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Jersey's oldest heritage organisation recently launched a new research award in memory of a prominent environmentalist and former politician.
As part of their 150th anniversary celebrations, Société Jersiaise announced the special research award in memory of a local environmentalist Nigel Quérée, who was also a member of the Société’s Executive Committee.
The former Senator was passionate about protecting Jersey’s natural environment, with the flooding of Queen’s Valley and the disposal of hazardous waste from the incinerator at La Collette being two prominent issues he advocated against.
The award, consisting of a grant of up to £2,000, recognises and supports relevant research, fieldwork and other projects.
It is open to students, citizen scientists, and groups.
Pictured: The mycology stand at the Société Jersiaise open day.
To celebrate the award, the Société opened its doors on Pier Road to allow the public to learn about its academic research and engage with different academic disciplines or 'Sections'.
This event comes as part of the organisation’s celebrations for its 150th anniversary year.
In total, there are 16 Sections at the Société, each dedicated to a particular field of study, which include: Archaeology, Architecture, Bibliography, Botany, Entomology (the study of insects), Environment, Garden History, Geology (the study of rocks), History, Jèrriais, Marine Biology, Meteorology (the study of weather), Mycology (the study of fungi and mushrooms), Numismatics (the study of coins), Ornithology (the study of birds), and Zoology (the study of animals).
During the open day, representatives from each section delivered presentations on current projects and answered attendees' questions.
The Chief Executive of Société, Rebecca Bailhache said: “Over the last century-and-a-half, the organisation has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and the preservation of the Island’s history, culture, language and environment.
“This is vital work, which is largely carried out behind the scenes, so we’re very excited to raise more awareness about the fantastic research of our Sections.
"For this work to continue, we need an enthusiastic new generation of researchers to get involved and we hope this Open Day will help us find those individuals.
“We are also very proud to be launching the award we created in Nigel Quérée’s memory, and we look forward to honouring his legacy by supporting projects which help to understand and preserve our beautiful island’s environment."
Pictured: “We are also very proud to be launching the award we created in Nigel Quérée’s memory."
Nigel Quérée joined the States Assembly with an island-wide mandate in 1990.
Within three years of being elected to the Assembly, he was President of the Telecommunications Committee, although Mr Quérée is best remembered as President of the Planning and Environment Committee from 1996 until 2002 when he decided not to stand again.
At the helm, Senator Quérée steered through a new Planning Law, which had not been updated until 1964.
He also took the groundbreaking 2002 Island Plan through the Assembly, which defined planning policy for the following 10 years.
Unsurprisingly, the plan had a strong emphasis on the environment, including introducing new protections for the countryside, shoreline and heritage buildings.
He attended Les Landes School, Victoria College and the University of Salford. Returning to Jersey, he became active member of the environmental group Concern, and supported its campaign to prevent the flooding of Queen's Valley. It was this passion for the environment that prompted him to stand for the States Assembly.
He passed away last year surrounded by his family at his home in St Ouen – the parish where he was born and grew up.
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