lecture Theatre, Zoological Society of London, and Online

Dates: 1-3 July 2026

Programme: https://shnh.org.uk/the-zoological-society-of-london-zsl…/

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/zsl-at-200-shnh-summer…

Registration will close at 6pm (BST) on 12th June 2026.

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An Acre of Yorkshire to Revitalise Botany Education

Written by Sebastian Stroud, Teaching Fellow in Ecology, School of Biology, University of Leeds.

Did you ever visit the experimental gardens of the University of Leeds? For the vast majority of you, I imagine not. It’s more than likely you’ve never even heard of the old gardens, and that’s because they’ve been shut down entirely. Demolished in the mid-noughties, the collections were disbanded and moved to other institutions. A story not unheard of for university living collections.

For those interested, there exists a fascinating history – a story told by the garden’s former plantsman, Martin Lappage (Lappage and Redshaw, 2021). Although, like many of you, I never stepped foot in the old experimental garden, reading Lappage’s book conjured inspiration as though I’d been there with him. From fascinating figs and their minuscule wasp pollinators to award-winning orchid collections, the old garden was a botanist’s dream.

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Scott Wilson’s Iʻiwi: Colouring the Past

Written by Dan Gordon, Keeper of Biology, The Great North Museum: Hancock.

Sometimes you come across something in the stores that catches your eye. Something a little puzzling, maybe something hiding in plain sight, or in a drawer you’d never had cause to open before. For me, the specimen in question was a bright red bird. Clearly historic by its beady glass eyes, but seemingly lacking any other provenance, and identity unknown. The appearance was striking, with bright scarlet feathers and a long, curved bill like a scimitar. This made identifying it the easiest step – an I’iwi (ee-EE-wi) one of the Hawaiian Honeycreepers, and a little surprising, given its rarity. It sat alone, without context, among a flock of other small birds, drawing your eye as a patch of scarlet amongst the browns and greys. A mystery, then.

NEWHM : 2016.H5 – I’iwi (Drepanis coccinea) collected by Scott B. Wilson 1888. All images credited to The Natural History Society of Northumbria.

A bit of digging in the archives began to shed some light. Two of a Honey-Eater from Keauhou, Kona – Presented per J. Hancock by Scott Wilson Esq. looked like a likely candidate. One of a pair, collected from the Big Island, Hawaii, reached us here in 1889. The Natural History Society of Northumbria were keen collectors of specimens from all over the world at that time, but this one seemed unusual. Who was Scott Wilson, and why might he have sent them here?

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Meet the Taxidermist – A New Way to Engage the Public with Taxidermy

Written by Julie Griffith, Property Experience Curator, Calke Abbey – National Trust & Sarah Burhouse, Taxidermist, Birdhouse Taxidermy.

How to challenge negative pre-conceptions of taxidermy and facilitate deeper, positive engagement with the objects – this was the challenge faced at Calke Abbey, a National Trust property in Derbyshire.

Credit – National Trust/Julie Griffith

Julie – Calke Abbey

Integral to Calke Abbey’s identity, the natural history collection demonstrates the interests and collecting of several generations of the Harpur Crewe family. Most visible is the taxidermy, present in over 10 rooms of the house and ranging from high quality finished dioramas to unfinished mounts hanging upside down in overcrowded cases. In the Saloon, large cases of birds even obscure a painting of Harpur Crewe children, demonstrating the importance placed on these objects by their historical owners.

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NatSCA Digital Digest – April 2026

Compiled by Milo Phillips, Digitisation Co-ordinator at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Welcome to the April edition of NatSCA Digital Digest.

A monthly blog series featuring the latest on where to go, what to see and do in the natural history sector including jobs, exhibitions, conferences, and training opportunities. We are keen to hear from you if you have any top tips and recommendations for our next Digest, please drop an email to blog@natsca.org.

Sector News

NatSCA Annual Conference & AGM 2026: Registration Now OPEN!

Booking is now open for the Annual Conference & AGM of the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) held on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May 2026 at The Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This year’s theme is: Collaborating and Connecting with Natural History.

Due to limited venue capacity, the conference is limited to 120 places. Please follow this link to the conference page to find out more information: https://www.natsca.org/event/2924.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. If you would like to become a member, which would qualify you for the conference discount or bursaries, please see our website for details.

Please note that the early bird discount ends on the 14th April so get in quick if you want to get the cheaper rate!

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