Trevor James, BEM

It is with sadness that the ALERC board and membership learned of the loss of Trevor James, who died recently.  Trevor will be familiar to many ALERC members through his appearances at national conferences such as the National Biodiversity Network and National Forum for Biological Recording, but Trevor’s contribution to the development of Local Environmental Records Centres and the formation of ALERC was considerable.
 
Trevor was committed to recording in his home patch of Hertfordshire, for which he was recognised last year when he was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to nature conservation in Hertfordshire.  Trevor had worked at the North Hertfordshire Museum and then the Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre - precursors to the current Hertfordshire Ecological Records Centre – from 1973 until 2001, when he became the National Recording Schemes Officer at the NBN Trust.  He was a county recorder in Hertfordshire for over forty years, personally collecting more than one million biological records and published two books: Flora of Hertfordshire in 2009 and Beetles of Hertfordshire in 2018.
 
After joining the NBN Trust in 2001, Trevor remained an important figure for LERCs.  He was a member of the NBN working group for LERCs, and was vocal in his support for the creation of ALERC through his role in the National Forum for Biological Recording.  Working with Nicky Court of Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre, he developed a template data exchange agreement for LERCs and National Schemes and Societies – a version of which is still in place between HBIC and Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland thirteen years on.
 
Trevor was a very knowledgeable man and very generous with his knowledge.  He will be greatly missed.