Join us

Benefits of Membership

badge-IWNHASMembership provides the chance to learn about wildlife, archaeology and geology in a friendly, informal atmosphere in the company of like-minded people. The annual membership offers extremely good value for money.

We have an extensive programme of events ranging from illustrated talks by experts, guided visits to places of interest, including occasional mainland visits, gentle rambles looking at nature and more specialised meetings of small groups to study mammals, birds, insects, plants, fungi, fossils or archaeology. There is, on average, at least one meeting most weeks of the year.

On this page you can read about membership and apply online, or download a form to fill out by hand if you prefer.

If you prefer to download a form and send it by post, please use this link to do so: Membership application form (PDF)

    Application for membership

    I/we wish to apply for membership of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society, as follows:

    Single member £30Family membership £35Full-time student member £10

    I/we will send payment for the amount indicated. I understand that membership is renewable annually on the 1st January.

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your telephone number:

    Your address:

    Names of family members (only required for family membership)

    Are you a UK taxpayer?

    If so, you can boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate. Gift Aid is reclaimed by the Society from the tax you pay for the current tax year. Your address is needed to identify you as a current UK taxpayer.

    Declaration of Gift Aid Donation

    • I want to Gift Aid this donation and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years to the Isle of Wight Natural History & Archaeological Society.

    • I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

    • My address as a UK taxpayer is as above.

    You should tick this box and fill in your name and the date below if you want to Society to benefit from Gift Aid at no extra cost to you. This part of the membership form is optional.
    I am a UK taxpayer and I would like the IWNHAS to claim Gift Aid on my donation

    Full name of taxpayer:

    Date of Gift Aid declaration (dd-mm-yyyy):

    Please notify the IWNHAS if you:

    • want to cancel this declaration

    • change your name or home address

    • no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains

    If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.

    I understand and agree to the Society rules and (if applicable) the Gift Aid Declaration above:
    (You can't send off the form unless you tick this box)

    Please make cheques payable to IWNHAS and send to the Membership Secretary:
    Mrs T.Goodley, Membership Secretary, IWNHAS, 15 The Lawns, Fairlee Rd, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2PT

    Publications

    We produce a number of publications. All members receive a bi-annual, illustrated Bulletin which keeps them in touch with what’s going on. The new style Bulletin has been well received containing all sorts of interesting snippets, natural history observations and anecdotes as well as reports on recent meetings. All members are encouraged to contribute. In addition, members receive annually, an illustrated Bird report (produced jointly with the Isle of Wight Ornithological Group) and Wight Studies, our journal which includes yearly reports of mammals, insects, galls, marine life, plants and fungi together with longer scientific papers relevant to the Island. There are frequently interesting papers on the Island’s history and historic landscapes. We also produce occasional, one-off publications on a variety of topics.

    Resources

    We have an extensive library of reference books and field guides covering all aspects of wildlife, together with Island history, geology and archaeology. Many of these are available for loan by members. The Society archives, together with field note books and diaries of eminent past members of the Society, are held in the library. There are also runs of a number of different journals including those exchanged with natural history societies and field clubs elsewhere in the country.

    We have a large library of photographic and other material held in digital form. It includes historical images, like maps and contemporary photographs, and documentation of many of the activities of the Society. Perhaps most importantly, it is a very extensive locally sourced data holding of visual records of the flora and fauna of the Island, consisting of everything from simple photographs to high-resolution scans and microscopy. Collectively, all this forms an important resource for research and education.

    The Society headquarters hold some items, such as microscopes and collecting equipment, which may be available as a loan for special studies.

    Records

    As a scientific society the accurate recording of all the different groups of plants and animals is an important part of what we do. The Society headquarters holds the Island’s main species database where all records are aggregated. This, calling on a system of distributed databases, holds many thousands of Island records of plant and animal species. The records are kept up to date by field observations each year and help to inform policy concerning conservation issues. They are the principal source of information about the biodiversity of the Isle of Wight and we supply, through an agreement, the majority of the records relied upon by the Local Records Centre of the Isle of Wight Council.