Bnhs

What Bnhs does

Bedfordshire Natural History Society (BNHS) is a UK Registered Charity (number 268659) founded in 1946 and headquartered in Bedfordshire, England. Its core mission is to record the occurrence and distribution of the fauna and flora of Bedfordshire, supported by a network of more than twenty expert County Recorders covering major taxonomic groups (birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, plants, fungi, lichens, molluscs, geology, and meteorology). BNHS publishes the annual Bedfordshire Naturalist journal and a range of authoritative reference books, including The Birds of Bedfordshire (2025, 506 pages) and Bedfordshire - our changing habitats and wildlife (2020), and operates the Wild About Beds newsletter.

The society's technical infrastructure centers on Adnoto, a web-based wildlife record submission system backed by a database that routes records directly to the relevant County Recorder and supports mapping and retrieval. Supporting tools include Grab-a-Grid-Reference (GAGR), Google Earth overlays (KMZ files for Bedfordshire and Vice-County 30 boundaries), Map Your Records, and Add Lat/Lng to Your Records. A digitized archive of the Bedfordshire Naturalist from 1946 to 1998 (539MB of OCR-processed PDFs) provides a searchable historical record. The society is affiliated with the Bedfordshire Bird Club, Bat Group, Flora Group, Geology Group, Invertebrate Group, Mammal Group, and Reptile & Amphibian Group, and has a 100+ subscriber email newsgroup.

BNHS is a volunteer-led nonprofit funded entirely by annual membership subscriptions, publication sales (small per-unit prices via PayPal on bnhs.co.uk), and EasyFundraising referral donations. All officers serve in honorary (unpaid) positions. The society operates partnerships with the Bedfordshire and Luton Biodiversity Recording and Monitoring Centre (BRMC) and the National Biodiversity Network Trust (NBN), and shares data with affiliated specialist groups. There is no commercial revenue model, no external investment, and no parent entity.

Name

Bnhs

Legal name

The Bedfordshire Natural History Society

Website

https://bnhs.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bedfordshire Natural History Society (BNHS) is a UK Registered Charity founded in 1946 that records Bedfordshire's fauna and flora through a network of 20+ expert County Recorders, an online wildlife submission system (Adnoto), and authoritative annual publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Society Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

Keywords

• Wildlife recording
• Natural history society
• Citizen science
• Conservation publications
• Field ecology

Headquarters

HQ city

Maulden

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: The society depends on annual subscriptions from members. All officers are honorary (volunteer). Membership is open to anyone whether or not resident in Bedfordshire.
2. Publication Sales: Sale of books and journals including 'The Birds of Bedfordshire' (£50 collection / £57.95 delivered), 'Bedfordshire - our changing habitats and wildlife' (£15), Bedfordshire Naturalist (£15), and Bedfordshire Bird Report (£15).
3. Fundraising: The society uses EasyFundraising for generating donations when members purchase goods or search the web through their platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Bedfordshire Natural History Society (BNHS) is a UK registered charity founded in 1946 that promotes the study, recording, and conservation of natural history in Bedfordshire. It operates a network of more than 20 expert County Recorders covering species groups from birds and butterflies to geology and meteorology, runs the Adnoto online wildlife recording platform, publishes the annual Bedfordshire Naturalist journal and other reference books, and organizes indoor talks, field meetings, and annual conferences for members and the public.

Product overview

Bnhs (Bedfordshire Natural History Society) operates as a naturalist society rather than a technology company. Its primary offerings include Adnoto, an online wildlife recording system with species-specific submission forms, and the Bedfordshire Naturalist Digital Archive containing searchable PDFs of journals from 1946-1998. The society publishes books on Bedfordshire wildlife (The Birds of Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire - our changing habitats and wildlife, Wild Orchids of Bedfordshire), annual journals (Bedfordshire Naturalist and Bedfordshire Bird Report), and the Wild About Beds newsletter. Supporting technology tools include Grab-a-Grid-Reference for OS Grid References, Google Earth Overlays for mapping, Add Lat/Lng to Your Records for coordinate conversion, and Map Your Records for plotting. The organization maintains a network of over 20 County Recorders who process wildlife submissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wild About Beds: The society's newsletter published three or four times per year for members.

