Setting-up for Birdfair. 

Rachel with a herbarium specimen collected by her father.
Image: L. Marsh

I've been at Rutland Water, putting up the BSBI display with Rachel Benskin from Leicester University Botanic Garden. She and LUBG are responsible for the plant displays on the stand. 

Rachel quickly spotted that one of the herbarium sheets I'd brought along for display shows a specimen of Oenanthe crocata collected almost 50 years ago by her father, when he was a student at Wisley. 

Mr Benskin later became Senior Botanic Gardener at LUBG under the celebrated Tom Tutin, and he met the future Mrs Benskin when she also came to work at LUBG. And in due course, the Benskins of the Botanic Garden begat Rachel... 

Hoping to find out more about the Benskin Dynasty and whether Rachel's nephew is showing any horticultural tendencies yet, but we were interrupted at that point by two local BSBI members who are volunteering on the Birdfair Recycling Team: Russell and Paul, the Botanical Binmen :-)

More to follow...