Obituary: Peter Lawson

Page 1

AGM

95

Peter Lawson 1942-2013 Many people will remember Peter as one of Suffolk’s foremost botanists and as a member of the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts’ conservation staff from 1983 until he retired in 2000. His encyclopaedic knowledge of the county’s flora was a huge asset to the Trust. Amongst many other things, Peter helped identify and establish the network of County Wildlife Sites and protected roadside verges throughout Suffolk. He was instrumental in creating Reserve status for Wink’s Meadow at Metfield (being the first to recognise its conservation value). More than anything though, Peter will be remembered for the generosity with which he shared his knowledge of plants, helping many Trust staff and volunteers develop and improve their botanical skills. Peter’s legacy is a substantial archive of botanical records and surveys that are still used today and will be equally valued as an important reference by botanical surveyors in the future. Peter was a long serving member of Lowestoft Field Club; he joined in 1968, was elected to the committee in 1970 and served as Secretary from 1972 to 1989. During those eighteen years he raised the profile of the Club and throughout his membership his expert botanical knowledge provided many plant records for the annual report. He contributed enormously to A Flora of Suffolk (2010): with his own records, by encouraging and recruiting new surveyors and by providing financial support at the publication stage. In recent years health problems affected his mobility, finally resulting in his becoming housebound, but his support and enthusiasm for recording remained undimmed. To the last he critically evaluated the plant lists sent to him. Peter was an avid collector of county floras and left a collection of over 200 volumes covering the whole of the UK. We hope that the BSBI booksellers Summerfield books will be able to find new homes for them with the proceeds of the sales going to SNS. Martin Sanford

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 50 (2014)


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.