⭐Nominate remarkable ecologists for our annual BES prizes⭐
Our awards recognise key influencers in our community whose work has benefited society and significantly advanced our understanding of the natural world🌿
Deadline for nominations is 19 April 🧪
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/bes-prizes/
I have a most delightful media request:
I am looking to speak to one of my ecologist colleagues who plays any of the Pokemon games about some of the Pokemon that are based on real animals, and/or what you like about playing Pokemon. 🧪🌍 #SciComm
A common nettle leaf is pictured. This amazing plant so vital for wildlife has been used by humans in multitudes of ways - to make cordage, fabric, made into tea, and poultices to treat painful joints. The challenge this week is to find a wild plant with a fascinating fact similar stories to tell!
As we wait for the arrival of spring to catch up in some places, something a bit different for this week’s challenge! Many wild plants have interesting stories to tell. Find one & share your pics with a fascinating fact using hashtag #storyplants for #wildflowerhour Sunday 8-9pm!
Definitely, yes please, especially roasted potatoes with a sprinkling of gravy…
I love this! Where do I sign up?
We're finally seeing the sun at BES HQ in London 🌞 and it feels like t-shirt weather!
To celebrate, there's free UK shipping on BES t-shirts - and everything else in our shop - this weekend 👕
Order from 9am Friday to midnight Sunday (GMT) - no codes needed 😎 britishecologicalsociety.teemill.com
We are looking at a section of stone wall down from which is a grassy green slope with some hardy daffodils bobbing their heads in the February sunshine.
Oh look at that, it’s raining again.
Let’s look at some early daffodils on York’s walls instead.
A purple crocus painted in watercolour. Tentatively identified as Crocus vernus, but opinions may vary! Spring flowering anyway, currently blooming in a northern English February.
I painted a whole year of flowers in 2025, then had a quiet month to recover, conveniently coinciding with a month of rain and mud. But it turns out that I miss the mindfulness of seeing colour in the hedgerows and putting it onto paper, so here’s a crocus to celebrate today’s sunshine. ☀️🎨🌸
If you're an active researcher or practitioner working in the field of applied ecology - why not apply to join us as an Associate Editor?🌍
We're seeking a range of expertise such as marine ecology, disease ecology & local knowledge!🧪
Find out more 👇
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/appl...
Print of a tree between two hills against a golden sunset
'Sunset #SycamoreGap' etching by contemporary Northumberland based UK printmaker Rebecca Vincent #WomensArt
Stained glass artwork featuring a landscape with primrose plant in the foreground and house in silhouette on a grassy hill by a tree under a stormy purple sky
Deborah Lowe, contemporary stained glass artist, UK #WomensArt
Hi Playful Blueskyers... just a reminder that the call for submissions for this year's Playful Learning Conference is end of play on Mon 2nd Feb. Don't miss out! playfullearningassoc.co.uk/submit-a-ses...
Print featuring a plant with dark green speared leaves and blue and yellow flowers against a white background
'Running Iris' linocut by Australian printmaker Rachel Newling #WomensArt
If you're looking for new volunteering opportunities, then this post is for you 👇
We are now recruiting for roles in the EDGE Network, Climate Change Group, Welsh Policy Group and Alder Network.
Keep reading to find the role that best matches your interests and experience.
Photo featuring the a view to the front of a very tall buildings with a large scale mural of a pink blossom on a stem against a yellow background, the building towers above a street with motorcyclists
Mona Caron, contemporary Swiss-born artist, known for her large scale murals of wild flowers connecting to environmental concerns #WomensArt
Print featuring a snowy woodland as snow melts forming a puddle of water reflecting trees and sky
'January Thaw' by contemporary US printmaker Jeanne Amato #WomensArt
Introducing the second cohort of BES Fellows 🙌
We are delighted to announce that 23 outstanding ecologists have been selected to join our prestigious membership category.
👇Meet our new Fellows here
We are looking at the Great Hall - a timber framed hall with a vast oak roof. Sun shines through the Georgian sash windows casting puddles of light on the pine floor boards. The Hall is empty but is warm and quiet.
Tough day? Tough week? Tough 2026?
May the Hall on a sunny day bring you peace. 🧘
A lovely mossy boulder with a face. I walked past this venerable stone gentleman on Dartmoor when I was beginning to write my first novel, Villager, and it whispered all 104,000 words of the book to me. So now I have to pay it all of my royalties. Unfortunately my ex-publisher stopped paying me royalties last year. Understandable, the boulder was not happy. But now I have a new publisher and the book is being republished this Thursday. So remember if you purchase a copy you will be helping a boulder to eat, pay the rent on his riverside moss garden, and feed his boulder family.
Yes it could be argued that keeping up with world events is important but alternatively can I interest you in hugging an ancient mossy boulder that looks like a face and quietly listening while it tells you stories from centuries cloaked in mist.
Recruitment poster for 12 botanical or entomological field surveyors, April-September 2026. Closing date: January 30, 2026.
🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England!
4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September.
Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk.
Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
Print with three trees on a hill to the left and a large flock of flying birds above right in a tight formation in a blue sky
'Murmuration' by contemporary UK printmaker Hester Cox #WomensArt
Reminder: open call for Associate Editors for @britishecologicalsociety.org journals closes 23 Feb. Come join us at @jappliedecology.bsky.social or choose your favourite BES journal to apply for. Please share!
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/appl...
Pictorial textile artwork featuring a view of a snow covered country lane with trees on either side under a blue sky
Machine and hand embroidered lanscape artwork by Alison Holt, UK textile artist #WomensArt
Collage resembling a white flower on green stalks against a black background
The snowdrop is a messenger of the seasons, the darkest moment of winter has passed. It is a messenger of hope. #January1st #NewYearsDay
Mary Delany, Galanthus Nivalis, Single Snowdrop, 1777 #womensart
Well…I definitely have to finish the final page, right? 🌼
360 watercolour flowers painted stamp size across 18 pages of paper, laid out across a large dining table
The final five panels of watercolour flowers in bloom in late December in Yorkshire
The first flower: a snowdrop painted on 22 December 2024
The last flower, Viburnum against a blue sky, painted on 21 December 2025
And that’s a wrap on a year of watercolour #WildflowerHour: 365 flowers painted within a week of blooming. Mostly wildflowers, with a few garden escapes, and a whole lot of joy.
The daffs are showing their stalks here but I haven’t seen any daring to flower yet. The cowslips, on the other hand, came back for round two in the snow…
First snowdrops flowering in a bed of dead leaves
Red campion clinging on to bloom
Dandelion looking bright against wet grass
Marzipan roses, fox and cubs, and a cornflower
First snowdrops flowering in a sheltered courtyard in York, while the red campion clings on to summer and the dandelions remain bright. I’m celebrating #WildflowerHour with marzipan flowers for the Christmas cake this year.
