IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT THE BRITISH ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Update posted on 4 August 2020 at 12:25.

We wish to assure all of our Members, and everybody else involved with our Society, that we are monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and following government advice and guidelines. Your health and safety is of foremost importance to us and your patience, assistance, co-operation and continuing support are very much appreciated as we face this challenging time together.

We look forward to resuming our events programme at the appropriate time, and do not envisage that indoor meetings will resume until the spring of 2021 at the earliest.

The Society’s Annual Meeting, which was adjourned on 28 March, will now be held online using the conferencing facility Zoom. This will take place on Saturday 12 September 2020 between 2 – 4pm and will comprise the AGM, including the Council Report and President’s Address Part 1; these two items will be published in the September edition of our Journal. It will not, unfortunately, include the guest presentations that had been programmed for the ‘Members’ Day’ component of the original meeting. In the next few weeks we will confirm by e-mail and on the Society website how the meeting will be structured and securely managed online. Associated paperwork will also be circulated electronically. Please be assured that we will make every effort to ensure that all Members get the opportunity to ask questions in advance of the meeting, even if they are unable to attend it online.

Unfortunately, it will not be possible for the Society to hold its Annual Exhibition at Conway Hall on 7 November. Instead, we are planning to hold a Virtual Exhibition, which will be launched on this date. The Brad Ashby Memorial Lecture will also be delivered online, at the same time, by Dr Ian Wallace – the 2019 NBN Terrestrial Wildlife Recorder of the Year. Further details will be sent to Members by e-mail and will be posted on the Society’s web site, in the next few weeks.

The Society Field Meetings programme has also been cancelled for 2020 and will resume in 2021.

We are currently exploring options for an online programme of entomological lectures, which could potentially be held in collaboration with other entomological societies.

Please be re-assured that regular building checks are being undertaken on the Society’s headquarters at Dinton Pastures. The safe keeping of our heritage collections and assets are pre-eminently important to us. Unfortunately, any additional access to the building is suspended until further notice.

Society business is continuing and is being conducted ‘virtually’ through Finance, Communication, and Building and Heritage Assets Committees. Full Council Meetings are continuing to be held every six weeks.

The Society’s Journal will be published and distributed as normal. Work on future Society publications is ongoing. Membership applications will also continue to be processed. Where possible, e-mails will be monitored and any urgent enquiries should be forwarded to the addresses listed at https://www.benhs.org.uk/contact/

Thank you for maintaining your commitment to the British Entomological and Natural History Society. We will keep you regularly updated through our website and via social media and e-mail. If you are a Member of our Society, please do forward your e-mail contact details to us if we do not already have them.

We hope you are finding ways to continue our shared objective of promoting the conservation and further understanding of British Insects and Natural History.