Products and services

• Adnoto Online Wildlife Recording System Web-based online wildlife recording platform with species-specific submission forms that routes records directly to the appropriate County Recorder and stores them in a searchable, mappable database. It is offered to naturalists and the general public in Bedfordshire to support citizen science recording.
• Bedfordshire Naturalist Digital Archive Searchable OCR-processed PDF archive of the annual Bedfordshire Naturalist journal from 1946 to 1998, providing access to decades of wildlife, geology, and meteorology records for Bedfordshire.
• BNHS Wildlife Publications (Book Series) Reference books and field guides documenting Bedfordshire's fauna and flora, including avifaunas, floras, and habitat surveys. Sold via online order through bnhs.co.uk with collection and UK delivery options.
• Bedfordshire Naturalist Annual Journal Annual journal covering Bedfordshire's wildlife, meteorology, and geology with reports from each County Recorder. Published continuously since 1946 and sold to members and the public.
• Bedfordshire Bird Report Annual Journal Annual report published by the Bedfordshire Bird Club (founded 1992 as the ornithological section of BNHS) documenting bird species occurrences and statistics for the county.
• Wild About Beds Newsletter Society newsletter published three or four times per year for members, covering all aspects of natural history in Bedfordshire. Archive editions are available online from 2009/2010 onwards.
• BNHS Membership (Annual Subscription) Annual membership subscription providing access to the BNHS community, publications, events, and the County Recorder network. Membership is open to anyone, resident in Bedfordshire or not, and is the society's primary recurring revenue source.
• County Recorder Network (Expert Identification Service) Network of more than 20 expert volunteer County Recorders who collect, validate, and publish wildlife records for Bedfordshire and provide identification assistance to members and the public.
• BNHS Annual Conference Annual themed conference bringing together members and the public around a specific natural history topic. Past editions have focused on neglected insects and freshwater invertebrates.
• Indoor Talks and Field Meetings Year-round programme of indoor expert talks and field meetings to natural history sites across Bedfordshire, offered to members and visitors.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bedfordshire and Luton Biodiversity Recording and Monitoring Centre (BRMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBNHS collaborates with BRMC which maintains Bedfordshire boundary data and provides resources like Accessible Wildlife Site (AWS) and Roadside Nature Reserve (RNR) boundaries for mapping tools. BRMC also sourced paper journals for digital scanning.
• Bedfordshire Bat GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated group recording bat distribution, surveying roost sites, and caring for injured bats. Joint activities and cross-referrals with BNHS. BNHS guidelines document governs affiliation.
• Bedfordshire Flora GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated group with members from beginners to experienced botanists. Organizes field meetings, maintains active WhatsApp group, and participates in Rare Plant Guardian Scheme.
• Bedfordshire Geology GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated group encouraging understanding of geology and geomorphology. Promotes Local Geological Sites and organizes educational events. Visit bedfordshiregeologygroup.org.uk for details.
• Bedfordshire Invertebrate Group (B.I.G)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated group for anyone interested in recording invertebrates. Organized through WhatsApp group for coordination of field visits. Contact [email protected] to join.
• Bedfordshire Mammal GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated group studying and conserving wild mammals through recording distribution, studying ecology, and raising awareness. Website: bedsmammalgroup.co.uk.
• Bedfordshire Reptile and Amphibian Group (B.R.A.G)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 2000, affiliated group promoting conservation and monitoring distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Bedfordshire.
• Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Fungus GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated to the British Mycological Society. Serves as the contact point for fungal records in Bedfordshire since BNHS County Fungi Recorder position is vacant.
• National Biodiversity Network Trust (NBN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial permission obtained from NBN Trust to make vice-county 30 boundary available for Google Earth. Records may be shared with NBN and other recording schemes.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Suffolk Naturalists' Society: County society with parallel structure: county recorders, annual journal (Transactions), field meetings, and indoor talks. Direct comparable operating model to BNHS.
• Essex Field Club: Long-running county natural history society in Essex with the same mix of recording, publications, and field meetings. Direct peer in scale and scope.
• London Natural History Society: County-equivalent natural history society with sections for birds, botany, and other groups, plus publications and field meetings. Closest urban-area peer to BNHS by operating model.
• Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society: One of the UK's oldest county natural history societies (founded 1869), publishing Transactions and managing county recording on the same membership-plus-recorder model as BNHS.
• Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Natural History Society: County natural history society operating in the adjacent BCN region with BNHS, using the same volunteer recorder and publication model.
• Hertfordshire Natural History Society: Neighbouring county natural history society with the same membership-and-recording model, covering flora, fauna, and geology in Hertfordshire. Direct structural peer to BNHS.

Broad incumbents

• Butterfly Conservation: National charity with overlapping recorder networks and similar citizen science model, but national scope and a much broader institutional footprint than BNHS.
• National Biodiversity Network Trust: UK-wide biodiversity data aggregator and partner of BNHS. Provides the national infrastructure that county society records ultimately feed into.
• iRecord (Biological Records Centre): National-scale biological recording platform that BNHS itself recommends for many species groups. A broader incumbent providing the same core function (citizen science recording) at a wider geographic scope.

Regional players

• Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire: Regional conservation NGO operating in BNHS's geography and an explicit partner (administers the Rare Plant Guardian Scheme). Comparable regional footprint but very different mission and operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/248658738538249
• Instagraminstagram.com/bedfordshire_nature
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bnhs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bnhs