Rosemary Parslow, a natural history enthusiast, spends her winters crawling on frozen ground in the Scilly Islands in search of a rare and endangered fern. The Scilly Islands are home to more than a hundred islands, which are mostly uninhabited, and featuring unique wildlife species, including rare and beautiful wildflowers, globally important seabirds, and exotic sea creatures. Parslow discovered dozens of the least adder’s-tongue fern in a small patch of heath land, which blooms in the middle of winter. Parslow has made it her mission to repeatedly return to the islands to map precious flora and fauna found almost nowhere else in Britain.
Parslow has dedicated her life to the conservation of Scilly Island’s unique natural history, risking her life on numerous occasions to find rare species, once nearly drowning while searching for a green-leaved herb related to rhubarb and sorrel. Parslow fell overboard while jumping from a rubber dingy on to the rocks of a remote island. She managed to swim to a boat where she was hauled out, borrowing dry clothes from the passengers so she could continue her studies for the day. Parslow has faced many setbacks over the years, including resigning from her scientific assistant job at the Natural History Museum in the 1950s, but continued her work, illustrating natural history books, writing about the archipelago’s natural history, and later working for conservation bodies.
At 87 years old, Parslow’s contribution to natural history has been remarkable, with her passion, determination, and dedication to nature recognised through a “nature hero” medal from the Wildlife Trusts. Despite the challenges she faces now, including recording declines and species vanishing due to violence from storms and rising sea levels from climate change, Parslow remains determined to share her knowledge with a new generation of conservationists. Her work and achievements over the decades on Scilly Island are something to behold, and her children, all named after islands on Scilly, have inherited their mother’s love for the place, despite their unusual family Christmases
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