Patrons

John Craven, Countryfile presenter

“The humble earthworm is a creature which most of us take for granted, yet they play a vital role in soil health which helps plants and crops to grow. The Earthworm Society of Britain is a great way for anyone with an interest in worms to learn more about these fascinating creatures and the 27 species which live in the UK.”

Nick Baker, TV naturalist

“Aristotle and Charles Darwin were both big earthworm fans, but these days most people don’t give these humble creatures a second thought. They are an incredibly important aspect of soil health as by churning it up they improve its fertility, which in turn is great news for plants, animals and ultimately us.”

Emma Sherlock, President

I have always had a keen interest in Natural History and as I child I was often found swinging a butterfly net or digging in the mudflats by my seaside home. I now am still often covered in mud.... some things never change! I am lucky enough to have my dream job, curator in the Invertebrate section at the Natural History Museum. My specialism.... Earthworms!

My job has taken me around the world, Nicaragua, Cyprus, Turkey, Transylvania as well as all around the UK. Next stop this November, is a month in Paraguay. I have described new species, hunted for species lacking in our collections at the Museum, mapped common species for distribution patterns and monitored greenhouses in the UK for exotic species coming into the country. I am most interested in earthworm taxonomy and hope to continue this passion for the rest of my career.

I am so excited about the establishment of the ESB and very proud to be the inaugural President. I hope together we can raise the profile of these amazing and vitally important creatures, and I can enthuse you further when I meet you at the society events and behind the scenes at the NHM!
 

Dan Carpenter, Secretary

I first became interested in earthworms when I was an undergraduate volunteer with the Soil Biodiversity Group at the Natural History Museum. I then went on to do a PhD at the University of Reading and the Natural History Museum, exploring the interactions between earthworms and soil minerals. I am currently a Post-doctoral Research Assistant with the Soil Biodiverstiy Group (NHM) and earthworms are a part of my every day job. My knowledge and passion for earthworms has grown over this time and I am very pleased to have a role in the new Earthworm Society of Britain. I really hope that the ESB can show people how important earthworms are in soils and help us towards a greater understanding of their distribution in the UK.

Paul Eggleton, Treasurer

Profile coming soon...

Vicky Gilson, Newsletter Editor

I am currently working as a Specialist Advisor for site designations at Natural England. I volunteer in my spare time for ESB, helping to write and edit the quarterly ESB newsletter, manning stalls at events, and assisting with anything else I can. Time can be tight as I am also a trainee bird ringer, I volunteer for a community woodland group, and have a wide-ranging interest in natural history, especially invertebrates.

As a Zoologist I am interested in all creatures great and small, after all it’s the small creatures that are the most numerous, and arguably important. Earthworms are organisms that, because they are hidden from view, can be easy to take for granted, yet they are of such importance in terms of their ecological role, I think it’s fantastic that ESB has been formed so we can help address this, and improve our understanding of their behaviour and biology. I hope ESB will succeed in promoting the importance of the earthworm and get people interested in natural history through education and by involving people in its events and activities.

For almost as long as I can remember I have been interested in, and concerned about, zoology and the biosphere. This interest led me to take a degree in zoology and has since guided me to Natural History Museum, where I have been volunteering for the past 18 months.

Being under the supervision of both the Soil Biodiversity and the museum’s annelid curator (see other committee members); a zeal for earthworms was almost bound to develop!

The diversity and interconnectedness of life, through evolution, is another long standing fascination for me. I have come to realise this is perfectly encapsulated within the segments of the garden worm, who brings the world of animals, plants, bacteria and geology together to meet. And whose interactions have allowed all of terrestrial life to evolve as it has, including you and me.

Through the ESB newsletter, and the society’s actions as a whole, I want to help others to answer the call of Eramus Darwin and ‘Go, proud reasoner, and call the worms thy sister!’
 

I’m working as a Community Scientist for the OPAL project and became really interested in earthworms whilst I was helping to run the OPAL soil and earthworm survey. I hope that the ESB will help to encourage more people to find out how important worms are.
 

Profile coming soon...

My career started in agriculture. An early interest in natural history has now developed in my retirement to include an interest in earthworms borne of my interest in farming and stimulated by ESB. I’m Librarian to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Entomological Society, co-opted member to the executive of the Urban Wildlife Network, member of the British Plant Gall Society.

As Wildlife Conservation and Liaison Officer of Derbyshire Alternative Technology Association I’m involved with a wide range of conservation issues and practical conservation work. However, if I had to choose my favourite activity is as a trainee bird ringer and ornithologist, especially when watching the early bird getting the worm. 

I’ve been involved with ESB from the very beginning and my vision for the Society is as a national organisation raising awareness of the important role of earthworms in the environment and researching their ecology. As a national organisation I feel it is essential that ESB facilitates members in gathering data and researching earthworms from a geographically wide area and from diverse habitats.

My involvement in the voluntary sector over the past twenty years has often included work with funding applications and project organisation.

 

Profile coming soon...

I am interested in invertebrates, particularly those that live in the soil. I did my PhD research on woodlice, and I have since worked mainly on termites and earthworms. I’m currently  employed on the OPAL project as a member of the Soil Centre team. I wrote the field guide to common British species, and I’m now helping to analyse the results of the OPAL Soil and Earthworm survey.

I hope the ESB can raise the profile of earthworms, and convince people that they are very important in helping to keep soils healthy and productive. I’m also on a personal quest to find the tastiest earthworm recipe in the world.

Lucy Carter, Associate

On the ESB committee I represent the less ‘sciencey’ side of the society as I am not an earthworm researcher or in any way an expert. I enjoy helping people to find out more about the wildlife that they come across in their every day lives but often know very little about.

The OPAL project also supported the set up of the Earthworm Society to keep up the interest of the thousands of people that took part in our survey. You can see the results of the OPAL survey so far here.

I work at the Natural History Museum in London on a project called OPAL, which encourages people to spend more time outdoors exploring, studying and most of all enjoying their local environment. In Spring 2009 OPAL ran a national survey of earthworms and that’s where I first started to learn about them. To publicise the survey we attended the World Worm Charming Championships in Cheshire. I came 140th out of 144 entrants (I only caught 6 worms and the winner got 567!!) so I can’t claim to be an expert, but it was certainly good fun!

Kelly Inward, Associate

Profile coming soon...