BES presidents recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours list

President of the British Ecological Society (BES) Jane Memmott and past president Bill Sutherland are among the outstanding ecologists whose contributions have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.

Jane Memmott becomes an OBE for her services to insect pollinators and ecology. She is in the middle of her term as President of the BES and a Professor of Ecology at the University of Bristol.

“I’m delighted to receive this award and would like to thank the people who made it possible,” said Jane, “particularly all the amazing early-career scientists who have worked with me on these research projects, along with some wonderful collaborators.”

She added, “It’s just brilliant to see ecology and pollinators getting this sort of attention too.”

Bill Sutherland, a past president of the BES and Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge, is appointed CBE.

“I was delighted and surprised by this honour,” said Bill, who is recognised for his work on evidence-based conservation.

He explains that he seeks to make a difference by collating and making available evidence, and work with practitioners to co-design tools that make it easier to use evidence.

“Our evidence work is a collaboration of over 1000 practitioners, policy makers and researchers who have helped in the collations and synthesis of information and the creation of tools to use tools in practice. I am so grateful to all whose collective work made this possible.”

The BES celebrates these awards and offers its congratulations to all those named in this year’s honours list, their teams and those they work with.