NatSCA conference and AGM 2013

Natural Science Collections: Policy and Practice

28th February & 1st March 2013 – The Yorkshire Museum, York

The Yorkshire Museum, York, England. Designed by architect William Wilkins in a Greek Revival style and was officially opened in February 1830. By Kaly99

At this year’s NatSCA conference we will be looking at how collection policies, reviews and legislation influence current practice in curation and care of collections. We will also be addressing some of the ongoing wider issues affecting the sector, including a proposed strategy for safeguarding collections for the future.

As usual, the meeting will provide a fantastic opportunity for communicating with colleagues and finding out what’s going on in the sector – all at a very reasonable price (especially if you fork out the £15 for membership)!

Two day cost: NatSCA members £85 (non-member £100)

Early bird booking by 11th January  £75 (non-member £90)

One day cost: NatSCA members:  £50 (non-member £60)

Early bird booking by 11th January:  £40 (non-member £50)

Deadline for bookings is 8th February 2013

Booking form for the NatSCA 2013 conference [doc file]

List of nearby accommodation for NatSCA 2013 conference [pdf]

Programme of talks for NatSCA 2013 conference [pdf]

The Bill Pettit Memorial Award

NatSCA is pleased to invite applications to this year’s Bill Pettit Memorial Award.

Up to £2,000 of grant money will be made available to NatSCA members every year to support projects including the conservation, access, and use of natural science collections. Continue reading →

The Importance of Natural Science Collections

Natural Science Collections provide a valuable resource for helping us to understand the world in which we live.

Apart from being hugely popular with the public, natural history collections play a vital role in our understanding of biodiversity, evolution, population genetics and the environmental impacts of climate change, pesticide use and so on. This is because historical collections provide base-line data against which modern observations can be compared and to produce predictive models.

The most fundamental role of natural history collections is safeguarding type specimens. These are preserved specimens of the individuals that were used to describe and name a species, providing the basis for taxonomy. Continue reading →

Call for collections information on the Tansy beetle

Can you and your collections help?

 

Do you have any Tansy beetle specimens with field collection data? 

 

This beautiful, bright green beetle is currently only known in the UK around York, but is recorded to have been ‘more widespread’ in the UK in the past.  Continue reading →

Campaign for Natural Science Collections

Natural science collections and the specialist staff that work with them provide a vital resource for researchers, environmental consultants, biological recorders, educators and the wider public. In this period of financial depression there is growing need for advocacy as collections face budget and staff cuts leading to neglect, damage and ultimately disposal of collections. This call-to-arms outlines a broad strategy for a partnership approach to safeguarding UK natural science collections for all. Continue reading →