Recipient of the BNA’s David Bellamy Award 2009 was Dr Chris Gibson BSc PhD FBNA Dr Gibson was presented with the award by Professor David Bellamy, President of the Association. Chris is an outstanding field naturalist, whose range of expertise across the breadth of natural history is impressive. He has written 4 books including field guides on mammals, and the seashore, and his great love is the estuarine coast of Essex and Suffolk. He has been a long term and active member of the Essex Field Club. His first degree was in ecology at the University of York followed by his doctorate on parasitic plant ecology at the University of East Anglia. He works for Natural England, and starting with its earlier form of the Nature Conservancy Council initially notifying SSSIs, became senior conservation officer and now is senior specialist adviser for planning in for Natural England for the East of England. He has dealt with a number of major infrastructure projects, for example giving evidence at the Stanstead Airport Public Enquiry, where he defended the natural history significance of Hatfield Forest. He occasionally leads wildlife tours abroad. He is a skilled and prolific natural history photographer, and his pictures can be seen for example in “The Plant Press” a database for Natural England. From his field experience he has written numerous papers and reports.

Dr Chris Gibson is certainly a field naturalist of distinction, he is an exemplar of an outstanding all round field naturalist, his considerable expertise spans a wide range of species groups and habitats. His extensive knowledge of plants, birds, mammals, lepidoptera and others has given his work for Natural England its integrity and strength.

Phil Richardson MA FBNA

Phil is an outstanding specialist on bats, and has been awarded the Mammal Society’s Silver Medal for his work. He established the Bat Conservation Trust, and has written numerous papers on bats arising from his field research, most notably on Daubentons. He wrote the hugely popular book “Bats” which was published by Whittet.

Phil has been a career schoolteacher, prolific naturalist and outstanding bat specialist. He was the Bat Conservation Officer for the National Trust, and currently runs his own bat consultancy.

As a general naturalist, wings remained his focus, this time on birds. He has been a reservoir reserve warden for over 30 years, and played key roles in the Northants Wildlife Trust, the Northamptonshire Natural History Society and Wildlife Trust, was the regional representative of the British Trust for Ornithology organising and taking part in surveys. A licensed bird ringer, he has undertaken netting studies. His swift survey alerted naturalists to their decline.

However, bats have been Phils main interest. He set up the Northants Bat Group in 1978, and went on to significantly contribute to the setting up of the bat licensing scheme. He established the co-ordinating organisation, Bat Groups of Britain in 1984, and in 1990 Phil was key in converting it into the Bat Conservation Trust, and was chairman from 1996 – 2001. He co-ordinated bat record collection from local groups, and in 2000 produced the first British & Irish bat distribution maps.

He initiated the Bats in Churches project.

His key research animal for 25 years has been the Daubenton’s bat.

Colin Plant

Colin was co-founder of the Wren Conservation Group in 1974, which was a group of youngsters that carried out remarkable natural history and conservation work in Wanstead Park in East London, and their recording area included Wanstead Flats and Gilbert’s Slade in the immediate area of the BNA 2007 Conference location. Colin edited, then co-edited with Brian Seaman a series of reports on the bird life of the area over a number of years. (The Wren Conservation Group continues until today, and mounted a display at the BNA 2007 Conference). Colin is a prodigious field naturalist, and became London Recorder for Lepidoptera, Diptera and Neuropteroidea for the LNHS, Hertfordshire county Recorder for Lepidoptera, and National Advisor and Referee for Neuroptera for the Amateur Entomologists Society, and National Referee and Recorder for Lacewings for the National Biological Recording Scheme. He is a past President of the British Entomological Society, the London Natural History Society and of the Essex Field Club, past Biological Curator of the Passmore Edwards Museum in Stratford, East London. He has compiled and written a number of natural history books including: Birds of Newham Butterflies of the London Area Larger Moths of the London Area Provisional Atlas of the Lacewings and Allied Insects of Britain and Ireland A Key to Adults of British Lacewings and their Allies The Natural History of Buckingham Palace Gardens He has been the editor of The Essex Naturalist since 1996 and of the Entomologist Record from 1995.

Alan Major

Alan Major has been a strong and active supporter of the BNA for over 50 years. Born in 1929 in Gillingham, he spent his childhood around the North Kent estuarine marshes. He studied at Rochester Art School and joined the mid Kent branch of the BNA in 1947. He is the author of numerous rural and natural history articles and books including “Collecting & Studying Mushrooms, Toadstools and Fungi” (Bartholomew & Sons 1975).

Arguably his most significant contribution to the BNA was the support he gave to Will Coxhead in the re-creation of Will’s comprehensive collection of botanical illustrations, after his first collection had been destroyed by an incendiary bomb.

While still a student, Alan came across a copy of the BNA magazine “Country-Side” containing a plea from Will for help in obtaining botanical specimens. Alan collected specimens for Will in response to this request until the end of the 1950’s, even while he was in the RAF, when he was able to extend Will’s collection to plants from Barnack and other areas near to his Northampton posting. Alan regarded Will as a father figure, and has said that he will always be grateful to him for having taught him botany and for encouraging him to paint and to write natural history articles and books.

Alan’s support helped Will to develop a new collection of over 1000 illustrations. This collection has now been bequeathed to the BNA and formed one of the high points of the BNA’s Centenary Conference, when a selection was exhibited at the Braintree District Museum. Click here for more information on the Coxhead Bequest. This impressive result would not have been possible without Alan’s dedicated help over a lengthy period of time.

Recipients of the David Bellamy Award:

2009: Dr Chris Gibson BSc PhD FBNA
2008: Phil Richardson MA FBNA
2007: Colin Plant BSc FRES FBNA
2006: Alan Major FBNA
2005: Mr. Chris Doncaster
2004: Mrs.Yvonne Griffiths
2003 Mr. Tom Thomas
2002 Dr June Chatfield
2001 Mr Trevor Beer
2000 no presentation this year
1999 Miss Doris Hutchings