British Dragonfly Society

British Dragonfly Society
Name	British Dragonfly Society
Formation	1983
Type	Charity
Purpose	Conservation of Odonata and their habitats
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Region served	England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

British Dragonfly Society is a UK-based charity dedicated to the study, conservation and promotion of dragonflies and damselflies. It works across the United Kingdom with partners, volunteers and researchers to monitor populations, restore wetlands and influence policy. The society collaborates with a wide network of conservation bodies, research institutions and recording schemes.

History

The society was founded in 1983 following increased public interest after surveys and publications highlighted declines in Mallard habitats and concerns similar to those that mobilised organisations such as Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Butterfly Conservation. Early founders included naturalists who had worked with the British Trust for Ornithology, the Freshwater Biological Association and the Nature Conservancy Council. In its early years the society engaged with bodies such as Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, Countryside Council for Wales and Northern Ireland Environment Agency to develop recording standards and conservation priorities. During the 1990s it expanded its regional branches in response to funding from trusts like the Heritage Lottery Fund, support from the Wildlife Trusts network and collaboration with academic departments at institutions such as the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Mission and Activities

The society’s mission emphasises survey, monitoring and habitat management, working alongside organisations including Environment Agency, Defra, Joint Nature Conservation Committee and local Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserves. Activities include species recording with volunteers, coordination of national atlas projects alongside bodies such as National Biodiversity Network, providing site advice comparable to guidance from RSPB and delivering habitat restoration projects in partnership with charities like The Rivers Trust and agencies including Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Conservation and Research

Conservation work targets threatened species and priority wetlands, often in concert with research by universities including University of Exeter, University of Stirling, Queen's University Belfast and University of Birmingham. The society contributes data to national schemes run by the Biological Records Centre and supports red-list assessments conducted by groups such as the IUCN and the Joint Committee on the Red List. It has partnered with statutory bodies like Natural Resources Wales and non-governmental organisations such as Plantlife and Buglife on projects to restore reedbeds, ponds and peatland habitat impacted by drainage, pollution and development assessed under instruments including the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 frameworks used by local planning authorities. Conservation outputs include species action plans aligned with programmes by Local Nature Partnerships, site management agreements with Wildlife Trusts reserves and collaborative monitoring linked to UK Biodiversity Action Plan priorities.

Education and Outreach

Public engagement programmes mirror approaches used by organisations such as National Trust, Royal Horticultural Society and Zoological Society of London, providing guided field visits, workshops and training for volunteer recorders. The society runs citizen science schemes similar to projects coordinated by Open Planets Foundation and platforms used by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, offering identification training influenced by manuals from the Field Studies Council and museum collections at institutions including the Natural History Museum, London and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Outreach includes collaboration with school networks and youth organisations such as Scouts UK, delivery of public events in partnership with local authorities and working with media outlets like BBC Wildlife Magazine and programmes on the BBC to raise awareness.

Publications and Resources

The society publishes identification guides, regional atlases and journal articles, drawing on editorial practice seen in publications from Cambridge University Press, Penguin Books and specialist journals such as British Wildlife and Entomologist's Gazette. Resources include distribution maps contributed to platforms like NBN Atlas and methodological advice comparable to handbooks produced by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the Freshwater Biological Association. The society’s newsletters, identification sheets and technical notes support volunteers, land managers and statutory agencies including Environment Agency and Natural England.

Governance and Funding

Governance follows charity best practice with a board of trustees, audited accounts and policies similar to those used by the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Scottish Charity Regulator. Funding sources include membership subscriptions, grants from trusts such as the Marsh Christian Trust, project funding from bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund and donations from philanthropic foundations and corporate partners like those that support other conservation NGOs including The National Lottery Community Fund. The society works with professional consultancies and partner organisations on grant bids to institutions including the Royal Society and the European Union research programmes, while liaising with statutory regulators such as Natural Resources Wales and the Environment Agency on compliance and permitting.

Category:Charities based in the United Kingdom Category:Invertebrate conservation