This listing has been compiled from a variety of sources. As there may be last-minute changes, checking with the organisers is recommended. There are links where appropriate with the event and in the list of organisations at the end of the diary. These usually open in a new tab.

CNHS talks are held in the David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, usually in the Main Seminar Room. There will be people by the main reception from about 6:00 to direct visitors to the correct location. Talks start punctually at 6:45 p.m. with tea/coffee available beforehand. ALL WELCOME, ADMISSION FREE.

Please note there is no car parking near the David Attenborough Building on the New Museums Site but the Grand Arcade car park is very nearby and cheap after 6 p.m. There are cycle racks.

Most CNHS talks are also available via Zoom. Details will be sent to those on the CNHS mailing list. You can join the list simply by emailing cnhs_mailings-join@cnhs.org.uk and you will then get emails back from the system telling you what to do next. Similarly to unsubscribe all you have to do is email cnhs_mailings-leave@cnhs.org.uk and again follow the instructions. Please make sure that your spam filter (yahoo email addresses in particular) does not reject the messages.

Until 5th December Living Water: Poetry, Art and the Fight for Clean Rivers

15th September CFG Dernford Fen area

22nd September – 18th October Cambridge Carbon Footprint Open Eco Homes & talks

22nd September Friends of the Cam talk Where and how will we get our water both now and in the future? Cameron Adams

25th September Cambridge Central Library An archaeological journey through the Fens Phil Stasney

25th September Cambridge Mayor’s Screening: The People’s Emergency Briefing

26th September St John’s Eco-Festival

26th September Abbey People Apple Day & Picnic

27th September CNHS field studies (galls) Grantchester area

27th September Cambridgeshire Biodiversity & Regenerative Food Festival

30th September Carbon Neutral Cambridge AGM with Pippa Heylings MP

8th October CNHS talk The changing landscape of natural history collections and the implications for science and society Robert Asher

9th October Cambridge Central Library Ecology of the Fens Laurie Friday

9th October CBC zoom talk A year at magical Spurn Tim Jones

12th October CGS talk Exceptional fossils – the Surprising, the Significant and the Strange Dr Peter Sheldon

15th October CNHS talk Following in Scott’s footsteps: travelling in modern
Antarctica Liam Northfield

16th October Community theatre show: Three Acres and A Cow

22nd October CNHS talk Ediacaran ignition of the “Cambrian Explosion”: tracking the rapid diversification of early animals Alex Liu

23rd October Cambridge Central Library Looking after peat soils in the Fens – is new farming needed? Liz Stockdale

25th October CNHS field studies (fungi) Grantchester area

26th October CWT talk by Nynke Blömer

29th October CNHS talk The Cambridge Colleges’ Biodiversity Assessment Justin Gerlach

4th November CNHS talk Elms, their ecology and identification Brian Eversham NOTE this is a Wednesday

9th November CGS talk The Trinity Cobbles, a Story of Plate Tectonics Professor Marian Holness

12th November CNHS talk An artist in the natural world Bruce Pearson

13th November Cambridge Central Library Key ingredients for nature recovery David Coomes

13th November CBC talk Biebrza Marsh and the ancient Bialowieza Forest Marek Borkowski

19th November CNHS talk Fantastic feathers: form and function Lorna Gibson NOTE Zoom only

22nd November CNHS field studies (bryophytes) Grantchester area

26th November CNHS talk Butterflies of the Atlantic islands: one of Darwin’s missed opportunities Martin Davies

27th November Cambridge Central Library An introduction to butterflies Matt Hayes

30th November CWT talk by Sacchi Shin-Clayton

11th December Cambridge Central Library Winter in the Fens Mary Burgess

11th December CBC Christmas social

Abbreviations, with links to the organisations’ websites: 

