INDOOR MEETINGS 2009

Meetings are held at Haslemere Educational Museum, High Street, Haslemere and with the exception of the AGM, are open to both Museum and Natural History Society members without charge. 

Guests are always welcome, and the Society would be grateful for a donation of £2.00 from non-members.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS  

MARCH 2010             Saturday 13th         2.15 p.m.
FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE VICTORIAN ARTIST, MARIANNE NORTH, IN INDIA 1877-79
Speaker: Miss Laura Ponsonby
Laura has retraced parts of the extensive tour which Marianne North undertook in India, including Rajasthan, Delhi, Darjeeling and Calcutta. She will describe the artist's encounters with some notable people and will show some of the places and exotic flora Marianne North painted. Laura will also talk about the recently-restored gallery which Marianne North donated to Kew to house her paintings.

APRIL 2010
AGM AND TALK         Saturday 17^th          2.15 p.m.             
After the meeting, Ian Neilson (Honorary Beekeeper at Haslemere Museum) will talk about BEE HUSBANDRY.  A beekeeper since 1984, Ian looked after the Museum’s bees from 1994-2002.  Following six years abroad, he is again looking after the collections.  His talk will include an overview of the beekeeper’s year and how this relates to the life of the honeybee and colony.  He will show a small selection of equipment to illustrate ancient and modern methods of husbandry.   
 

PAST EVENTS 2010

FEBRUARY 2010        Saturday 13th        
A HISTORY OF PEREGRINES IN SUSSEX, 1904-2009
Speaker: Phil Everitt, Sussex Peregrine Study (SPS)
A fascinating history of the species in the county from 1904 to the present day was presented to a large audience. Report to be posted shortly.

PAST EVENTS 2009

NOVEMBER 2009       
Saturday 14th            
OCEANIC PLANKTON IN THE ABYSS
Speaker Martin Angel
The two cruises in the Atlantic in which Martin had taken part for the international Census on Marine Life had been on a research ship travelling from Bremerhaven to service German stations in the Antarctic.  His talk showed how the zooplankton had adapted to their niche in the thousands of metres below.  For most, their form and colour was a defence against predation.  Form might involve spines, hydroids, luminous tips to pincers, tail and armpits, a flashing “fishing rod”.  Colour might be absent and the animal be transparent, it might have white pigment “mirrors” on its sides to reflect light;  near the surface it might be blue, or below 1,000 metres where there is no light,  red.  Martin’s photographs showed these animals, strange to most of us, in pristine condition – they had been photographed on the boat.  It was a revelation to us to see life from so deep down in the ocean.

APRIL 2009
Saturday 18^th                                       
AGM AND TALK
After the AGM, Bruce Middleton (Northern Area Manager with the South Downs Joint Committee) gave atalk about "Protecting the Western Weald".
It was a pleasure to be reminded of the mosaic of features which make up the Weald and the importance of the natural history unique to each.  Bruce’s photos showed the habitats and, inset, one or two of the species associated with them.  It was a very deft demonstration of natural history subjects in the context of their natural surroundings.  He described the management needed to sustain some of them, the changes in farming practices and woodland industries, the impact on wildlife and the role of the South Downs Joint Committee.

MARCH 2009
Saturday 14^th                        .
FROM THE SEA TO THE SKY
Speaker:  Dr Peter Brandham
A botanical visit, starting from sea level at the temperate Olympic peninsular west of Seattle, Canada, through alpine meadows, the Cascade Mountains of the USA and rising to the mountain heights of the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies.
Dr Brandham's superb photographs emphasised each plant in its habitat (with the subject in focus and the surroundings out of focus) and included yellow lupins, fritillaries, a tiny twayblade, a red saprophytic orchid and yellow violets. (All violets are yellow in that region). To obtain good photographs Dr Brandham explained techniques such as framing the scene with trees or vegetation and photographing the subject against the
light.