The Robson Meeting

Contact: Dr Jonathan Newman, Head of Aquatic Plant Management

The Aquatic Weeds Unit of the Weeds Research Organization was established in 1963 to undertake research into new methods of controlling aquatic weeds. The Head of the Unit was Dale Robson. Research concentrated on chemical control for emergent weeds in the UK because a lot of new pesticides were being developed at that time, including 2,4-D, dalapon, diquat and various others that are no longer available to use. The unit was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), largely because all grade one agricultural land in the UK was pump-drained and ditches and drains needed to be kept clear of weeds for efficient irrigation and flood defence purposes.

Dale soon realised that his research was of interest to operating authorities, including internal drainage boards, MAFF engineers and almost everyone with an interest in managing plants in water bodies. He organised a meeting in 1968 to which about 30 people were invited. The meeting grew in numbers and stature and in about 1972 it was christened the  Robson Meeting.

Initially, the meeting was always held at the Weed Research Organization in Oxford, but soon it started to move around the country to take account of the fact that some local engineers could not afford the time to travel to distant parts of the country. This was also used an opportunity  to see different weed types in different areas.

Robson 2010

The 42nd Robson Meeting was held at St Ives in Cambridgeshire on 9th-10th February, 2010. The keynote speaker was Baroness Young, who spoke about "Tomorrow's Challenges". For details of the proceedings, please click here.

Robson 2011

The annual Robson Meeting is the only UK event dedicated to developments in aquatic weed control, the biology and ecology of aquatic plants, invasive species and riparian management issues. It is a unique event which brings together flood defence engineers, academics, consultants, regulatory authorities and interested individuals under one roof. The aims of the informal meeting are education and information exchange between researchers and operational authorities. 

The meeting is registered with BASIS for aquatic herbicide training and Continuing Professional Development points.  Traditionally, students were encouraged to attend to present updates on their work, to ask for help with field sites, and to interrogate the audience. We recognize that conferences are expensive for students, and all students presenting papers are therefore welcome to register free of charge, although a charge is made for the conference dinner. 

As always, we rely on contributions of talks, short presentations, notifications, information, posters, and other sources of expert advice to make the meeting as useful as possible.

For more information, and to register, please see www.robsonmeeting.org