Gem Toes-Crichton
@gemblina.bsky.social
Photography | Botany | Ecology
Research: Women in botany. Teaching: Photography
Oxford, UK📍Usually in a field surveying flora and protected fauna.
https://www.instagram.com/gemblina
Research: Women in botany. Teaching: Photography
Oxford, UK📍Usually in a field surveying flora and protected fauna.
https://www.instagram.com/gemblina
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
The UK’s oldest weightlifting gym is under threat. Can it weather gentrification?
www.huckmag.com/article/uk-o...
www.huckmag.com/article/uk-o...
The UK’s oldest weightlifting gym is under threat. Can it be saved?
The Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club has been open since 1926. We meet those fighting to keep the East End institution alive in the face of gentrification.
www.huckmag.com
September 16, 2025 at 11:19 AM
The UK’s oldest weightlifting gym is under threat. Can it weather gentrification?
www.huckmag.com/article/uk-o...
www.huckmag.com/article/uk-o...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
A @wclnews.bsky.social blog by @kitstoner.bsky.social from 2022. It is not helpful to create a fake war between nature and sustainable growth. www.wcl.org.uk/nature-and-b... 🦇 #bats are not the blockers to development.
Nature and business are not at war
As accusations fly that environmental groups are part of an
www.wcl.org.uk
September 16, 2025 at 9:04 AM
A @wclnews.bsky.social blog by @kitstoner.bsky.social from 2022. It is not helpful to create a fake war between nature and sustainable growth. www.wcl.org.uk/nature-and-b... 🦇 #bats are not the blockers to development.
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
#FlowersonFriday The Lenten Rose (genus Helleborus and a member of the buttercup family) is discussed by RHS Fellow Maud Grieve in her 1931 'Modern Herbal'. She recounts a tale of a French sorcerer who powdered the plant and sprinkled it around to confer invisibility 🥷🏻 #Folklore 📸mine 22 March, 2025
March 28, 2025 at 9:40 AM
#FlowersonFriday The Lenten Rose (genus Helleborus and a member of the buttercup family) is discussed by RHS Fellow Maud Grieve in her 1931 'Modern Herbal'. She recounts a tale of a French sorcerer who powdered the plant and sprinkled it around to confer invisibility 🥷🏻 #Folklore 📸mine 22 March, 2025
First flowering plant* survey of the season. We recorded 100 plant species today! Not bad for 5 hours. 🌱 💚 🌳
*not a huge amount in flower yet, and a bitterly cold wind. Glad I took a flask!
#botany #botanising #survey #floweringplants
*not a huge amount in flower yet, and a bitterly cold wind. Glad I took a flask!
#botany #botanising #survey #floweringplants
March 27, 2025 at 7:46 PM
First flowering plant* survey of the season. We recorded 100 plant species today! Not bad for 5 hours. 🌱 💚 🌳
*not a huge amount in flower yet, and a bitterly cold wind. Glad I took a flask!
#botany #botanising #survey #floweringplants
*not a huge amount in flower yet, and a bitterly cold wind. Glad I took a flask!
#botany #botanising #survey #floweringplants
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
If you're in Northern Ireland, two chances to help record this lovely plant (and many others) in Co Down on 23 March, and Co Derry on 29/30 March. See bsbi.org/field-meetin... for details, and to book your place. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @jen-farrar-bsbi-ni.bsky.social @cedar-ni.bsky.social #dunes
March 25, 2025 at 8:20 AM
If you're in Northern Ireland, two chances to help record this lovely plant (and many others) in Co Down on 23 March, and Co Derry on 29/30 March. See bsbi.org/field-meetin... for details, and to book your place. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @jen-farrar-bsbi-ni.bsky.social @cedar-ni.bsky.social #dunes
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
Undergraduate studying ecology or conservation? Lecturer teaching these subjects? Here is a playlist of 27 three minute videos, each explaining a fundamental concept. Hope it is useful. Say if any gaps you would like filled youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Conservation concepts for undergraduates - YouTube
Key concepts underpinning undergraduate ecology and conservation courses
youtube.com
March 22, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Undergraduate studying ecology or conservation? Lecturer teaching these subjects? Here is a playlist of 27 three minute videos, each explaining a fundamental concept. Hope it is useful. Say if any gaps you would like filled youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
Something rather beautiful about these little botanical illustrations within a 15th century herbal. Taken at a recent trip to the Wellcome Library (item MS574) 🌿
March 22, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Something rather beautiful about these little botanical illustrations within a 15th century herbal. Taken at a recent trip to the Wellcome Library (item MS574) 🌿
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
#FossilFriday A beautiful 'seed fern' from the opening spread of the plant chapter in 'Fossils. The Essential Guide'.
March 21, 2025 at 7:13 AM
#FossilFriday A beautiful 'seed fern' from the opening spread of the plant chapter in 'Fossils. The Essential Guide'.
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
On pineapples and their role as "luxury" fruits in light of Del Monte's Pinkglow + Rubyglow varieties:
worksinprogress.co/issue/king-o...
worksinprogress.co/issue/king-o...
