Academic will help decide UK wildlife to feature on new banknotes
Nottingham Trent University’s Professor Dawn Scott has been invited to join a panel of experts to help to create a list of UK wildlife which could feature on the Bank of England’s next series of banknotes.
By Dave Rogers | Published on 11 March 2026
Categories: Press office; Research; School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences;
A public consultation and focus groups organised by the Bank of England last year saw the ‘nature’ theme receive the highest proportion of nominations, with much of the feedback referring to wildlife native to the UK.
The Bank will run a second consultation this summer to gather the public’s views on the specific wildlife they would like to feature on the next series of banknotes.
Professor Scott is Executive Dean of the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences and has a background in researching urban wildlife ecology.
She will join a panel of six wildlife experts announced today which will help to create a list of wildlife for the public to choose from. This list will be announced as part of a summer consultation.
Professor Scott said: “It is an honour to be asked to be on the expert panel and I am looking forward to working with the other panel members on this project.”
The Bank has also judged that wildlife images would be most effective for developing banknotes with security features that are easy for the public to recognise and distinguish.
Victoria Cleland, Chief Cashier at the Bank of England, said: “I was delighted by the level of public engagement during our banknote theme consultation last year. The response underlines how important banknotes remain to people. The key driver for introducing a new banknote series is always to increase counterfeit resilience, but it also provides an opportunity to celebrate different aspects of the UK.
“Nature is a great choice from a banknote authentication perspective and means we can showcase the UK’s rich and varied wildlife on the next series of banknotes. I look forward to hearing about the public’s favourite wildlife during our forthcoming summer consultation.”
Katy Bell (Ulster Wildlife), Gordon Buchanan (wildlife filmmaker), Miranda Krestovnikoff (wildlife presenter), Steve Ormerod (Cardiff University) and Nadeem Perera (wildlife presenter) make up the rest of the expert panel.
It will be a few years before the next generation of banknotes, which will incorporate the latest anti-counterfeiting technology, are issued.
Last year Professor Scott worked with Royal Mail on a special ten-stamp set that explored some of the species that inhabit the nation’s gardens. This involved supporting on the selection of which species to feature and providing background information on the different species for the presentation packs.
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