London Natural History Society The place for wildlife in London

London Natural History Society - The place for wildlife in London

About LNHS

London's biodiversity faces new challenges from climate change and development pressure. You can contribute to the conservation of wildlife in the London area by helping to record the changing fortunes of the many species that live here. Together with our historic records, this information will help us to tackle the conservation issues of the future.

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 The London Natural History Society comprises of a number active sections focusing on specific taxonomic groups or wildlife sites.

London Natural History Society (Registered Charity Number 206228)

Privacy Notice

The Society is an organisation which collects, stores and uses personal data of members and of others, particularly individuals providing biological records, in order to pursue its objects. It must do so in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation. This notice explains what personal data we hold, why and how we use it and your rights in relation to that data. Any queries should be addressed to the LNHS Assistant Treasurer (please see the Contact Us page for contact details). Information about the General Data Protection Regulation and your rights under it can be found on the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

The Society’s Objects

The Society’s objects are the study and recording of natural history, archaeology and other kindred subjects especially within twenty miles of St Paul’s Cathedral (‘the London Area’), the promotion of scientific investigations, the appreciation and conservation of the natural environment and the publication in the Society’s journals of scientific and educational papers relating particularly to the London Area.

Membership Administration

The Society operates a membership scheme in order to involve people in the pursuit of our objects, inform them about our activities and raise money through subscriptions and donations. In order to do so we hold names, addresses and other details provided by members and records of payments received. We hold these for the current and previous year unless held for Gift Aid purposes as explained below. Addresses are used to send members our publications, information about our activities, enclosures relevant to our aims and correspondence about subscriptions. You can opt out of receiving the publications. Contact details are not sold or otherwise passed on for use by other organisations for their own purposes. The lawful basis for using personal data for membership administration is the legitimate interests of the Society and of its members.

Gift Aid

As a registered charity the Society is able to invite members and other donors to make a declaration allowing us to make Gift Aid claims to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in respect of your subscriptions and donations. We have legal obligations to provide HMRC with the names and addresses of people who have made Gift Aid declarations and the date and amount of their payments to us and to retain these for six years. The lawful basis for using personal data in connection with Gift Aid claims is our legal obligations.

Collection of Biological Records

The Society encourages members and others to submit records of animals, plants and fungi seen in the London Area in pursuit of its object of recording the natural history of the London Area. This information then forms the basis for further study and scientific investigation of distribution and population of species and other taxa which may lead to the publication of the results in papers, books, on websites and in other formats. Knowledge of distribution and population of taxa and of changes in these can contribute to the identification of conservation priorities and to the conservation of sites where they occur. Change in distribution and population of taxa is a particularly important theme in an area like London which is so subject to change and this is a reason for records to be retained indefinitely.

Including the name of the observer as well as the taxon, date and place of recording in the record adds value and it will generally be retained as part of the record. This means that a record you provide may include personal data as it shows where you were on a particular date. We think that most people providing records will expect and wish them to be retained and used to further the study of natural history and the conservation of the natural environment and will consider that the inclusion of their personal data in the records will have minimal impact on their privacy. However if you would like your records to be anonymised you should tell the Society’s recorder for the group concerned, preferably when the records are first provided.

Use of contact details of individuals contributing records may be necessary to obtain further information about them but will not generally be retained as part of the record.

The lawful basis for collecting, holding and using biological records which may include personal data is the legitimate interests of the Society.

Passing on of Biological Records

Records provided to the Society may be passed on to GIGL (Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC) and other biological record centres, other local natural history societies and conservation organisations whose areas of interest overlap with the Society’s, organisations running national recording schemes and individuals carrying out research into natural history. Sharing records with other organisations extends our ability to further the Society’s objects. Those organisations may be able to contribute greater resources for scientific investigations and for the publication of the results of such investigations, to bring together the records with those from elsewhere to put them into a wider county, regional or national context and to disseminate the records for conservation purposes. The Society’s recorders may need assistance with the electronic storage and processing of biological records and this may be provided by other organisations and by commercial providers of software.

The recorder for the group concerned should be able to provide details of current and planned arrangements for sharing records with other organisations but these may change in the future. The other organisations will also have to process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and they should be consulted about their own privacy policies which may allow further passing on of records.

The records passed on will usually include the observer’s name but not contact details. If you would like your records to be anonymised before being passed on or not to be passed on at all you should inform the recorder for the group concerned, preferably when the records are first provided.

The Society may receive biological records from other organisations and they will be handled in accordance with this privacy notice.

The lawful basis for passing on biological records which may include personal data is the legitimate interests of the Society.

Publication of Information in Print, Websites and Social Media

Where material based on records provided to the Society is published, it is often customary to name people who have contributed records. Participation of individuals in Society meetings and activities is sometimes mentioned in published reports. This provides a way for individuals’ contributions to be recognised and can make the reports more attractive. If you do not wish to be mentioned in this way please inform the recorder or the leader of the meeting or activity as appropriate. The lawful basis for such publication is the Society’s legitimate interests.

Contact details of authors of articles in The London Naturalist and The London Bird Report may be published with their consent.

E-mail Groups and Social Media Activities

Where a post-holder of the Society or of its Sections is aware that there are individuals with a particular interest in, for example, events organised by a Section or a recording project, use of e-mail allows them to be given information about arrangements and news about progress and be encouraged to participate. Generally such e-mails should be sent in a form where individuals cannot see the other recipients’ e-mail addresses. Best efforts will be made to keep membership of such groups up to date and you can opt out by replying to the post-holder.

Where the Society uses social media platforms individuals are responsible for managing their own participation. Apart from material posted by individuals, this activity does not usually give the Society access to personal data but any exceptions will be used only for Society purposes.

The lawful basis for such use of personal data is the legitimate interests of the Society.


Post-holders of the Society, its Sections or Editorial Boards

If you volunteer to be an officer, recorder or post-holder of the Society or of one of its Sections it may be necessary to publish your contact details so that members and others can contact you in connection with Society business or to contribute biological records. Where individuals are members of a committee, editorial board or working group use of e-mail allows them to be informed and consulted about matters of interest and this may involve e-mail addresses being visible to other members so responses can be shared. If you have any difficulty in this area you should inform the secretary or other organiser of the group concerned. The lawful basis for such use of contact details is the legitimate interests of the Society.


If you become a trustee of the Society we have to provide your personal data to the Charity Commission.  We may be required to provide personal data of members who act as signatories for our bank and investment accounts to the financial institutions concerned.  The lawful basis for providing personal data for these purposes is our legal obligations.


Preparation of Accounts and Independent Examination

Personal data of members and others making payments to or receiving payments from the Society may be included in accounting records which are seen by our accountants and Independent Examiner in preparing and reviewing the Society’s accounts.  The lawful basis for providing personal data for this purpose is a legal obligation.


Your Rights

If you have provided personal data to the Society you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation.  If you would like further information about these rights or to exercise them please see the Contact Us page for details regarding how to contact the LNHS Assistant Treasurer (Membership).

  • Right of access  You have the right to obtain confirmation that your personal data is held by the Society, access to that data and information about why and how the Society processes that data.
  • Right of rectification  You have the right to have inaccurate personal data rectified.
  • Right of erasure  You have the right to have personal data erased.  There are exceptions including where data is held to comply with a legal obligation.
  • Right to object  You have the right to object on grounds relating to your particular situation to the Society’s holding or use of your data under the legitimate interests lawful basis.
  • Right to restrict processing  You have the right to request that the Society limits what it does with your personal data in particular where requests under the rights of rectification, erasure or to object are under consideration.