AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR THE ESSEX BOTANIST.
Since Stanley Jermyn passed away in September,
Mrs. Pamela Jermyn and several helpers have been
working hard to complete the Flora of Essex and
get it through the press by, we hope, if the
economic situation allows - September this year.
A pamphlet outlining the contents of the Flora
should have reached you with this bulletin.
Botany in Essex must not come to a halt with the
production of the Flora however and we are
particularly concerned that Stanley Jermyn's
tremendous devotion to the conservation of our
endangered species shall not have been in vain.
Over the past six years we worked together to
produce the detailed distribution maps of local
species for the Flora and began to compile a card
index of the detailed locations of endangered
species with a view to drawing up a conservation
priority list. What I would like to do now is
to involve a group of keen field botanists in"
the implementation of these plans, and carry on
the type of work that Mr. Jermyn pioneered.
ENDANGERED SPECIES.
We need to keep accurate records of the status of
endangered species from year to year, anticipate
any likely threats, contact land-owners to inform
them of the existence of these plants on their
land and try to interest them in operating
conservation measures. In the case of local
authorities or firms, the most effective line of
attack might be to produce pamphlets on the
species involved to impress upon them the value
of plants they have at their mercy - the new
Wild Plant Protection Bill does not prevent
owners destroying plants. Many land-owners are
keen to help but either do not know their plants
or are unaware of the local status of many species.
If anyone is keen to help with this project I
would be very pleased to hear from them -
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