Current Committee Role:
Co-opted Member: Conservation Officer
About Me:
After gaining my degree in Environmental Sciences I spent five years working in the Palaeontology Conservation Unit at the Natural History Museum in London, conserving and preparing all sorts of fossils but mostly preparing and mounting dinosaur material for display. Three years were well spent working almost solely on the conservation of the marine reptile collection. During this time I gained an M.Sc. in Vertebrate Palaeontology at UCL, part-time. This was followed by twelve years working in the Natural History and Conservation Departments of Norfolk Museums Service, including delivering the West Runton Mammoth conservation project and being Curator of Geology for several years. Since 2007 I have been working for museums in a freelance capacity and have also completed the M.Sc. ‘Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies’ offered by the University of East London & the Centre for Alternative Technology. For my thesis I undertook research into retrofitting small museums to improve their economic and environmental sustainability. As a result of this work I trained in the use of thermal imaging equipment and now use my own infrared camera to undertake surveys in museums to help staff understand their storage and display environments in much more detail than could be realised using any other technology.
However, most of the time I am a freelance natural history conservator specializing in the preparation, conservation, mounting, replication and curation of fossil, geological and osteological material for museums and other heritage organisations. This also includes: assessing specimens and writing condition reports; undertaking conservation surveys; assessing and rationalising collections; advising on the management of storage environments; and advising on the packing and decant/transportation of entire collections. A really satisfying array of things to keep me busy and interested!
I am also a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading. My areas of research include conservation and preparation techniques; trace fossils; ichthyosaurs; and the Pleistocene fauna of Norfolk. For a list of my publications see: http://norfolk.academia.edu/NigelLarkin or https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nigel_Larkin
Do get in touch if you would like a copy of anything.
I joined the GCG Committee in 2017 and look forward to getting involved in the many great events they provide, in particular the Symposium on Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation. This is usually held every September before or after the Symposium on Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy. You can read more about the event, see copies of posters presented in previous years and read abstracts of the talks etc here: SPPC - Symposium on Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation - The Geological Curators' Group (geocurator.org)
You can find me on Twitter at: Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrIchthyosaurus