Thursday, December 28, 2017

50 Presidents now on-line



Back in November I commented that as part of our 150th Celebrations I was putting information about each of our presidents onto our website

At that point I had reached 25. now I have reached the milestone of 50 presidential write-ups on the site and learned an awful lot about the society and the history of Cardiff at the same time

I have continued to learn and am sharing it in the hope that others will find it as interesting as I have done, or at the very least it will be of use to future researchers and harder for people to ignore the truth of the past (as I have found in some academic white up's of some events)

I've added


  • The president who served in three wars as a doctor running three major hospitals as he did it 
  • The president who was the first director of the National Museum but did not live to see it built
  • The president who rented 2 islands (Grassholm and Skomer) to protect them for the future
  • The president who lost an eye in WWI
And many more

Why not take a look at http://cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/150th-08.htm and read about it for yourself

There are a lot of interesting people to come, but it is taking time to do this and I hope you will not mind me taking the rest of this 150th year to complete the task

Of course in so much work there may be mistakes I have made or information or links between people I have not found. if you spot anything please just drop me a note via the contact form (top right of the page) and I will happily sort things out 

Regards
Andy Kendall





Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Inspired by the Wrigglers ...

Eirian has clearly been inspired by the Wriggle talk as she has been out taking pictures which she is kindly sharing with us

Out on the beach ... 


and in close up ...


And one of the wonderful models in the museum...


If anyone else has interesting wildlife pictures I can grant you access to create a post yourself, or you can do as Eirian  did and just email them to me to share with the rest of the members

Regards
Andy

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Spotted in a field

Does anyone know what causes these mounds.

I was walking in the area around Neuadd reservoirs and I noted that 2 fields were covered in them, but just those 2 fields, the ones either side were "normal" it looks like a tussock of some kind rather than any underlying rock or soil, but I presume some specific grass/moss etc. must be responsible.



Its interesting that the tree has a ring around it so there may be some environmental factor in terms of the tree taking up water or something. Anyway I know we have loads of experts around so I thought I would ask 


Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Wriggle! The wonderful world of worms

What a good talk we had last night from Katie Mortimer Jones on the topic of Bristleworms and its certainly made me want to go and visit the exhibition at the museum

Katie gave us an introduction to worms at the beginning and it was fascinating to see yet another link to our history we are celebrating this years because one of the other of the three subclasses of Clitellata are the Hirudinea which are the leeches and are the source of the anti-coagulant Hirudin. This was discovered by Prof. John Berry Haycraft D.Sc., F.R.S.E. (1859-1922) our 34th President




She then explained in detail the many other forms of the bristle worms and whilst I knew they had some beautiful forms I was not aware of many aspects of the diversity and biology of them and it was really good to be learning about them from someone who is obviously a real global expert in them

(Picture of Hermodice carunculata Bristleworms by “prilfish”  Used under licence)

All in all a fascinating talk and one that really interested the members who were present with a lively discussion section at the end. 

Andy Kendall

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

25 Presidents online


As part of our 150th year celebrations I have been reading about and extracting information about our former presidents

I have now reached the milestone that the first 25 Presidents are now on-line and available to read on The Presidents Page

You can read about: -


  • The President who founded the Library
  • The President who worked out how to stop coal dust exploding
  • The President who campaigned for sewage to be treated before being put into the Severn estuary
  • The President who completed the first Flora of Glamorgan (with a lot of help from his daughter who also became a President in due course)
  • The President who was the first Chancellor of the University
  • The President who found the first Welsh Dinosaur remains
  • The President who beat Marconi to the wireless experiments at Lavernock
  • The President who designed the Old Library and thought he should have designed the town hall and the museum 
  • The President who was an expert on the brewing of sake
  • The President who was one of the first up the Matterhorn
  • The President who repaired an eye with an electromagnet
and many more fascinating facts 

As well as these first 25 there are the pages about some of our later presidents which were created for the exhibition at the Cardiff Story museum and are still on-line, and as I felt it was only right a brief summary about myself

(A word of warning the links at the bottom of the pages do not take you forward and back properly. I will be revising all of these once the exhibition is closed and I can do a tidy up not worrying about the pages we put live for the exhibition) 

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

‘A most agreeable and enjoyable day’

As part of our 150th we have been partnering with a number of organizations and they are joining in with our celebrations

Recently I have had emails from Tony at the Glamorgan Archives who has penned a number of articles for their website based on our archive materials

https://glamarchives.gov.uk/2017/09/12/fossil-ferns-reedalso-antique-silver-ring-specimen-white-rock-founding-cardiff-naturalists-society-september-1867/

https://glamarchives.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/carry-on-up-the-nile-the-first-public-lecture-programme-launched-by-the-cardiff-naturalists-society-27-november-1873/

https://glamarchives.wordpress.com/2017/10/12/a-most-agreeable-and-enjoyable-day-the-cardiff-naturalists-societys-field-trip-to-tintern-abbey-june-1873/

I don't have any pictures from 1873, but that trip was led by a geologist so I hope you enjoy these geologists eye view of the Abbey with some pictures taken when Rhian and I had a day out there

These views show a range of building stones used at different places in the Abbey, and the impact that weathering has had on many of these stones. Many of the stones were not intended to be out in the weather because the structure would have had a roof, however some were clearly laid in different angles and you can see how water has got into the layers of rock and differentially weathered some of the layers






Sunday, October 29, 2017

Gall Ink: from Aleppo to Lindisfarne

by Bruce McDonald

SUMMARY

The use of Oak galls in the production of Gall Ink is well documented. What is less clear, particularly as far as Britain is concerned, is where the galls came from. A widespread assumption that they were simply collected from the local countryside appears untenable. Likely sources are suggested here but further research is needed to fill in the gaps and address outstanding questions.

BACKGROUND

Galls have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years in the production of gall ink and used on documents such as The Lindisfarne Gospels, Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. Gall Ink required tannin and galls were the source of that tannin in most cases. It follows that the higher the tannin content, the better. Numerous sources describe how gall ink was and can still be made.

OAK APPLE v. MARBLE GALL.

The first area of confusion is between the Oak Apple (Biorhiza pallida) and the Marble Gall (Andricus kollari). Photos of both are shown below. The Oak apple is quite large (up to 5 cm), but irregular, soft and spongy. The Marble Gall is smaller (up to 2 cm) and harder. Possibly because the Oak apple is more commonly known as a name (e.g. Oak apple Day) and the Marble Gall is common in the countryside, the two can often get mixed up. For example John Wright's 'A Natural History of the Hedgerow' (1) includes a photo (p. 208) of what is almost certainly a Marble Gall but is entitled the Oak apple gall. Stewart Wild (Stephens Collection) (2) gives a perfect description of a Marble gall - 'mainly dark tannin and resembles a Malteser' but refers to it as an Oak apple.

The Oak apple gall has been around for some time in the British countryside and was (and still is) included in Oak apple Day celebrations which had its origins in festivities linked to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

 Oak apple gall 

Marble Gall



MARBLE GALL

Articles on gall ink usually show the Marble Gall as a constituent. The Tudor Merchants House in Tenby has a small display on gall ink and includes some Marble galls. The Woodland Trust ran a gall ink project in 2017 again featuring the Marble Gall. With the Marble Gall very common and widespread in the countryside many jump to the conclusion that they would have been easily collected in the surrounding area in earlier times.

However, this assumption does not take account of the fact that the Marble Gall would not have appeared in Britain until the 19th  century. This is because the gall-causing insect has a two-part life cycle and one of these requires the presence of the Turkey Oak which was only introduced in 1735. The gall wasp was not introduced until the 1830s in Devon as a source of tannin so the Marble gall would not have been widespread for some time.

TANNIN CONTENT

Even when they did arrive the British marble galls would have had a relatively low tannin content, probably around 17%. In contrast the Aleppo Gall from the Middle East had at least three times this level  (see Cecidology article by Leach). Some estimates put it as high as 75%.  Oak apples have less than 5%. John Hill (1751) (3) contrasts the European and Aleppo galls commenting that the former are 'of much less value ... both in manufactures and in medicine'. He also states the 'Oriental' galls are 'brought from Aleppo'. This suggests that a source, if not the principal one, is the import of Aleppo galls. Support for this can be found in a variety of records. Leach (4) notes that as late as 1861 some 800 tons of Aleppo Galls were still being imported annually into the UK. Briggs (4) finds the volume as 50,000 cwt (2,500 ton) in 1880. 

Could the monks on Lindisfarne have been using imported Aleppo galls? Further research might confirm or refute this but it does seem plausible. Redfern (5) reports that Aleppo galls were a 'common article of trade' for the Egyptians in the 5th and 4th centuries BC as well as the Greek in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Pliny (1st century AD) suggests that for black dyes there was no substitute for the Aleppo Gall. Redfern again - 'Aleppo galls were exported all over Europe' ... ' Large quantities from the Mediterranean arrived in London'. Some of these were exported on to America which, although it had its own sources of galls, did not appear to use them for dyeing or ink-making. By 1914 the US was importing some $17,174 of Aleppo galls from Baghdad.

CONCLUSION

Before the 19th century there were no local sources of galls that could have provided sufficient tannin to make Gall ink effectively in Britain. Even when the Marble Gall began to appear in the 19th century it was nothing like as productive as the Aleppo gall. With evidence for the trade in Aleppo galls dating back some 2,500 years it seems reasonable to assume that they were the source of the ink used in the Lindisfarne Gospels, Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. Hopefully further research will provide additional data on the trade in Aleppo galls.



1. A Natural History of the Hedgerow by John Wright, Profile Books, 2016



2. Online by Stewart Wild, Trustee of the Stephens Collection.




3. A History of the Materia Medica by John Hill, MD. 1751



4. Cecidology. The Journal of the British Plant Gall Society. Vol. 1. No 1. Spring 1986. pp 6-7 - Historical Uses of Plant Galls by Jonathan D Briggs. Pp 10-11 The Phenolic Contents of Some British Cynipid Galls by Dr. C K Leach.



5. Plant Galls by Margaret Redfern. Collins, 2011



Bruce McDonald

Wenvoe Wildlife Group

October 2017

Photos sourced online




Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Presidential Games...


No this is not a reference to any goings on in the US at the moment, It's more a comment about how much fun I have been having reading about and learning about the people who preceded me as President of the Cardiff Naturalists' (something I still consider to have been a great honour after many years)

I know I am reading about Victorian times and the way people looked at and thought about things was very different and you have to consider that some of t...he people who were appealing for great things to be done were also employers who expected hard work in unpleasant conditions. However to see amongst the former presidents the people who campaigned for things like the Free Library, Miners benevolent funds and for the establishment of many of the great institutions of the city I think shows people of vision


The list of pages with information about former presidents is growing at http://cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/150th-08.htm and I hope that some of the current members find this of interest.

Regards
Andy

Sunday, October 8, 2017

An Evening with Iolo Williams - Pictures from the evening


It was a SELL OUT ! and we had a wonderful time!

Even before the event it was clear that Iolo was a success with the crowd and he happily spent so much time having his picture taken that we had to ask some people to go directly in 


And it wasn't just the public who wanted a picture he made sure that the Museum warding staff felt welcome to pose for a picture


Once we did manage to get everyone to their seats, our president Chris Franks made the introductions and welcomed everyone to the event


It wasn't long before Iolo was entertaining us all with his tales of learning to tickle fish in his younger years

His explanations of how he had worked with the Gurka's and SAS on the protection of wild bird nests during his 15 years with the RSPB had the whole audience in raptures.


 And his tales of working with the television crews on many programs including springwatch (team in the background) were fascinating


Questions and Answers would have probably gone on all night had we permitted it !


but we had to bring things to a close with the drawing of our prize raffle (winner Judith Bradley collecting the first prize from Iolo)


After that we went into the main hall for the private reception for members.

Sorry if you have recently joined - we would have loved to have everyone through for that for everyone and new members included, but  it would have been cost prohibitive and we had to make that a member offer before the general ticket sales started

We did manage to get this picture of former and current presidents with Iolo.

From left to Right : - Steve Howe, Joan Andrews, Andy Kendall, Thomas Henry Thomas (statue of the 16th president created for the museum Dinosaur Babies exhibition), Linda Nottage, Iolo Williams, Patricia Wood, Chris Franks)


A good time was had by all...


Especially Chris ...


Friday, September 29, 2017

The Last Few Iolo Tickets are on sale

We've just had an update from the Museum,

The tickets are down to the last few so if anyone is thinking of coming and not got their tickets yet they really do need to get organized and book them now via



https://www.ticketlineuk.com/ticket/453782/noson-gyda-iolo-williams-an-evening-with-iolo-williams-amgueddfa-genedlaethol-caerdydd-national-muse/

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

An Evening with Iolo Williams - Tickets On Sale Now

As part of the celebrations and in light of their close association with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, 

Cardiff Naturalists' Society are hosting 
“An Evening with Iolo Williams” 

in the Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre at the Museum in Cathays Park, Cardiff, at 7:00 pm on October 5th 2017.







Famous Welsh naturalist Iolo will be talking about a whole range of topics, including insights into the making of his many natural history programmes for television, as well as a taking a question and answer session.

A "must be there" event for anyone interested in wildlife and nature
There will be a special offer on membership for anyone who comes to the Lecture to be able to "trade in" their ticket for a year's free membership

Friday, September 22, 2017

Do you know of William Adams (1813-1886)?

I didn't until I was given a box of glass slides which were found in a Church that was being turned into a community center in Cardiff so from then on I knew what he looked like, but not a lot more

Here's a copy of that picture : -


I was aware of his name from the records and of course his name is recorded in the first edition of the Society transactions

When we started researching the history of the Society the fact he was a geologist interested me and I decided to look for some more information

Like many of our former members and presidents he seems to have been driven to do good works wherever he was.

This has now gone into the 150th Anniversary web site to support our exhibition at the Cardiff Story museum you can see the page here - http://cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/150th-11.htm






Monday, September 18, 2017

Dyffryn Gardens Arboretum

On Thursday 14 Sept, Cardiff Naturalists took a tour of the arboretum at Dyffryn Gardens with the new arboriculturist Rory Ambrose. Rory started work at National Trust Dyffryn Gardens in November 2016, bringing with him many years’ experience of working at Kew Gardens.

He told us of the National Trust’s five-year plan to restore the arboretum to its former glory as a “woodland garden”, with the clearance of overgrowth to let important trees flourish, a greater emphasis on parkland tree species, and better integration with the rest of the Edwardian gardens.

Systematic tree planting started at Dyffryn back in the mid-eighteenth century. Among the oldest ornamentals are the Lucombe oak on the Archery lawn, thought to be over 400 years’ old. Reginald Cory and Thomas Mawson developed and extended the gardens at Dyffryn between 1906 and 1930, including the tree collection in the form it is seen today. Unfortunately, there was a period of relative neglect for several decades, up to 1997 when Vale of Glamorgan Council purchased Dyffryn Gardens. The National Trust acquired the house and gardens in January 2013.

We started our walk by the visitor centre, stopping first at Kennel Bank to the left of the path to Dyffryn House. The heather beds established in the 1970s have now gone. This area is being prepared as a wild flower meadow, with some new areas of heather being replanted. Around 80,000 bulbs are to be planted on the bank, including 6,000 crocus bulbs of several varieties. The long-term aim is for a pastoral woodland landscape, which will include native orchids.

The 22-acre arboretum at Dyffryn is divided into 37 areas for the purposes of management. Rory explained that the plan was to concentrate on restoring 5 to 6 areas, such as the Kennel Bank, each year, “to do small areas really well rather than spreading ourselves too thinly”.

Walking up the path into the arboretum from here, we pass the first of many Champion Trees: an elm. The focus is on UK Champions: those trees that by virtue of their girth, height or distinctive characteristics are considered to be the best examples of their kind. One aim, in the next few years, is to establish a new Champion Tree trail, to guide visitors to these outstanding specimens.

Noting some of the characterful and quirky tree shapes, Rory noted the role of Victorian nurseries, where seedlings could become pot-bound before planting. “Today’s nurseries are too good,” jokes Rory, as they result in more uniform trees!

Unfortunately, some of the Champion Trees have suffered through insufficient woodland management. At least three UK Champions in the Crataegus (hawthorn) collection, for instance, have died amidst the overgrowth; the clearing of which is a major management challenge for Rory and his team.

Among the other UK Champion Trees pointed out by Rory were a magnificent hornbeam (Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’), and Dyffryn’s famous Acer griseum, grown from a seed bought back from Asia by the plant collector Ernest Henry ‘Chinese’ Wilson. This tree is now approaching the end of its life, and a barrier prevents people walking on its root plate. However, the main aim is to propagate a new tree from its seeds and plant it nearby, not an easy task as the germination rate is relatively low.

Rory showed us where he and his team are creating a natural play area from the timber of fallen mature trees. Nearby, and off limits to the public, a large concrete pad had recently been laid in the composting area. The plan is for Dyffryn Gardens to be 100% self-sufficient for green waste (compost and mulch) in the near future.

The tall yews that formed the boundary between the arboretum and the formal gardens have gone, opening up views and enabling the team to integrate the woodland area better with the gardens as a whole. Other plans for Dyffryn Gardens include the creation of a heritage orchard.

We looked at a particularly fine Metasequoia, near a delightful gourd tunnel in the walled gardens, before finishing at the Rock Garden – another area where there are plans for creating much more botanical interest within the next five years.

Back at the entrance, we thanked Rory for a highly informative and entertaining tour of the arboretum. I am sure we will all be returning to see how the National Trust’s ambitious plans transform this area back toward the vision of Dyffryn Garden’s original founders.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Happy Birthday from the RSPB

Many people have wished the society best wishes recently and we are very pleased to hear from them

Particularity nice  was this card from the RSPB Cymru Director, Katie-Jo Luxton with a wonderfully appropriate Red Kite on the cover

(I hope they don't mind me sharing- I would provide a link, but I cannot find it in their shop)


Such a nice dedication to the Society 


Here and Here  are some articles about the issues that were witnessed by the CNS in the 1880's and the efforts that the Society went to in order to get the protection of birds legislation actually enforced

It was said that Morrey Salmon knew the location of all the Rad Kite nests when they were at their minimum and I am sure that Iolo Williams who is speaking to us on 5th of October will have some tales to tell of looking at this wonderful bird so much associated with Wales


Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The Cardiff Free Library - Our First Home

When the Cardiff naturalists Society was formed in 1867 a meeting place was needed and this is recorded in the minute book, (a section of which has been put on-line by the Glamorgan Archives team) as being in the Cardiff Free Library
The first reference to a ‘Society’ was in August 1867 with the note of …the preliminary meeting of the members of the projected ‘Naturalists’ Society’ held in the upper room of the Free Library… on 29 August 1867. Chaired by William Taylor, Esq, MD and attended by 11 in total
When this and other information about the first 150 years was presented to the society last night there was a question from the audience as to whether this was the "Old Library" now home to the Cardiff Story Museum

The simple answer is that it could not have been as that was built between 1880 and 1882 and opened by the Mayor on the 31st May 1882. It did then house a free library, museum and schools for science and art. which will most certainly have been the home for our collections until they were moved to the National Museum of Wales in Cathays Park

So where were these first meetings?

The Cardiff Story Museum website gives us the answer
In 1862 A group of individuals set up a Free Library by voluntary subscription, above the St Mary Street entrance to Royal Arcade and then in 1864 The library moved to bigger premises in the YMCA building, St Mary Street (now demolished). A School of Science and Art was added and a small museum opened. 
This second location is logically the location for those first meetings


Additional evidence for this is to be found in this publication https://archive.org/details/cardifffreelibra00ballrich which confirms the St Mary's Street address for the library and Museum in 1867.

It also gives a moving dedication to Peter Price
The honour of first suggesting that Cardiff should adopt the Public Libraries Act belongs to the late Mr. Peter Price, whose many years of patient hard work will be remembered as long as the Library records endure.
This publication records the following details
Peter Price (Hon. Secretary, afterwards Chairman;  a member of the Corporation and a J.P. ; died 1892). 
It also gives a summary of his life, death and character
Peter Price was born in the little country town of Builth, in Brecknockshire, in 1824, and was the youngest of a family of ten ; left fatherless at the age of seven, to be brought up by a widowed mother on straitened means, his regular education was limited to a few years at the school kept by the parson of the parish. He displayed marvellous aptitude for the acquirement of knowledge, and set about educating himself, and he continued his education up to the very last year of his life.

The Mechanics' Institute at Worcester first gave Mr. Price systematic help in his self-education. He was engaged in that town in the drawing office of an engineering firm.

In 1851 he came to Cardiff, and set up in business as a contractor, in partnership with his brother-in-law, and in a few years he was busily engaged advocating the adoption of the Public Libraries Act for the town. After the adoption of the Act he acted as hon. secretary for thirteen years. When he relinquished this office he still continued a member of the Committee, and was ultimately made vice-chairman, and during the last three years of his life he was chairman. He died October 4th, 1892. For thirty years he had watched the growth of the Institution, and he saw it develop from a thing of nothing to almost what it is to-day. This was his life-work, and will ever remain his most enduring memorial.

On the occasion of the opening of the then new building in 1882 a portrait of Mr. Price was painted by Mr. B. S. Marks, R.C.A., and presented by him to the Libraries Committee. This portrait will in future hang on the wall of the main staircase leading to the Reference Library. He took a keen interest in all that related to the education and welfare of the people. He was a member of the School Board for the first five years of its existence, a member of the Corporation for some years prior to his death; as Borough Magistrate, Governor of the University College, member of the Technical Instruction Committee, Governor of Wells' Charity, and in numerous other offices he served his town ungrudgingly and well.

The greatest act of his life, however, was one which I fear brought that life prematurely to a close. *' In no public service did he set his fellow citizens a nobler example than in the splendid act of self-sacrifice in which the unspotted integrity of a life-time found final expression — the devotion, namely, of the whole of his savings to save the honour of the Building Society of which he was secretary." The loss of money was nothing to him in comparison with the respect and honour of his fellow men, which he retained, but the fact that his confidence had been betrayed by a servant whom he trusted and held in the greatest esteem was a blow from which he never recovered. It has been worthily said of him that he was — " Noble and generous in all he did, transparently sincere in all his actions, a serious and reverent student of nature, ever eager after knowledge, he kept, even to the end, the child-like in the larger mind."

Peter Price (1824-1892) was the 12th President of the Society. We have this picture from our archives





Sunday, September 10, 2017

Cardiff Naturalists First 150 Years Exhibition Opening

Cardiff Naturalists Society now has a YouTube Channel which you can access via this link Cardiff Naturalists YouTube Channel

It has some videos of local wildlife and especially relevant for the present has The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor (Councillor Bob Derbyshire) and Lady Mayoress Caroline Opening of the Cardiff Naturalists Society 150th Anniversary Exhibition at the Cardiff Story Museum on September the 4th 2017


Also available to view is Cardiff Naturalists Society President Chris Franks thanking The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor (Councillor Bob Derbyshire) and Lady Mayoress Caroline and members of the Society and all the groups who supported us in the creation of this exhibition



Pictures from the opening event











The 150th year celebrations continue with a public talk by Iolo Williams the celebrated Natural History presenter - more details and tickets available at http://cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/iolo2017


Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Celebrating our 150th on BBC Radio Wales

Well... for those who have not met me and wonder what I sound like...

BBC Radio Wales called yesterday asking for an interview about the exhibition and the Society it had to be as early as I could get out of work as I had to go and meet the Lord Mayor at the exhibition opening.

The segment is just 4 minutes long you can hear the segment in this link


I really enjoyed their reaction to the last snippet of information I was able to give them - it won't mean much to people who don't live in Wales, but Coryton roundabout is Junction 32 on the M4 and it's a massive traffic roundabout

If you prefer to stream then a video version is now available on YouTube with Pictures from Andy Kendall, Rob & Linda Nottage, Phil Blanning & Linda Morris




Friday, August 18, 2017

Please help us spread the word

With this 2017 / 2018 Autumn and Spring events poster 

With direct information about how to get tickets for the Iolo Williams evening at the National Museum of Wales - Amgueddfa Cymru
Information on the Museum exhibition at the Cardiff Story Museum 
and more 


Its in an easily shared and printed PDF format




Thursday, July 27, 2017

Press Release - An Evening with Iolo Williams at National Museum Cardiff


An Evening with Iolo Williams at National Museum Cardiff


This year Cardiff Naturalists’ Society marks its 150th Anniversary with a series of fascinating events, starting with a prestigious lecture and an exhibition at National Museum Cardiff in October.

As part of the celebrations and in light of their close association with Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, they will be hosting “An Evening with Iolo Williams” in the Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre at the Museum in Cathays Park, Cardiff, at 7:00 pm on October 5th 2017.

Famous Welsh naturalist Iolo will be talking about a whole range of topics, including insights into the making of his many natural history programmes for television, as well as a taking a question and answer session.


Iolo Williams is a Welsh naturalist, broadcaster, public speaker and writer who’s worked in conservation for over 30 years. He’s a patron of several Welsh conservation organisations and is currently president of the Welsh Ornithological Society. He’s undertaken charity walks up Kilimanjaro for Velindre Cancer Care and has twice trekked the length of Wales for Air Ambulance and Hope House/Ty Hafan children’s hospices

He is well known as an empassioned speaker who is utterly dedicated to conservation and gives informative and entertaining talks about Birds of Prey and Wildlife in Wales. He is most widely known as a popular member of the Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch presenting team and for presenting series such as Wild Wales, Rugged Wales and Great Welsh Parks for BBC 2.

Tickets for the evening are priced at £12.00 for adults and £6.00 for children, with an extra special event as part of the evening for members of the society. There is also a chance to get his books signed at the event.

This event will also feature an Audio-Visual presentation showing some of the wonderful world-wide wildlife and environments that Cardiff Naturalists’ hear about in winter indoor meetings and some of the things we have seen on trips to local wildlife sites, it will feature some of the unusual and rare things we have found in recent years.



Also in our 150th year there will be an exhibition at the Cardiff Story Museum, The Hayes, Cardiff, entitled "Cardiff Naturalists' Society: The first 150 years!" showing the rich history of the society and the many things its members have contributed to the city of Cardiff, the wider South Wales area and the whole of the UK.

The exhibition will run from Monday September 4th to Sunday November 26th 2017

Entry to the Cardiff Story Museum is free, opening hours are available on http://www.cardiffstory.com/

To keep up to date on these events and for further information about the society please visit our website or via social media on our: -


Twitter feed @CardiffNats 


For further details please contact the society via email to info@cardiffnaturalists.org.uk  secretary@cardiffnaturalists.org.uk




Friday, June 9, 2017

Issue 110 of the Newsletter is now Online

Issue 110 of the Newsletter is now Online HERE 

Articles and announcements include :-


Cardiff Naturalists' Society celebrates 150 years with announcements of


  • Prestigious Lecture: An Evening with Iolo Williams with a special event for members at the National Museum of Wales 
  • An exhibition at The Cardiff Story


Also: -


  • Call for pictures for 150th anniversary events; 
  • Biosciences Prize 2017 Eve Treadaway; 
  • Weather Report for Cardiff 2016; Members’ Evening 2017; 
  • Cardiff Birdwatch 2017; 
  • Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust



Monday, May 1, 2017

Cardiff Naturalists’ Society marks 150th Anniversary with a series of fascinating events


This year Cardiff Naturalists’ Society www.cardiffnaturalists.org.uk marks its 150th Anniversary with a series of fascinating events, starting with a prestigious lecture and an exhibition.

In addition to its usual programme of wildlife, environmental and natural history events, it is hosting a special event entitled “An evening with Iolo Williams” in the Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre at the Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff, at 7 pm on October 5th 2017.

Tickets for the Evening with Iolo Williams will be priced at £12.00 for adults and £6.00 for children, with a special event as part of the evening for members of the society.

Details of how to purchase tickets for the event will follow in the near future.

There will also be an exhibition at the Cardiff Story Museum, The Hayes, Cardiff, entitled Cardiff Naturalists' Society: The first 150 years! showing the rich history of the society and the many things its members have contributed to the city of Cardiff, the wider South Wales area and the whole of the UK.

This will also feature an Audio-Visual presentation showing some of the wonderful wildlife that we learn about in our indoor meetings and then head out to see on our trips to local wildlife sites, and some of the unusual and rare things we have found in recent years. The exhibition will run from Monday September 4th to Sunday November 26th 2017

Entry to the Cardiff Story Museum is free, opening hours are available on http://www.cardiffstory.com/

To keep up to date on these events and for further information about the society please visit our website or via social media on our: -

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/CardiffNaturalists/
Twitter feed @CardiffNats
Blog http://cardiffnaturalists.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Biosciences Prize 2017

Last night (27 March), Eve Treadaway was presented with the Biosciences Prize for 2017, awarded in memory of Prof Ursula Henriques and Dr Mary Gillham, at the last indoor meeting of the CNS winter season.




Eve flew back from Copenhagen where she is currently an Erasmus scholar, to talk to the Society about “Project Noise” - her Cardiff University Biosciences Department student project conducted at the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah, Borneo. See the previous post for more about the project, which concerns rainforest bioacoustics.



The evening was completed with a talk by Andy Kendall on the volcanic landscapes and wildlife above and below ground in Lanzarote.

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