London Natural History Society The place for wildlife in London

London Natural History Society - The place for wildlife in London

LNHS Events

Field meetings have recommenced. You can find full details in the calendar on the right and in our downloadable programme. Please note that these events may be cancelled at short notice and we will try to post details on the homepage if possible. For more details regarding the LNHS field meetings please see the Field Meetings page.

The LNHS also has indoor ID sessions and a regular Virtual Natural History Talk series.

The LNHS events programme is one of the most varied and active of a natural history society. Its meetings encourage the interaction of beginners and experienced naturalists.

Field Meetings

LNHS Field Meetings are field recorder days or guided walks. Lunch and Tea should be brought on all whole-day meetings. You do not need to have a car - where the programme says 'cars needed' this is to remind drivers they will need to pick up people at the station or meeting point. At meetings involving cars, those receiving lifts are expected to contribute to the cost of petrol used. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the LNHS Field Meetings, no dogs are allowed except for guide dogs.

Virtual Events

The LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks series began in 2020 and cover topics including (but not limited to) ecology, identification, recording and conservation, and in a variety of groups including birds, mammals, flowering plants, fungi, bryophytes, reptiles and amphibians, and a range of invertebrate groups.

Indoor events

These usually consist of talks, slide shows or discussions. Indoor meetings are held at several venues:

  • Burgh House, Hampstead, is a new venue which the Bird Club are using for indoor meetings. See the map here, and their website. Handy tip - If you want to visit the Burgh House museum and exhibitions first, and maybe the charming little garden and The Buttery Cafe, but realise that there is an hour and a half between the house and cafe closing and first arrivals for the talk at 6.30pm (for a 7pm start), there is a very civilised pub (The Wells) opposite the house, not to mention the delights of the rest of Hampstead (inc. the Heath if you fancy an evening walk), just minutes away.
  • Seminar and Learning Centre, Sherfield Building, Imperial College (South Kensington, SW7 2AZ) is labelled as building no.20 on this Map. Walking from South Kensington Underground station, take the pedestrian tunnel that leads towards the museums. Follow the tunnel to its furthest extent. On leaving the tunnel in Exhibition Road, turn left to reach the college campus.

Virtual Natural History Talks

Glyphotaelius pellucidus eggs Welcome to the LNHS Virtual Natural History Talk series. These interactive events bring together naturalists with experts and specialists using the Zoom videoconferencing tool and both LNHS members and non-members are welcome. All of our talks are free and are recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel afterwards (simply subscribe and activate notifications to avoid missing out).

Booking is essential and the events do fill up so we recommend subscribing to the mailing list below to avoid disappointment. The talks are fortnightly with an annual hiatus between mid-October and the end of December due to the LNHS Society and Section AGMs.

What are LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks?

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All LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks will:

  • Comprise of a 30-40 minute talk from the guest speaker, followed by a question and answer session.
  • Be free to attend by all, including both LNHS members and non-members.
  • Be hosted on Zoom and bookings will be managed through Eventbrite, with joining instructions sent to those that have booked prior to the event.
  • Be recorded and subsequently made available through YouTube.
Talks will cover a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) ecology, identification, recording and conservation, and in a variety of groups including birds, mammals, flowering plants, fungi, bryophytes, reptiles and amphibians, and a range of invertebrate groups.


Click here to book upcoming LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks

Click here to watch previous LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks

How do I book?

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All of the LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks are free to attend, but booking is essential as spaces are limited to 100 individuals (including hosts and speakers) per event. We manage the bookings through Eventbrite:

Click here to book upcoming LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks

Please note that after booking on to the event:

  • You will need to download the Zoom software before we start. This is free and you can do so here: https://zoom.us/
  • You can sign into the Zoom test meeting any time before to test if everything is working for you here: https://zoom.us/test

Call for writers

Birch Mazegill SQUAREWe know you enjoy attending the virtual talks and we are looking for volunteers to do a short write-up of one of the talks for the society’s printed newsletter. This goes out to all members - including those who may not have good access to technology - and helps everyone to keep in touch with what is happening. It also acts as a permanent record of events that people can access in the future.

All that is required is for you to produce a summary of the main points of the talk (within a week or two) so you don’t need to be an expert on the subject. You can watch the recording on the Youtube channel so you can pause and rewind as required and that means there’s no need to make notes during the live meeting.



Please email the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you’re interested in signing up to produce the write up for one of our upcoming talks.

Call for speakers

LNHS Needs You
LNHS Virtual Natural History Talks are a great way to engage with the London natural history community, bringing together amateur naturalists with experts and sector professionals. We deal with all the admin, technology and hosting so that the speakers can focus on their presentations and answering any questions. The format of the webinars can be found above, your presentation can be 30-40mins long and the Q&A session can be anything from 15-30 minutes long.

Our audiences are interested in a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) ecology, identification, recording and conservation, and in a variety of groups including birds, mammals, flowering plants, fungi, bryophytes, reptiles and amphibians, and a range of invertebrate groups.

If you are interested in being one of our guest speakers, then we’d like to hear from you. Please fill out our Virtual Natural History Talk Speaker Application Form below and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will get in touch to discuss the possibility of adding your talk to our programme.

Click here to download the speaker application form

Please note that the speaker programme for 2022 is now complete. We are still accepting forms from potential speakers but it may be a while before we can schedule new talks.

© 2024 London Natural History Society

Updated: 3rd August   Registered Charity No. 206228