Monthly Archives for January 2026

The Life and Work of Botanist Catherine Muriel Rob – New Herbarium Exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum

Written by Anna Robson, Associate Collections Curator – Biology, York Museums Trust

A new foyer case exhibition titled ‘The Life and Work of Botanist Catherine ‘Kit’ Rob: An insider’s look at the Yorkshire Museum’s Herbarium’ is now on display at the Yorkshire Museum. This exhibition displays the herbarium in a new light, being one of the only times the museum has exhibited the dried plant specimens to the public. It is also a special exhibit of material from Kit’s personal paper archive which has been kindly loaned by the University of York’s Borthwick Institute for Archives.

The Yorkshire Museum’s herbaria contain thousands of specimens, with its origins in the Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) which was founded near 200 years ago. The YPS herbaria was first catalogued by Henry J. Wilkinson, Honorary Curator of Botany (1892 – 1933), and is still used as a reference guide by researchers interested in the museum’s herbarium and by curators.

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A New Generation of Bolton Field Naturalists.

Written by Lauren Field, Curator of Natural History, Bolton Museum. 

In 1895 The Borough of Bolton Botanical Society was formed. This group concerned itself, as the name implies, with botany alone but eventually a feeling emerged among naturalists in Bolton that other aspects of natural history should be covered.

On February 7th 1907 a group of keen local naturalists met at the Chadwick Museum (Bolton Museum’s first building). The group included members of the Botanical Society as well as ornithologists, entomologists and others representing natural history from astronomy to geology – from the heights of the sky to the depths of the earth.

They soon settled on the name Bolton Field Naturalists’ Society.

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NatSCA Digital Digest – January 2026

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

Welcome to the January 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 Conference 2026 – Call for Papers

In partnership with the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland, NatSCA would like to announce our upcoming 2026 conference, Collaborating and Connecting with Natural History.

We invite proposals that demonstrate effective partnerships and creative collaborations with museums, as well as outside organizations.

The conference itself will take place from May 14th and 15th.

Guidance for attendance and proposals can be found on the event page here. Please read the Call for Papers submission form at the above link for more details! Submissions are due by 5:00 pm GMT on Sunday the 8th of February.

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