Programme

Welcome to our meetings programme for 2017 and beyond.
We are holding some special events to celebrate our 150th Anniversary.

Cardiff Naturalists' Society: The first 150 years
An exhibition at The Cardiff Story (The Hayes, Cardiff), from Mon 4 September to Sun 26 Nov 2017. Looking at the history of the history, this exhibition includes museum specimens and an audio-visual presentation.

Prestigious Lecture: An Evening with Iolo Williams
Thursday 5 October 2017. 7pm. The Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre, Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP. Tickets £12 adults, £6 children, with a post-talk reception event exclusively for members.

Tickets can be booked via the Museum on Ticketline:
https://www.ticketlineuk.com/ticket/453782/noson-gyda-iolo-williams-an-evening-with-iolo-williams-amgueddfa-genedlaethol-caerdydd-national-muse/

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Meeting programme for 2017/2018
details added as meetings are confirmed.

All indoor meetings start at 7.30pm in Room 0.23 (ground floor) of the Cardiff School of Management Building, Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Llandaff, Cardiff, CF5 2YB - unless otherwise stated (*).

2017	Title	Speaker/Leader
Monday 11 Sept	AGM This year's AGM is being held exactly 150 years to the day after the first meeting of the Cardiff Naturalists' society. The AGM will be followed by an illustrated talk entitled   From Conversazione to Conservation, researching our first 150 years. This will show some of the fascinating things we have found out, which did not make public exhibition but are well worth sharing for entertainment and amusement.	Andy Kendall & Mike Dean
Thursday 14 Sept (*)	Dyffryn Gardens (Outdoor Meeting) Meet 6pm at the Visitor Centre. A guided tour of the arboretum at Dyffryn Gardens led by Rory Ambrose, the National Trust's new Arboriculturist at Dyffryn (formerly at Kew). Don't forget to bring your National Trust cards.	Rory Ambrose
Thursday 5 Oct (*)	150th Anniversary Prestigious Lecture. 'An Evening with Iolo Williams' This is not in our usual location but at 7pm Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre, National Museum Wales Tickets on sale here http://cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/iolo2017	Iolo Williams
Monday 16 Oct	Ecuador: Andes to Amazon An account of the wildlife and scenery encountered on a journey from the peaks of the Andes to the Amazon basin. Condors and Hummingbirds, Giant Otters and Macaws and some amazing insects.	Linda & Rob Nottage
Thursday 16th Nov (*)	The Glamorgan Swift Project Swift numbers have plummeted over the last 30 years. The Glamorgan Swift Project is looking at some of the factors  that may have played their part in the decline and the various initiatives that are being put in  place to try and arrest their downward spiral. If numbers continue to fall at their present rate, we could lose the Swift as a breeding species in the next 30 years. This is combined meeting with the Cardiff Group Wildlife Trust South and West Wales and Student Wildlife Society Cardiff University. Venue Wallace Lecture Theatre Main Building Cardiff University Park Place Cardiff.	Alan Rosney
Mon 27 Nov	The Wonderful World of Worms - The importance of marine bristle worms Find out about the wonderful world of worms, from bamboo worms to ragworms, through to 'mint sauce worms'. There is huge diversity among the 9,000 species of known marine bristle worms across the globe today. Discover more about the research carried out by the National Museum of Wales on the taxonomy of marine worms, and the digital exploration of the 750,000 worm specimens they hold in their collection.	Katie Mortimer-Jones
Monday 11 Dec	A "walk" around Parc Slip Nature Reserve A talk bringing people up to date on developments at Parc Slip in the last five years, with photographs of recent wildlife sightings.	Margaret & John Samuels
2018 Date tbc (*)	Cardiff Birdwatch (outdoor meeting)
Monday 15 Jan	Members' Evening CNS members short illustrated talks. Please contact Hilary Wicks if you wish to do a presentation.
Monday 24 Jan	Deserts and Dinosaurs in Wales The recent discovery of a new meat-eating dinosaur in early-Jurassic rocks near Penarth has helped fill a gap in the early evolution of these iconic creatures. Find out more about this and other dinosaur discoveries from south Wales.	Cindy Howells
Thursday 1 Feb (*)	Saving near-extinct Birds – the inspiring story of the Seychelles    As with many oceanic islands, the colonisation of the Seychelles by humans led to disastrous declines of endemic bird species as a result of habitat destruction and introduction of predators such as rats, cats and dogs. This talk shows the range of birds and other wildlife that can be seen by a birder in the Seychelles and describes the recent successful programmes for saving several bird species that had become critically endangered.  This is combined meeting with the Cardiff Group Wildlife Trust South and West Wales and Student Wildlife Society Cardiff University. Venue Wallace Lecture Theatre Main Building Cardiff University Park Place Cardiff.	Al Venables
Monday 19 Feb	A Saltmarsh Restoration Story ...As a nation we can no longer build our way out of trouble on the coast... Shifting Shores Policy, National Trust (2005). "Cwm Ivy marsh in North Gower is the site of the first saltmarsh restoration project in Wales.  a real flagship site for National Trust and a magnet for a diverse array of wildlife. This is the story of how this gem of a site has made the dramatic transition from poor quality, rush-dominated land back into a fully-functioning saltmarsh. My talk will give an overview of the origins of the project, the processing involved and the wonderful and prolific wildlife that inhabits the range of habitats to be found there."	Corrinne Benbow
Thursday 1 March	Mary Gillham: a Dedicated Naturalist	Al Reeve
Monday 12 March	'Student Bursary award evening' Presentation of this year's Biosciences Prize to a 2nd year student in the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, for their outstanding fieldwork.  Plus speaker to be announced.