The Parkyn Legacy

In 2011 we received a generous legacy from the estate of the late Dr. James Parkyn which was used to provide travel grants for early career ecologists.

We used the legacy to pay the travel costs and registration fees of 42 students and research assistants from the developing world.  This enabled them to attend the 2013 International Congress of Ecology (INTECOL) in London. INTECOL was the centre piece of the celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the British Ecological Society (BES). Attendance enabled these students to participate in the  wider global community of ecologists, share ideas and learn about the latest research techniques.

For some it was a life changing experience.

I could not have attended INTECOL without the help of the Parkyn travel bursary which enabled me to present my first paper at an international meeting as an early PhD student. The bursary made a tremendous impact on my research and had a transformative impact on my scientific career. Thank you to BES and of course thank you to Dr Parkyn.

Dr. Priyadarshini Chakrabarti
Ecology Research Unit, University of Calcutta, Kolkata.

We then match funded Dr. Parkyn’s legacy. This allowed an additional 113 students to attend INTERCOL 2013. Many of the beneficiaries were from Europe and the USA, but their personal financial circumstances meant that they could not afford to attend an international conference without external funding.

If you decide to leave us a gift in your Will and wish it to be designated to support travel grants for ecologists who otherwise could not attend  major conferences and meetings, please indicate this by speficying Ecology-The Next Generation in your instructions.