King of fruits - Works in Progress
Ordinary yellow pineapples were once so precious they were rented for display at dinner parties, but centuries of innovation made them commonplace.
worksinprogress.co
March 22, 2025 at 12:06 PM
On pineapples and their role as "luxury" fruits in light of Del Monte's Pinkglow + Rubyglow varieties:
worksinprogress.co/issue/king-o...
worksinprogress.co/issue/king-o...
Slightly at odds with the government’s current wishes to hamper conservation efforts and build everywhere… but I’ll take the glimmers where I can find them.
Department for Education confirms launch of natural history GCSE
Campaigners have been calling for the qualification for years but plan stalled despite a curriculum being drawn up
www.theguardian.com
March 22, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Slightly at odds with the government’s current wishes to hamper conservation efforts and build everywhere… but I’ll take the glimmers where I can find them.
“An exciting discovery has been published, showing that two European horseshoe bats — the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) and the Blausis bat (Rhinolophus blasii) — can glow under UV light.”
Glow Up! New discovery of fluorescing lesser horseshoe bats…
Glow Up! New discovery of fluorescing lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros) An exciting discovery has been published, showing that two European…
www.vwt.org.uk
March 22, 2025 at 10:17 AM
“An exciting discovery has been published, showing that two European horseshoe bats — the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) and the Blausis bat (Rhinolophus blasii) — can glow under UV light.”
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
Born #OnThisDay in 1750 was Caroline Herschel. Herschel was a comet finder, astronomer and pioneer. She discovered several comets and two moons of Uranus, and her observations helped shape astronomy. Find out more about her life and work: artsandculture.google.com/story/swWRW5...
March 16, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Born #OnThisDay in 1750 was Caroline Herschel. Herschel was a comet finder, astronomer and pioneer. She discovered several comets and two moons of Uranus, and her observations helped shape astronomy. Find out more about her life and work: artsandculture.google.com/story/swWRW5...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
#WomensHistoryMonth Celebrating the 226th birthday of photographic pioneer #AnnaAtkins by revisiting my 2024 blog for the @linneansociety.bsky.social. A rare photo of all three volumes of Photographs of British Algae, Cyanotype Impressions courtesy of Linnean Society.
www.linnean.org/news/2024/12...
www.linnean.org/news/2024/12...
March 16, 2025 at 9:11 AM
#WomensHistoryMonth Celebrating the 226th birthday of photographic pioneer #AnnaAtkins by revisiting my 2024 blog for the @linneansociety.bsky.social. A rare photo of all three volumes of Photographs of British Algae, Cyanotype Impressions courtesy of Linnean Society.
www.linnean.org/news/2024/12...
www.linnean.org/news/2024/12...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation
‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation
The Loess plateau was the most eroded place on Earth until China took action and reversed decades of damage from grazing and farming
It was one of China’s most ambitious environmental endeavours ever.
The Loess plateau, an area spanning more than…
www.theguardian.com
March 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM
‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
We don't currently know much about E A Clark and their work on mycology but, in our Archive collections, we hold these beautiful notebooks filled with illustrations, sketches, annotations and notes on various mushrooms 🍄✏️
The variety of drawings is fascinating!
The variety of drawings is fascinating!
March 13, 2025 at 10:54 AM
We don't currently know much about E A Clark and their work on mycology but, in our Archive collections, we hold these beautiful notebooks filled with illustrations, sketches, annotations and notes on various mushrooms 🍄✏️
The variety of drawings is fascinating!
The variety of drawings is fascinating!
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
Excellent essay
thinking again about this 2023 essay written by my @vittles.bsky.social colleague Sharanya Deepak, an incredibly talented writer and critical thinker
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/hospitalit...?
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/hospitalit...?
Hospitality is not conditional
Throw a naan at a racist. Words by Sharanya Deepak.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
March 13, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Excellent essay
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
Here's a great opportunity to work with our friends @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
Apply by 18 March!
plantlife.livevacancies.co.uk#/job/details...
Apply by 18 March!
plantlife.livevacancies.co.uk#/job/details...
March 11, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Here's a great opportunity to work with our friends @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
Apply by 18 March!
plantlife.livevacancies.co.uk#/job/details...
Apply by 18 March!
plantlife.livevacancies.co.uk#/job/details...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
New paper on the demographic drivers of cultural evolution in Great Tit song published today - epic work led by @nilomr.bsky.social with help from @andreaestandia.bsky.social Ella Cole & Sara Keen. Why did we do this, and what did we find? 🧵 follows: 1/n
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The demographic drivers of cultural evolution in bird song
Social learning can give rise to shared behavioral patterns that persist as culture within animal communities,1,2 such as bird and whale songs and cet…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
New paper on the demographic drivers of cultural evolution in Great Tit song published today - epic work led by @nilomr.bsky.social with help from @andreaestandia.bsky.social Ella Cole & Sara Keen. Why did we do this, and what did we find? 🧵 follows: 1/n
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
This #InternationalWomensDay, watch our fascinating talk from Gem Toes-Crichton on her visual research exploring pioneering women in botany.
