In 2023 the UKCEH Biological Records Centre/Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) Plant Atlas 2020 was published to general acclaim. The third such Atlas published for the British Isles, the project updated the distributions of our vascular plants using 30 million records collected by almost 9,000 botanists over the past 20 years. The project also revealed ongoing changes in our flora through comparisons to two earlier Atlases. All this was presented in two published volumes and on the accompanying Plant Atlas website.
In recognition of this achievement, the five editors of the project, BSBI staff Kevin Walker, Pete Stroh and Tom Humphrey, and UKCEH staff Rich Burkmar and Oli Pescott, have all been awarded the joint BSBI/Wildflower Society Presidents’ Award. This Award is given annually to acknowledge the most useful contribution to the understanding of the flowering plants and ferns of Britain and Ireland through a book, major paper, discovery or outstanding exhibit. The prize was given at the British and Irish Botanical Conference, held in Newcastle, on 2 December 2023.