Nature in Cambridgeshire

Published in association with the Cambridge Natural History Society
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History of Nature in Cambridgeshire

In 1958 the newly formed (1956) Cambridgeshire & Isle of Ely Naturalists' Trust (CAMBIENT) decided to fill a void for Cambridgeshire and produce a local natural history journal. Initial negotiations took place between CAMBIENT and two other local organisations, the Cambridgeshire Bird Club and Cambridge Natural History Society (CNHS). When the first volume was published in 1958 it was in collaboration with the latter of these two groups. In 1958 the CNHS was celebrating it's centenary year and the production of a new journal was considered a fitting way to celebrate.

By 1984 the cost of production was becoming too great for CAMBIENT to manage and no journal was published that year. The following year a slim edition (1985 volume 27) was produced and declared to be the final volume of the journal. The next year (1986) the editors decided to 'go their own way' and a full volume was produced under an editorial board separate from both CAMBIENT and CNHS (see below). It was around this time that CAMBIENT became the Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust.

The independent editorial board has continued to produce the journal every year but again financial difficulties were starting to be felt as we moved into the new millenium. A renewed association with CNHS was started in 2003-4 to help boost circulation of the journal and since 2004 (volume 46) the journal has once again been published 'in association with Cambridge Natural History Society'.

The journal has also changed format in the last few years with the change to perfect binding, the inclusion of colour plates and spine lettering.

Nature in Cambridgehsire looks set to continue publication into the 21st century as strong as ever.

Editors of the Journal:

Vols. 1 - 7

1958 - 1964

Philip G Hall

 
Vols. 8 - 9

1965 - 1966

Philip G Hall & Margaret Stanier

 
Vols. 10 - 17

1967 - 1974

Ian Hepburn

 
Vols. 18 - 21

1975 - 1978

Eric J Wiseman

 
Vols. 22 - 42

1979 - 2000

Philip H Oswald

 
Vols. 43 - 60

2001 - 2018

Henry Arnold

 
Vols. 61 - 63

2019 - 2021

Louise Bacon

 
Vols. 64 -

2022 -

Toby Carter

 


Journal Size - Number of Pages

The journal has gradually increased in size over the years with a missed year in 1984, a very short start-up journal in 1985 and an extra large edition in 2008 which contained 30 pages of updated indexes.

Editorial Board of the Journal (Current members in bold):

Dr Max Walters 1986 - 2005 Chair 1986 - 2005
Mr Philip Oswald 1986 - 2020 Editor 1986 - 2000
Mr Dennis Unwin 1986 - 1987  
Mrs Imogen Crawford 1986 - 1987  
Mrs Gigi Crompton 1986 - 1990 Secretary 1986 - 1990
Mr Ray J Symonds 1988 - 2001  
Mr Martin J Walters 1989 - 2005  
Mr Chris D Preston 1994 - Current Chair 2020 - Current
Dr Laurie E Friday 1995 - 2002  
Mrs Jane K Bulleid 1996 - 2007 | 2010 - 2016 Membership Secretary 1996 - 2007
Mr Henry R Arnold 2000 - 2020 Editor 2001 - 2018
Mr Tim H Sparks 2000 - 2011  
Dr Toby Carter 2002 - Current Editor 2021 - Current
Mrs Elizabeth Platts 2002 - 2015 Chair 2006 - 2015
Dr Richard Preece 2003 - 2020 Chair 2015 - 2020
Dr Louise Bacon 2006 - 2023 Editor 2018 - 2021
Miss Vicki Harley 2007 - 2015 Membership Secretary 2007 - 2014
Dr David Barden 2010 - 2011  
Dr Alvin Helden 2012 - 2013  
Dr Julian Doberski 2013 - 2014  
Dr Mark Hill 2014 - Current Treasurer & Membership Secretary 2014 - Current
Mr Jonathan Shanklin 2014 - Current  
Dr Ed Turner 2016 - 2019  
Dr Peter Brown 2018 - Current  
Dr Peter Stroh 2018 - Current  
Mr Duncan Mackay 2019 - Current  
Dr Chantal Helm 2020 - 2022  
Mr Oliver Glenister 2020 - 2022  
Dr Harriet Allen 2021 - 2023  
Dr Lucy Wilson 2023 - Current  

 


 
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