‘A man in total harmony with his world’

Gilbert White – “A man in total harmony with his world” – Sir David Attenborough Trustee Philip Geddes explains what makes Gilbert White so remarkable.  Gilbert White (1720 – 1793) is widely regarded as ‘the father of ecology’, the study of the interactions between organisms and their biophysical environment. You

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Flora Selborniensis: Then & Now

Flora Selborniensis: Then and Now In the tricentenary year of Gilbert White’s birth, we are carrying out a project to repeat the year-long document that became the Flora Selborniensis. White made regular observations of plants, particularly when they came into flower, during 1766. He also recorded what the weather was

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Gilbert White & The South Downs National Park

‘The prospect is bounded to the south-east and east by the vast range of mountains called the Susses-downs’ Gilbert White lived almost his entire life in the South Downs; he knew them intimately, travelling often from his home of Selborne in the far North West corner to his aunt’s home

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Anne White

Name: Anne White nee Holt Date of Birth: 1693 Married: September 1719 aged 26, to John White a trained barrister, and eldest sone of Rev. Gilbert and Rebekah White. Children: Gilbert (1720), Three babies who died in infancy between 1721 and 1723), Thomas (1724), Benjamin (1725), Rebecca (1726), John (1727),

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The Women in Gilbert White’s Life

As it is International  Women’s Day we thought we’d introduce you to the women in Gilbert White’s life. Anne White Anne Holt was born in 1693, the daughter of fairly wealthy Sussex farmer, she married John White in 1719 when she was 26 years old. John was a trained barrister

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What’s on in March

What’s on this March! Enjoy the spring   We’re already seeing signs of spring with snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils already brightening up the grounds. Why not go for a garden walk to blow away the winter cobwebs and see a bit of colour! Monitoring the Ocean with Plankton On the

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Gilbert White: The Pioneer Kisser?

The pioneering naturalist Gilbert White is known for many firsts – the first ecologist, the first to describe a Harvest mouse or the Nuctule bat – but was he also the first person to use “x’s” to mean kisses in a letter?  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, he was!

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Antarctic Lecture Series 2020

“What is the reason for sending an expedition of perfectly good fighting men to the South Pole ? ” Winston Churchill’s question was a very reasonable one to ask in April 1944 as Britain strained every nerve preparing for the D-Day invasion of Europe. If you want to know the

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What’s on in February

It’s finally not January and we have a lot happening this February, something for everyone! Story Telling Day  Did you know that the first week in February is National Story telling week? To celebrate we are hosting a storytelling session with DD Storyteller. Come along on the 8th February for one

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GW300 website is up and running!

We have launched a website to promote the activities and celebrations happening all across the country for Gilbert White’s 300th anniversary. Gilbert White born on the 18th July 1720 is one of Britain’s most influential natural scientists, the father of ecology White revolutionised the way people observed and interacted with

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