ARUWS – Anglia Ruskin University Wildlife Society
BDS – British Dragonfly Society
BSBI – Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland
CAS – Cambridge Antiquarian Society
CBG –  Cambridge Bryological Group
CBC – Cambridgeshire Bird Club
CBKA – Cambridgeshire Beekeepers’ Association
CCF – Cambridge Conservation Forum
CFG – Cambridgeshire Flora Group.  Meetings mostly start at 10am. Dates provisional
CGS – Cambridgeshire Geological Society
CLG – Cambridge Lichen Group – contact Louise Bacon.
CNH – Cabinet of Natural History seminars
CPERC – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Environmental Records Centre
CPPF – Cambridge Past, Present & Future  Booking is usually required
CPS – Cambridge Philosophical Society
CUMS – CU Mycological Society
CUNS – CU Nature Society
CUWCS – CU Wildlife Conservation Society
CUPS – CU Physics Society  
CUSS – Cambridge University Scientific Society
CUVZS – CU Veterinary  Zoological  Society.
CVF – Cam Valley Forum
CWT – Cambridgecity group of the Wildlife Trust
FEAG – Fen Edge Archaeology Group
FoLM –Friends of Logans Meadow
FRRFD – Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke
FoCB – Friends of Cherry Hinton Brook
FoSC – Friends of Stourbridge Common
Froglife – Froglife
FSM – Friends of the Sedgwick Museum
HFFS – Hunts Flora and Fauna Society
SCFG – South Cambs Fungus Group
RC – Rivercare
RSPB – Cambridge RSPB local group
SHNH – Society for the History of Natural History
TC – Transition Cambridge
WT – other Wildlife Trust events

Past events

1st January CFG/CNHS New Year Plant Hunt, Grantchester
12th January CGS Christmas/New Year Celebrations and Members short talks
until 13th January Exhibition Artists in the Natural World Stapleford Granary
14th January CNHS Council meeting
19th January Lunchtime online talk 5000 years of environmental archaeology in the Fens Tickets (free) from Eventbrite
22nd January CNHS talk “The intricate relationships of Sallow and Hazel and the organisms that live on them” Duncan Mackay23rd – 25th January RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
29th January CNHS talk “Nature’s Memory; behind the scenes at the world’s natural history museums” Jack Ashby
3rd February Film premiere “Milton’s Mulberry
5th February CNHS talk “Trumpington Meadows past, present and future” Iain Webb
9th February CGS talk “Determining the shape, size, and internal structure of the Earth” Mike Tuke
12th February Talk “How resilient is Cambridge? Reuse and the Circular Economy” Tickets from Eventbrite
12th February – CNHS talk “Return of the beaver: reintroducing the first beavers to Northamptonshire for 400 years” Ben Casey
16th February – CPS talk What insect-watching can tell us about the evolution of animal behaviour Dr William Foster
19th February CNHS talk “Update on swift conservation in the UK” Dick Newell
23rd February CWT AGM & talk “Habitat restoration and creation in the Wildlife Trust” Brian Eversham
25th February Talk“How resilient is Cambridge to flooding?” Tickets from Eventbrite
26th February CNHS talk “Ladybirds in the UK: more diverse than you may think!” Peter Brown
2nd March CAS talk“Underwater archaeology: crannogs and rivers” Jezz Davies
3rd March Cam Catchment Partnership meeting. Tickets from Eventbrite
5th March CNHS talk “CNHS field studies 2025”
9th March CGS talk “Discovering Arthropleura – The Giant Millipede” Professor Neil Davies
12th March CNHS talk “Seed testing, its history and links with Cambridge” Pam Butler
16th March CVF AGM & talk
19th March CNHS talk & AGM “History of natural history: Contributions from some Cambridge scientific giants of the 19th century” Jim Woodhouse
22nd March CNHS field studies Grantchester area (provisional)
28th March CFG Fenland churchyards
30th March CWT talk Speaker and title to be confirmed
10th April CNHS Conversazione exhibitors, members and guests
11th April CNHS Conversazione all welcome
13th April CGS talk “Colliding Continents” Professor Mike Searle
18th April CFG southern woodlands
22nd April CNHS talk “Scattering Plenty: The People Who Made the Modern Countryside” Jim Dixon
26th April CNHS field studies Grantchester area
27th April CWT talk Speaker and title to be confirmed
10th May CNHS excursion Chalk Hill Down
11th May CGS talk “The Geology of Roman Wall Painting: Pigments and Plasters” Dr Ruth Siddall”
13th May CFG Great Wilbraham Temple
23rd May – 30th June Cambridge Nature Festival
27th May CNHS field studies Grantchester area
30th May CFG/BSBI excursion Chalk grassland (Soham & Newmarket)
31st May CFG/BSBI excursion Floodplain meadows
8th June CGS talk “Interpreting Past Environments” Dr Mike Tuke
Until 30th June Cambridge Nature Festival
16th June CNHS excursion Coton Countryside Reserve
17th June CFG Hildersham Wood
24th June CNHS field studies Grantchester area
27th June Histon & Impington Green Spaces Community Orchard Wildlife morning
11th July CFG Lords Ground Farm
15th July CNHS excursion
29th July CNHS field studies Grantchester area
2nd August CNHS excursion Darwin Green
11th August CFG Fenland
30th August CNHS field studies Grantchester area