Blog | 07 August 2019

Our awesome clients: British Ecological Society

It’s time for another one of our awesome clients to be brought into the spotlight: the British Ecological Society. In this day and age, we think it’s vital to highlight the great work they do, not only to grace you with gorgeous photographs from their yearly photo competition, but mainly to show that there is hope for the planet and the life on it amidst all the current uncertainty.

BES logo

The British Ecological Society aims for a world inspired, informed and influenced by ecology. They point out three main areas where their role is unique: communicating the latest science, enabling decision-makers to develop policy based on the best evidence and the expertise of their members, and supporting their members at every stage of their careers in ecology.

To add to the great ecological work they do, they also host an annual photographic competition to show the beauty that can be captured in the world. It doesn’t only boast fantastic winners, but beautiful runners up too.

Image: Chris Oosthuizen "Stand out from the crowd"
Chris Oosthuizen “Stand out from the crowd” – Overall winner 2018 Capturing Ecology competition – © British Ecological Society

We met them in January 2016 because their old website was in poor condition, having been pieced together over a number of years. Matt at MadeNoise introduced us, as he was asked to help them rebrand and had worked with us before, while Sarah at Borderless was responsible for the design and user experience.

The BES portal allows members to manage their accounts, register their interests, and book events. It is a crucial part of their website because events are central to what they do. Sarah’s great designs could not be replicated within the legacy thankQ portal, so we were also asked to rebuild the portal inside WordPress using the thankQ API. The new portal now also allows members to register and renew with credit card and direct debit payment options.

Image: Peter Hudson "Pollination!"
Peter Hudson “Pollination!” – Overall runner up 2018 Capturing Ecology competition – © British Ecological Society

We then had several subsequent projects with them, for example granting members full control of their data and communication preferences in time for the introduction of GDPR regulations, access to the BES journals through an integration with Wiley and access to more information about British nature through a searchable database for the Biological Flora of the British Isles.

It has been great to work with the British Ecological Society over the last three and a half years. Not only have we been challenged and pushed to do our best, as we always try to do, but we have also learnt more about what is happening in the world around us. We hope to continue working with them for many more years into the future.

Image: Roberto García Roa "Living fossil"
Roberto García Roa “Living fossil” – Overall runner up 2018 Capturing Ecology competition – © British Ecological Society