Welcome to the regional pages for Wessex. Full details of national and local events are available on our events pages.

Upcoming branch events

Friday 19 April, 10:15-12:15, Exbury Gardens

Tour of Exbury Gardens

A walking tour around Exbury Gardens, originally designed and curated by the Rothschild family, lead by a senior gardener. Attendees will be able to see a spectacular collection of wildflower gardens and landscaped woodlands. 

Friday 17 May, 10:30-12:30, St Catherine's Hill Nature Reserve

A tour around St Catherine's Hill Nature Reserve

A guided tour around St Catherine's Hill Nature Reserve in Winchester. Attendees should have the opportunity to see butterfly, orchids and other wildflowers as well as views of Winchester City and the Itchen Valley floodplains and downland. 

Past branch events

Visit the reports section to find out about past events the branch have run.

Social media

Visit the Wessex branch Facebook page for more branch news.

Our members

Visit the branch map and branch demographics to see the numbers and locations of our members (Dated January 2023).

Committee

Chair: Dr Hilary Otter FRSB
Vice-Chair: Alexander Nunns MSRB (co-opted)
Secretary: Dr Rebecca Topley MRSB (co-opted)

Members: Dr Liz Evesham CBiol FRSB; Dr Phil Richardson CBiol CSci MRSB, Dr Priya Bhatia

Join us

The Wessex branch are currently recruiting for new committee members! Why not check out what it involves and send a quick application to wessex@rsb.org.uk

Contact details

Please get in touch by emailing us at wessex@rsb.org.uk

Our events

We have held a number of successful events over the last three years and have tried to spread them over our vast region (Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Channel Islands and Wiltshire). As part of our vision, Wessex aim to get more involved with education, promoting biology into schools and universities through volunteers giving talks and hosting local award ceremonies for the popular British Biology Olympiad.

Thank you for all your support in the past few years and we hope to see you at some of our events in the future.

Meet the committee

Hilary Otter FRSB CBiol

Hilary has taught biology at secondary and 6th form colleges for the past 20 years. In that time, she has been a head of science and is currently head of biology at St Swithun's School, Winchester. She obtained a zoology degree and went on to do research into invertebrate nervous system, during which time she gained a PhD and taught a large number of undergraduates. Hilary's particular interest is in engaging school age students. She is particularly keen to introduce them to the wide range of applications that the biological sciences have in the 21st century. Hilary also writes peer reviews for the Association for Science Education and has been a member of the Royal Society of Biology for 30 years.