Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society upcoming events

Filming Every Freshwater Fish in Britain - Jack Perks (14 Oct 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Born and bred in Nottingham, Jack is primarily a freelance underwater and wildlife cameraman with a deep passion for the natural world. He’s particularly interested in the less liked species such as reptiles, amphibians and fish but does occasionally pay attention to furry and feathery things. He has a BA (Hons) Marine & Natural History Photography.

Shortly after graduating Jack focused more on moving image and has since worked for dozens of wildlife and angling TV programmes including Springwatch, The One Show, Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing and The Great British Year. Jack also appears in front of the camera and has presented several films for Countryfile. He's gone on to work on David Attenborough's "Wild Isles" and filmed in Alaska for a BBC series.

Freshwater fish are certainly what Jack is best known for, being termed the “fish twitcher” by the BBC for hunting around the UK to film every British freshwater fish – a task that took seven years for him to complete and find all 54. From Scottish Lochs to Southern Chalkstreams there aren’t many waterways Jack hasn’t dipped in. This is the subject that he will be talking about on 14th October.

Jack has written two books: "Freshwater Fishes of Britain" and "Field Guide to Pond & River Wildlife of Britain & Europe”. His Field Guide to British Fish will be published by Bloomsbury in April 2027.

His website is https://www.jackperksphotography.com/.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm. Note that this meeting is on the second Wednesday of October rather than the usual first Wednesday.

(Photo at top courtesy Jack Perks)

Contrasting floras - Charnwood and Rutland - Steve Woodward - The Sowter Lecture (4 Nov 2026)

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 19:30:00 GMT

Steve has been a section member since 1982, since when he has developed an interest in many aspects of natural history. Botanical fieldwork has occupied most of his time, initially in the Charnwood area, but more recently all over vice-county 55, to even-up coverage for the national Atlas 2020 project. This entailed many trips to Rutland, ably assisted by Helen Ikin.

He has given the Sowter Lecture twice before: on the Landscape History of Groby, and on Bryophytes. Among his publications are studies of Ulverscroft, Swithland Wood, Grace Dieu and Oakham. In 2022 he helped Geoffrey Hall to prepare the Rare Plant Register for VC55. The talk will cover the flowering plants and ferns of Leicestershire and Rutland, drawing attention to the similarities and differences.

This will be the Sowter Lecture for the 2026-27 season of talks. More can be found about Frederick Sowter here.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm.

Living with Environmental Change - Dr Moya Burns (2 Dec 2026)

Wed, 02 Dec 2026 19:30:00 GMT

Dr Moya Burns is Associate Professor Ecology and Environmental Science in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Division of Biosciences Education at the University of Leicester.

She is an ecologist with a varied past working in ecological consultancy, government agencies and the charity sector before joining the University. Her work encompasses interdisciplinary themes around ecology, citizen/community science and environmental education, and she is interested in exploring how embedding citizen science approaches within the curriculum can support environmental decision‑making whilst giving students authentic experience in research and ecological survey skills. She co‑leads the Living with Environmental Change research challenge in the Institute for Environmental Futures.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm.

Feeding Garden Birds: Triumph or Tragedy? - Alan Bevington (6 Jan 2027)

Wed, 06 Jan 2027 19:30:00 GMT

Even though some surveys indicate that more than half of UK households feed their locaI birds, providing a national total of 150,000 tonnes of bird food every year, recent research has concluded that such artificial feeding may be at best ineffective and at worst harmful to wild bird populations, for example by spreading disease.

Alan is not a professional researcher in this field, but he has had a strong interest in garden birds for many years, and has been following closely the debate over garden bird feeding.

Rather than giving intrusive advice telling people how (or whether) to feed their local birds, the aim of this talk is to present the evidence and allow the audience to decide for themselves whether feeding is a triumph or a tragedy. The talk will be in two parts – firstly reviewing the evidence that feeding may be harmful and presenting the case that all feeding should be abandoned; and secondly reviewing evidence to the contrary and asking whether (in spite of recent criticism) such feeding is still valuable in conserving the UK’s threatened bird populations and, if so, under what circumstances.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm.

(Photo of Greenfinch: Alan Bevington)

Decline of the bear: Tracing the extinction of Britain's largest carnivore - Prof Hannah O'Regan (3 Feb 2027)

Wed, 03 Feb 2027 19:30:00 GMT

Hannah O'Regan is Professor of Archaeology and Palaeoecology in the Faculty of Arts at Nottingham University.

She is particularly known for her work on carnivores - from sabretoothed cats to brown bears - and their interactions with humans through time. Her specialism is in the bones of humans and other animals - osteology - but she also uses archives, inscriptions, sculpture and many other sources of evidence to piece together life in the past.

The work on bears relates to an NERC funded research project 'The decline of the bear: tracing the extinction of Britain's largest carnivore'.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm.

Unseen Leicestershire: Exploring Leicestershire Wildlife with Macro and Microphotography - Dr Alan Cann (3 Mar 2027)

Wed, 03 Mar 2027 19:30:00 GMT

Alan Cann is a member of the Natural History Section well-known for his studies of smaller Arthropods such as money spiders, springtails and parasitic wasps. He has a long-standing interest in macro and micro photography and will explore the tiny microworlds of Leicestershire wildlife.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm.

(Photo of Copidosoma sp.: Alan Cann)

Bring back British beavers? Species reintroductions and Britain’s relationship with nature in the 21st century (8 Mar 2027)

Mon, 08 Mar 2027 19:30:00 GMT

image supplied by the speaker

Natural History Section Joint Lecture

Professor George Holmes PhD

Professor of Conservation and Society, University of Leeds

Lecture outline

Britain is nature-depleted, an island whose seas make repletion difficult. To restore nature, conservationists are giving a helping hand by seeking to release many species to create new populations, from beavers and eagles to burbot fish, northern hairy wood ants, and lungwort lichens. These reintroductions are often presented as simple tales of fixing a problem, but they are a difficult, contested, and value-laden. They are not just technical or scientific actions, but rather a philosophical, legal, moral, and socio-economic challenge. Most of all, they open up a series of questions about what British nature should look like, who decides, on what basis, and about what the relationships should be between humans and non-humans in Britain. This talk will take us through a variety of species being reintroduced, from the massive to the microscopic, to explore what this tells us about Britain’s relationship with nature.

Biographical note

George Holmes is Professor of Conservation and Society at the University of Leeds. His work looks at the people and politics side of conservation, specifically the values, beliefs and structures of the conservation movement, and how conservation projects and local communities interact and shape one another. A lot of his current focused on rewilding, species reintroductions, and landscape restoration.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, New Walk https://www.leicestermuseums.org/leicester-museum-art-gallery/

The hall will be open from 6:45 and tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Natural History Section Annual General Meeting and Members' Evening (7 Apr 2027)

Wed, 07 Apr 2027 18:30:00 GMT

The Section's AGM will be followed by refreshments and a chance to meet and talk with other members, after which a few short talks will be given by members.

Quaker Meeting House - link to map

Doors open 7 pm for start at 7.30 pm, finish by 9.30 pm. Note that this meeting is not on the first Wednesday of the month.