Dave Shearsmith
Member
BCRA Newsletter – January 2026
Our Social Media News OutletsStay updated with the latest BCRA news and activities through our various online platforms:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishcaveresearchassociation/
- The Darkness Below: https://darknessbelow.co.uk
- UK Caving: http://ukcaving.com/board/?board=86.0
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/britishcaveresearch/
The BCRA Council and Trustees wish a happy new year to all our members and hope that you will continue to support us in 2026. The next issue of the newsletter will be published at the end of January 2026.
New officers in post from January 2026.
We are pleased that Jo White, an existing council member, has agreed to serve as Secretary from January 2026. Jo has already made a positive contribution to her new role by designing our new BCRA logo
Rachel Thompson has been co-opted onto council to serve as our new Publicity and Student Liaison Officer. Rachel's involvement is a valuable addition, and we are grateful for her willingness to support our work.
Russel Myers, will also be taking on the important role of Safeguarding Officer
BCRA online Seminars
These will continue on Monday 12th January 2026 19.30to 21.00 when Dr Jo White will talk on: Once upon a slime: snottites and biofilms in neutral mine drainage environments in Derbyshire.
Snottites resemble stalactites composed of jelly-like microbial biofilms. They are traditionally defined as living in highly acidic environments (pH 0-1). However, Derbyshire mine drainage adits (soughs) are pH neutral. To discuss snottites from these environments required a redefinition of snottites to include a wider range of pH environments. I therefore developed 3 models of snottite formation to work towards a broader definition of snottites. Snottites and other biofilms from pH neutral environments are also largely unstudied. My PhD research focused on examining the microbial populations of pH neutral mine drainage environments, and their survival mechanisms. Using a combination of geochemical and microbiological data I constructed metabolic cycles which suggest the processes that microbial communities are using to survive in these nutrient-poor environments.
Sampling a snottite in Cromford Sough (photo by John Gunn)
Further info is available at bcra.org.uk/seminars. Last-minute changes to the programme will be posted to our Facebook page. Anyone wishing to give a talk later in 2026 please contact Emily Tilby from the BCRA website contacts list
Poole’s Cavern – The British Cave Science Centre
Monitoring, and research projects led by Prof Mike Rogerson, will continue in 2026 and plans are being made for at least two BCRA field trips to the cave. One of these will be a workshop for students and the other will be for the Cave Archaeology Group. The only survey of the cave was made by Paul Deakin and the Eldon Pothole Club in 1968 and whilst this, and all Paul’s surveys, was of a high quality we are in need of a new survey that shows the locations of monitoring points. If there any cave surveyors who would be interested in undertaking this project then please contact John Gunn, BCRA Chairman.
International News
After many years when caves and karst have received relatively little attention at an International level there were two exciting initiatives in 2025. On 12th November, the 43rd Session of the UNESCO General Conference, meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, officially proclaimed an International Day of Caves and Karst (IDCK), to be celebrated every year on 13 September. The proposal, which was submitted by the Slovenian Government, was developed, and involved a large amount of work by, the International Speleological Union under the leadership of former President Nadja Zupan Hajna. BCRA and BCA sent a joint letter of support for the proposal and we will need to think of appropriate ways to celebrate the first IDCK on 13th September 2026.Caves and Karst also featured at a meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly in December where The Republic of Indonesia proposed a resolution on “Karst Ecosystem for Global Water, Biodiversity, Climate Resilience, and Economic Development”. The German Speleological Federation (VdHK) took a lead in supporting the resolution as they are currently the only caving group accredited with the United Nations Environment Programme. The Councils of BCA and BCRA both voted to contribute £250 towards VdHK expenses. The resolution was successful in making many delegates aware of caves and karst but the idea of providing specific protection to these environments proved controversial and when it became obvious that there was insufficient support the Indonesian Government decided to withdraw the Resolution but with the intention of submitting a revised Resolution at the next UNEP meeting in 2027.
For further information see https://www.karst-aware.org/.
Hidden Earth 2026 Update
The dates for Hidden Earth 2026 have been confirmed and the event will take place from 25th to 27th September 2026 at the same venue as last year in Llangollen. For the most current updates, please refer to the Hidden Earth media outlets and website (https://hidden.earth/#). If you are interested in contributing a lecture, presentation, or workshop, submissions can now be made directly through the Hidden Earth website.2026 BCRA Science Symposium
Preparations are underway for the 2026 BCRA Science Symposium which will be hosted by Dr Beth Fox at the University of Salford. The provisional date is Saturday 10th October although it may have to be moved back a week to 17th October to accommodate a University Open Day so please stay tuned for further announcements.BCRA Membership
To renew your BCRA membership, or to join for the first time, you need to visit the BCA Just Go website : https://britishcaving.justgo.com/
Free Student Membership
Any student who currently holds BCA membership is eligible for free student membership of the BCRA. This can be arranged easily by your membership secretary or chair through Just Go.
Supporting BCRA
We have observed a decrease in the number of field meetings since the end of Covid restrictions and although there are several being proposed for 2026 we encourage any members interested in organising a meeting to contact the secretary to help reinvigorate this important aspect of our community life.
IT Support Needed
The BCRA website has expanded significantly over the years, thanks to the considerable time and commitment of David Gibson. While it now serves as a valuable repository of information, we recognise that accessing this wealth of content is not always straightforward. We welcome support from anyone with the time and expertise to help improve or potentially re-write the website. If you are able to contribute to this or other areas of IT support, please get in touch with the secretary
