Members and friends are warmly invited to join us for the 2026 Autumn Meeting and Annual General Meeting on Saturday 7 November at the offices of Affinity Water, Tamblin Way, Hatfield, AL10 9EZ (2-5.30pm).

The featured speakers this year are Martin Ketcher, voluntary warden of the Purwell Nine Springs nature reserve in Hitchin for 46 years and Wendy Morrison, Director of the Chilterns Heritage & Archaeology Partnership. Winners of the annual HNHS awards will be announced.

Purwell Nine Springs - as its name suggests – is a spring-fed wet area of grassland, reedbed and open water reserve that attracts a wide variety of bird species and other wildlife, including Water Vole and Otter.  Martin will reflect on his personal relationship with the HMWT reserve over almost half a century as well as its social and natural history.

Wendy's talk will consider the common ground between archaeology and and nature conservation. The Chilterns Heritage & Archaeology Partnership (CHAP) was created to bridge the gap between community groups and national heritage bodies to protect and raise awareness of chalkland cultural heritage.

Other speakers include Louisa Veasey, from Affinity Water's Biodiversity Team, talking about the company's Action for Nature's Recovery project and Toby Hill, HNHS webmaster, with an update on plans to re-model this website.

Winners of this year's Trevor James Award for an outstanding Hertfordshire natural historian and the 1875 Award for an outstanding contribution to natural history in our county will be announced and presented with their award crystals.

As usual, the tea interval will provide a chance to chat to fellow members, including the county wildlife recorders. The bookstall will be offering bargains on HNHS publications and a wide range of secondhand books about wildlife.

The 151st AGM will take place at 4.15pm. Papers will be sent to members in early October. There is no charge for attending the AGM, but the door fee for the Autumn Conference, to help cover costs, is £5.

Thanks, once again, go to Affinity Water for hosting this event.