About Us
Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society (SFNS) are
the wildlife group behind this 'Scarborough Wildlife' website.
The name may sound a little old-fashioned these days, but it dates
back to 1889 when the Society was founded. We are a group of 'amateur naturalists' with interests ranging from beetles
to badgers and covering most things in between (even geology).
There are members at all levels of knowledge, from interested
beginners to those with specialist knowledge in their chosen
fields. We would encourage anyone with an interest in the
natural world around them to take a look at our Meetings web page,
choose a talk that is of particular interest (or just the next one
on the list), and come along to see what we are all about.
Membership
There is a text version of the membership form
which you can print out and complete if you would like to join the
Society (prices correct for 2008). Click on the link to open
the page (in a new window), print it out and then fill in your
details before posting it (with a cheque made payable to Scarborough
Field Naturalists' Society) to our Treasurer.
Recording Area
As a group, we have selected an area (based around Scarborough)
which we regard as our 'local patch'. This is our 'recording
area', and you can see the boundaries by looking at the map on our Recording
Area web page. We take a particular interest in the
wildlife which has been seen in this area and are always happy to
hear from anyone who has seen something that they would like to
share with others. The sightings don't have to be of anything
rare, since it is important to keep an eye on how everything is
doing in these days of global warming. Sightings are reported
at the meetings and/or on the Recent
Sightings web page, so that everyone can find out what is going
on. The records we receive are passed to our 'Recorders'
(people who collect the records of a particular type eg Butterflies
and Moths, Mammals or Birds) first, and in most cases these are then
passed on to the main National recording bodies (eg Butterfly
Conservation).
History of the Society
Because the Society has been around so long, it has a fair bit of
history. As a small taster, you can check out a list of Past
Presidents or individual articles about J.P.
Best, W.A. Clark, H.M. Hirst,
A.J.
Wallis, G.B. Walsh and W.R.
Wardell.
Publications
As well as it's annual reports, the Society has published three
books. The first two were 'The Natural History of the Scarborough District'
with 'Volume 1 - Geology and Botany' being published in 1953 and
'Volume 2 - Zoology' published in 1956. Later, the 'Fungi of the Scarborough District'
was added as an update to the earlier works.
Safety Guidelines
We also have a page devoted to Safety
Guidelines. These are mostly just common sense, but it's
worth checking them out before you attend either an indoor or an
outdoor meeting. After all, we have no idea yet how much
common sense you may or may not have.
Society Rules
The rules probably won't be of much interest in general, but you
might want to read up on them if you are thinking of joining the
committee or even running for president. If you are still
interested, take a look at our Rules web
page.
Our Patrons are Lord Derwent and Sir Fred
Strickland-Constable, Bt.
The Society is affiliated to the Yorkshire
Naturalists' Union
