On the morning of Wednesday 13 November, Sir John Lawton FRS will give the following keynote address:

“Thoughts from a boy birdwatcher, bug-hunter and botanist”.  The talk will explore the importance of amateur recorders (‘citizen scientists’) in monitoring and protecting the UK’s wildlife through the eyes of a passionate natural historian and conservationist.

John is NBN Trust Patron, President of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Vice-President RSPB.  He is a retired environmental scientist. He was Chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (2005-2011), Chief Executive of NERC (1999-2005), and Chair of Making Space for Nature (2010). John trained as a zoologist at Durham, and subsequently held posts at Oxford and York Universities, and Imperial College London.

Sir John Lawton FRS
Sir John Lawton FRS

Read more about the other NBN Conference speakers.