BSBI membership: save money with our autumn 2024 special offer

Last autumn, we launched our membership special offer by saying that 'in a rapidly changing world, our wild plants have never been more in need of the support, understanding and appreciation that BSBI is uniquely placed to provide'. In the 12 months since then, we've seen even more evidence of how our climate is changing, while Plant Atlas 2020 and the latest State of Nature report flagged how British and Irish wild flowers, and the many other species of wildlife who depend on them, are increasingly threatened. 

We have never been more reliant on, and grateful for, the contributions of BSBI's fabulous volunteer members. So today we are inviting you to join our growing ranks, if you haven't already, and asking our members to help us spread the word about the benefits of BSBI membership - for you and for our wonderful wild flowers. 

So, at a time when we are all counting the pennies, why join BSBI? And why now?

Green-winged orchid in East Sussex
Image: Susan Greig

First of all, if you join BSBI in October, your membership starts at once so you could enjoy up to 15 months of membership benefits for the price of 12 months. You wouldn't need to renew your membership until January 2025.

Secondly, we've expanded our range of membership benefits in the past year and there are even more in the pipeline. As well as the three issues each year of BSBI News, our colourful magazine packed with information about British and Irish wild flowers (check out the sampler page and some of the free articles to give you an idea of the contents), membership brings you big discounts on botany books, such as Plant Atlas 2020 (50% off for members buying the print copy); BSBI Handbooks (pre-publication offers for members, usually around a third off) and other selected botany books advertised via the password-protected members' area on our website. 

Limestone bedstraw on The Burren
Image: Heather Kelly

Membership also gives you favoured status when applying for BSBI training and plant study grants - if you're thinking of doing a plant ID course, such as BSBI's online Identiplant course or one of the many courses offered by external providers, you can apply for a grant of up to £250 to help you. Members also have exclusive access to 100+ expert plant referees to help you with identification, and to 100+ scientific papers free to download from our members' area. Concerned about the environmental impact of your membership? By opting for paperless membership and choosing eBooks rather than printed Handbooks, you'll be minimising your carbon footprint. 

Wood-sorrel in Surrey
Image: Gillian Elsom

But there's a third reason for joining the growing ranks of BSBI members - it's not just about all the practical and financial benefits you'll enjoy. You'll also be helping us to support British and Irish wildflowers. How? Because while many of our almost 4,000 members carry out amazing work studying, recording, monitoring and helping to conserve wild plants across Britain and Ireland, feeding into projects such as Plant Atlas 2020, the State of Nature 2023 report, the many county Floras and the National Plant Monitoring Scheme in which BSBI is a partner, many others are simply happy to know that their subscription helps support our work to advance the understanding and appreciation of wild plants and to support their conservation across Britain and Ireland. 

Autumn colours by Lough Dan, Co. Wicklow
Image: Alexis Fitzgerald

Check out our nature conservation policy and our strategic plan to find out more; find out how our botanical heatmaps, developed with Natural England, are helping ensure that we get the right tree in the right place (and not in the wrong place!); check out the members who won awards in 2022 for outstanding contributions to botany; or leaf through our latest Annual Review to find out what the Society achieved last year thanks to all our wonderful members.

If you are already a BSBI member, we'd like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you for all that you do, and ask you to spread the word to friends and colleagues who you think might enjoy becoming a member - and don't forget that a gift membership of BSBI makes a great present for a loved one!

Our ranks are growing - by around 30% in the last three years - so if you haven't yet joined us, why not head over here and become our next new member? We can't wait to welcome you and send you your membership welcome pack. Together we can keep working towards a world where wild plants across Britain and Ireland thrive and are valued - and so are the thousands of amazing BSBI botanists who support them.