Click here for Field Meeting Health & Safety Information

Please note: SNS cannot extend its Public Liability Insurance to groups that include non-SNS members.

  • Conference 2026: Recording for Nature Recovery – how biological recording will benefit wildlife in crisis

    Saturday 10th October – Buy your ticket now!

    Members £15

    If you hold a joint membership, you may buy two tickets at the member price

    Non-members £20

    Ticket sales to non-members open 1 September 2026

    Students £5*

    *Free for SNS student members

    Suffolk Naturalists’ Society and Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists’ Society joint conference 2026 will be held in Diss Corn Hall. The theme is ‘Recording for Nature Recovery – how biological recording will benefit wildlife in crisis’.

    What will bio-recording look like in 20 years’ time? We shall need to use all the means at our disposal to gather information to fight the Biodiversity Crisis. The Conference will host an engaging variety of speakers who are working with new recording techniques, expanding the range of what it is possible to record and, in doing so, discovering new aspects of biodiversity.

    The Conference will be a showcase of what is currently possible, and hopefully inspire SNS members to explore new techniques in their exploration of nature: AI, Bioacoustics, DNA, Drones, Multi-taxon auditing, Thermal imaging, UV light. It will also see how bio-recording can support delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Scheme.

    It promises to be an exciting day!

  • © Joan Hardingham
    © Joan Hardingham
    Rushy Fen, former sandpit, SSSI © Joan Hardingham

    SNS Field Meeting:
    Alder Carr Farm, Needham Market

    Reserve your place

    Sunday, 20th September 2026 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

    This will be a day of general wildlife recording on a small farm in the Gipping Valley. Formerly a fruit and vegetable farm, the land is now used for grazing a herd of milking sheep.

    The farm contains a variety of habitats, including:

    • Deep peat and sandy gravel
    • Five acres of spring-fed Alder and Willow carr
    • Five acres of dry woodland
    • Access to the River Gipping at Hawks Mill Bridge
    • Two ponds
    • An adjacent County Wildlife Site, rewilded since the 1990s, now with a scattering of Oaks in chalk grassland and plenty of scrub
    • We have been invited to visit a nearby former sandpit designated as a Geological SSSI, notable not for its original designation, as a relic of the Ice Age, but for its sandy-soil flora and fauna

    These meetings are very much about sharing knowledge. You may wish to join one of several small recording groups led by members with expertise in particular taxonomic groups through the day.

    If you are interested in a particular taxon (not necessarily an expert) and would be happy to help lead or share your knowledge, please contact Joan beforehand (details in the booking confirmation email) or introduce yourself on the day.

    Members are also welcome to explore and record independently using the provided site maps. If doing so, please make sure you have Joan’s mobile number (details in the booking confirmation email) and sign out when leaving.

    SNS field equipment, including nets, hand lenses, digital microscopes and identification guides, will be available to borrow from the shed.

    Weather permitting, moth traps will be set up and available in the shed for viewing.

    Timetable

    10:00 – 10:20: Arrival, sign-in, refreshments and viewing of moth traps

    10:20 – 10:30: Welcome and introduction from Joan Hardingham
    Maps distributed and Health & Safety briefing

    10:30 – 10:45: Formation of recording groups and collection of equipment. People might like to join more than one excursion. We will therefore return to the shed at lunchtime to exchange notes and swap groups.

    10:45 – 12:45: Morning recording sessions

    12:45 – 1:15: Return to the shed – lunch, refreshments and moth viewing

    1:15 – 3:30: Afternoon recording sessions

    3:30 – 4:00: Return to the shed for refreshments and sharing observations

    4:00 pm: Sign out and departure

    Records

    Please submit records through SBIS or iRecord. Arrangements for coordinating records and providing them to the farm owner without duplication will be discussed before or during the meeting.

    Important Notes

    • ⚠️ No dogs please
    • Please sign in and out (in the shed)
    • If you wish to leave early or stay later, please let Joan know
    • Please bring a mug, and a chair if you can

    Venue

    • Alder Carr Farm, Creeting St Mary, Suffolk, IP6 8LX

    Directions

    • The farm is east of Needham Market on the road to Creeting St Mary. Follow your sat nav to Alder Carr Farm Shop, then follow the signs. Parking is in the grass car park on the left.

    What3Words

    • Farm entrance: mash.liquid.dated
    • Car park: mouths.cadet.informal
    • Farm shed: causes.heartless.ground

    Facilities

    • Toilets are available in the café courtyard.
    • Refreshments will be available in the farm shed.

MORE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Joint events and events sponsored by SNS

Saturday 21st November
Bryophyte Workshop run in conjunction with Anglian Microscopy to be held at Crowfield Village Hall. Morning and Afternoon Sessions.

Discovering Lichens, all these events are co-sponsored by the SNS, so they’re open to SNS members on the same terms as local members
9 December 2026
Discovering the secret world of lichens (talk), Ipswich SWT Group, Museum Street Methodist Church, 19.30 – 21.00 (£4 to cover mince pies)
18 March 2027
Discovering the secret world of lichens (talk), Woodbridge SWT Group, Woodbridge Community Hall, 19.30 – 21.00 (free)

Dates for your diary

[sns_events_text_list]

;