Grant Information
As a result of a generous bequest made by the late Professor Blodwen Lloyd Binns in 1992, funds are available to individuals and groups who make application for assistance in carrying out projects of natural history interest.
The Administrators of the Bequest normally meet three times each year (January, March and September) and applicants should submit their applications, preferably in Rich Text Format by email (or 5 printed copies by post), to the Society's secretary by the end of the month preceding. The application form is available from the Grants page of this website.
Where the Administrators have to decide between the merits of competing applications, preference is given to Society members over non-members, to local over distant projects, and to projects likely to generate future publication (either in the Society's journal, the Glasgow Naturalist or elsewhere). The administrators will not normally give grants towards salaries.
The Administrators are empowered to make awards up to £2,000. Where an application is for greater than £2,000 and the Administrators are minded to make an award, the final decision is to be taken by the Council of the Glasgow Natural History Society.
In addition to funding natural history projects of local (= Scottish) interest, the Administrators are prepared to consider the following:
- Support for overseas natural history expeditions. Participants should be primarily undergraduate and/or postgraduate students from West of Scotland universities. One copy of the expedition prospectus should be submitted along with the application form. Support for expeditions will be for the expedition as a whole, and not to assist with the personal contributions of individuals. The maximum grant for any expedition will be £1000.
- Support for the costs of undergraduate research projects in the UK. The maximum grant will be normally £200 per project, and students should demonstrate that their institution is also contributing to the costs.
- Support for overseas natural history research by individuals. Support can be given for travel, accommodation and equipment. The maximum grant to any such project will be £600.
- Support for postgraduate students to allow them to report the results of their natural history research at international conferences. Such students must show that their institution is also supporting their attendance at the conference. The maximum sum granted by the Bequest Administrators for this purpose will be £300 to any one application.
Reports/Publications
Once a project supported by the Bequest has been completed, a report should be sent to the Secretary of the Society. Where the work supported is likely to generate a publication elsewhere than in the Glasgow Naturalist, a short report (up to 1000 words) should be submitted to the Blodwen Lloyd Binns Bequest section of the Glasgow Naturalist. The secretary will arrange that these reports are sent to the journal's Editor.
PRIZE
The Professor Blodwen Lloyd Binns prize may be awarded annually for papers submitted for publication in the Glasgow Naturalist. The subject area is the natural history of Scotland. The intention of the prize is to encourage work by younger scientists – "younger" in the sense of new to scientific writing. Submitted work to be considered for the prize by the Administrators of the Bequest will therefore be amongst the first three scientific papers that the writer has submitted for publication.
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