Bute Park’s tits are in trouble

Photo of Bute Park by Andy Kendall

This Thursday Cardiff’s Naturalist Society will hold a discussion on the wildlife that inhibits Cardiff, a tradition which has remained since 1867 but calls for a younger audience to keep it alive.

The meeting which will be fronted by Dr Peter Ferns who will discuss the challenges that birds face when trying to survive in Bute Park. However the Naturalist Society is also facing a similar challenge as once the largest scientific society in Wales, now struggles for younger members.

Andy Kendall, who has been involved for 22 years, said that by adopting email and internet this may bridge the gap, “Sure we all watch David Attenborough on the television, but by joining this society you will be able to identify the wildlife around you.”

tablet for the founder of the Naturalist Society Richard Drane on Queens Street

A brief history of the Cardiff Naturalist Society:

– Founded in 1867 by Robert Drane it was for the very learned naturalists in Cardiff and he decided that people needed a group who could study and learn about the natural world. In this time the city was very much the centre of trade as Lord Bute was making his money.

– The society grew in strength and was much like a gentleman’s club as you had to be considered of great learning to attend

– The society was also one of the organisations that campaigned for the National Museum to be cited in Cardiff. The museum could have been in Swansea or Aberystwyth but the Naturalist Society was Instrumental in getting the museum to Cardiff.

– In 1905 it was the largest scientific society in Wales

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