Photo: © Paul Kitchener, Eyelash Fungus, Scutellinia scutellata
SBIS / SNS Recording Bursaries in conjunction with the Field Studies Council
The SNS and the Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service in conjunction with the Field Studies Centre at Flatford Mill are again offering
Suffolk Biological Recording Bursary
The Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service (SBIS) and Suffolk Naturalists Society (SNS) offer these bursaries to support individuals who wish to attend some of the Natural History courses offered at the Field Studies Council‘s Flatford Mill Field Study Centre. These courses will provide people with the skills and experience to identify and record Suffolk wildlife.
The bursary will provide for up to 100% of the non-residential fees for courses though Successful applicants will still need to pay for any accommodation booked at FSC Flatford Mill or nearby B&B if they require accommodation for the duration of the course.
The bursary is controlled by the SBIS Board with funding partners and the fund is administered by the Field Studies Council (FSC). The SBIS and funding partners decide each year as to which courses at FSC Flatford Mill will be eligible for support, depending upon sufficient funds being available at the time of application.
Bursary Criteria:
Applicants must:
- Be over 25 at the time the course starts (proof of age required) and not in fulltime education.
- The bursary is not available to those in full-time employment whose employers pay the course fee
- If the bursaries are oversubscribed, preference will be given to applicants who are members of SNS (£15 for 1 year subscription)
- The bursary is dependent on sufficient funds being available at the time
- In order to obtain a bursary for the full amount of the non-residential fee, the applicant must submit a given number of records within 3 months of the course completing
- For records to be accepted towards the total required; records submitted must meet the reasonable requirements of the SBIS (in terms of species/site diversity) which will differ between species groups and survey technique.
- Record acceptance is at the discretion of the SBIS and SNS. If you have any queries relating to recording please talk to the staff at the SBIS.
Records must:
- Come from a diverse range of sites.
- Be of differing taxa
- Any records supplied must come from within the county boundary
The Process:
Contact FSC Flatford Mill to check on availability of the course Complete application form and submit with FSC booking form.
PLEASE NOTE neither SBIS nor SNS can send you an application form, you must click on the course link in the table below, then ring Flatford & fill in the forms they will send you.
Applicants will be informed if their application is successful before they have to pay any fees.
Applicants pay for the accommodation fee and 50% of the non-residential fee.
Applicants open a recording account at Suffolk Biological Recording Online.
Applicant submits the required number of records to the SBIS in electronic form via spreadsheet or Suffolk Biological Recording Online
Upon the approval of the SBIS, the FSC refunds the 50% non-residential fee to the applicant