She features Elizabeth Blackwell, Anna Atkins, and the 1994 winner of our Jill Smythies prize, Rosemary Wise.
Watch: www.youtube.com/watc...
#IWD2025
She features Elizabeth Blackwell, Anna Atkins, and the 1994 winner of our Jill Smythies prize, Rosemary Wise.
Watch: www.youtube.com/watc...
#IWD2025
Interstices | The Hidden Histories of Women in Botany
“Individual contributions are all too often forgotten, overshadowed, or never acknowledged; lost in the gaps among objects.” - Professor Stephen A. Harris, Druce Curator of Oxford University Herbaria. (Adapted from the foreword to Gem Toes-Crichton’s book.)”
In this talk, Gem Toes-Crichton shares h
www.youtube.com
March 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
This #InternationalWomensDay, watch our fascinating talk from Gem Toes-Crichton on her visual research exploring pioneering women in botany.
She features Elizabeth Blackwell, Anna Atkins, and the 1994 winner of our Jill Smythies prize, Rosemary Wise.
Watch: www.youtube.com/watc...
#IWD2025
She features Elizabeth Blackwell, Anna Atkins, and the 1994 winner of our Jill Smythies prize, Rosemary Wise.
Watch: www.youtube.com/watc...
#IWD2025
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
🦇Calling all young #CitizenScientists! It is time for the Great Linnean Bat Hunt 🦇
Armed with #Bat detectors, torches, and some bat poo for good measure, learn more about these fantastic creatures hiding in the dark and how to identify them. Grab your tickets below:
www.eventbrite.co.uk...
Armed with #Bat detectors, torches, and some bat poo for good measure, learn more about these fantastic creatures hiding in the dark and how to identify them. Grab your tickets below:
www.eventbrite.co.uk...
March 5, 2025 at 11:30 AM
🦇Calling all young #CitizenScientists! It is time for the Great Linnean Bat Hunt 🦇
Armed with #Bat detectors, torches, and some bat poo for good measure, learn more about these fantastic creatures hiding in the dark and how to identify them. Grab your tickets below:
www.eventbrite.co.uk...
Armed with #Bat detectors, torches, and some bat poo for good measure, learn more about these fantastic creatures hiding in the dark and how to identify them. Grab your tickets below:
www.eventbrite.co.uk...
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
“She has produced a real natural history book, attractive and interesting, which will be of much use to all students. “ Nature 1930."
A pristine copy of Life in Inland Waters by Kathleen Carpenter, pioneering freshwater ecologist #Wales @linneansociety.bsky.social
#worldbookday #historyofscience
March 6, 2025 at 1:05 PM
“She has produced a real natural history book, attractive and interesting, which will be of much use to all students. “ Nature 1930."
A pristine copy of Life in Inland Waters by Kathleen Carpenter, pioneering freshwater ecologist #Wales @linneansociety.bsky.social
#worldbookday #historyofscience
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
Join us as we unearth hidden stories in botany...
On Wednesday 5 March, 12:30 - 13:15, @gemblina.bsky.social will give a free talk exploring the overlooked contributions of women in plant science through photography, illustration and rare archives.
Book your spot here: bit.ly/3QEeKEE
On Wednesday 5 March, 12:30 - 13:15, @gemblina.bsky.social will give a free talk exploring the overlooked contributions of women in plant science through photography, illustration and rare archives.
Book your spot here: bit.ly/3QEeKEE
Interstices | The Hidden Histories of Women in Botany
Discover Gem Toes-Crichton's unique artist's book & the many ways art and science can engage people with plants, history, and photography.
bit.ly
February 28, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Join us as we unearth hidden stories in botany...
On Wednesday 5 March, 12:30 - 13:15, @gemblina.bsky.social will give a free talk exploring the overlooked contributions of women in plant science through photography, illustration and rare archives.
Book your spot here: bit.ly/3QEeKEE
On Wednesday 5 March, 12:30 - 13:15, @gemblina.bsky.social will give a free talk exploring the overlooked contributions of women in plant science through photography, illustration and rare archives.
Book your spot here: bit.ly/3QEeKEE
Reposted by Gem Toes-Crichton
There’s a small but mesmerising dusk murmuration of starlings over the chimneys of south Cambridge right now.
First time I’ve seen a murmuration over the city; a hopeful sign that these birds—whose numbers have been crashing nationally; they’re now red-listed—might be having a good year.
First time I’ve seen a murmuration over the city; a hopeful sign that these birds—whose numbers have been crashing nationally; they’re now red-listed—might be having a good year.
February 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
There’s a small but mesmerising dusk murmuration of starlings over the chimneys of south Cambridge right now.
First time I’ve seen a murmuration over the city; a hopeful sign that these birds—whose numbers have been crashing nationally; they’re now red-listed—might be having a good year.
First time I’ve seen a murmuration over the city; a hopeful sign that these birds—whose numbers have been crashing nationally; they’re now red-listed—might be having a good year.