Honorary Membership

Honorary membership is the highest honour we can give and it recognises an exceptional contribution at international level to the generation, communication and promotion of ecological knowledge and solutions.

British Ecological Society image of the northern lights

The number of Honorary Members at any one time is limited to approximately 1% of our total membership.

The Nominations Committee will consider the following criteria when considering nominations:

  • An exceptional body of research or ecological work over at least 30 years which has defined our understanding of ecology or its application at an international level.
  • An outstanding publications record which includes landmark papers in major international journals and monographs and other research publications.
  • An excellent track record in applying ecology to policy or practice of national or international significance.
  • An exceptional contribution to the communication and promotion of ecology.
  • Outstanding contributions to the academic or practising ecological community including nurturing the next generation of ecologists.

Please note that nominees do not need to meet all of the criteria. As of 2024 self-nominations are accepted.

The nominations process for this award is now open, the deadline for nominations is 12:00 GMT Wednesday 3rd April 2024.

To submit a nomination, please download the form below and send a completed form to hello@britishecologicalsociety.org.

The following people currently hold Honorary Membership because of their outstanding service to ecology:

(A-Z by surname)

  • Sir David Attenborough OM CH
  • Professor Sir John Beddington
  • Professor Mike Begon
  • Professor May Berenbaum
  • Professor Per Brinck
  • Dr Eileen Buttle
  • Mr Bob Campbell
  • Professor Richard Clymo
  • Professor Gretchen Daily
  • Professor Sandra Diaz
  • Professor Paul Ehrlich
  • Professor Alastair Fitter
  • Professor Madhav Gadgil
  • Professor Sir Godfray
  • Professor Peter Grubb
  • Professor Sue Hartley
  • Professor Michael Hassell
  • Professor Richard Hobbs
  • Sir Martin Holdgate
  • Professor Stephen Hubbell
  • Lord John Krebs of Wytham
  • Professor Sandra Lavorel
  • Professor Sir John Lawton
  • Professor John Lee
  • Professor Gene Likens
  • Professor Michel Loreau
  • Professor Jane Lubchenco
  • Professor Anne Magurran
  • Professor Pamela Matson
  • Professor Pat Monaghan
  • Professor Hal Mooney
  • Professor Ian Newton
  • Professor Stephen Pacala
  • Professor Margaret Palmer
  • Sir Ghillean Prance
  • Professor Sir David Read
  • Professor Janet Sprent
  • Professor William Sutherland
  • Professor David Tilman
  • Professor Staffan Ulfstrand
  • Professor Diana Wall
  • Professor Andrew Watkinson
  • Professor Louise Vet
  • Professor Peter Vitousek