Nature in Cambridgeshire

History of Nature in Cambridgeshire

In 1958 the newly formed (1956) Cambridgeshire & Isle of Ely Naturalists' Trust (CAMBIENT) decided to fill a void for Cambridgeshire and produce a local natural history journal. Initial negotiations took place between CAMBIENT and two other local organisations, the Cambridgeshire Bird Club and Cambridge Natural History Society (CNHS). When the first volume was published in 1958 it was in collaboration with the latter of these two groups. In 1958 the CNHS was celebrating it's centenary year and the production of a new journal was considered a fitting way to celebrate.

By 1984 the cost of production was becoming too great for CAMBIENT to manage and no journal was published that year. The following year a slim edition (1985 volume 27) was produced and declared to be the final volume of the journal. The next year (1986) the editors decided to 'go their own way' and a full volume was produced under an editorial board separate from both CAMBIENT and CNHS (see below). It was around this time that CAMBIENT became the Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust.

The independent editorial board has continued to produce the journal every year but again financial difficulties were starting to be felt as we moved into the new millenium. A renewed association with CNHS was started in 2003-4 to help boost circulation of the journal and since 2004 (volume 46) the journal has once again been published 'in association with Cambridge Natural History Society'.

The journal has also changed format in the last few years with the change to perfect binding, the inclusion of colour plates and spine lettering.

Nature in Cambridgehsire looks set to continue publication into the 21st century as strong as ever.

Editors of the Journal:

Journal Size - Number of Pages

The journal has gradually increased in size over the years with a missed year in 1984, a very short start-up journal in 1985 and an extra large edition in 2008 which contained 30 pages of updated indexes.

Editorial Board of the Journal (Current members in bold):