In memoriam, written by Richard Scott, member of the SER-Europe Board

Just recently we heard the news that Jonathan Mitchley had died quite suddenly after a sudden pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis,  for which he was receiving treatment.  So, it was a great shock to his family and friends, as Jonathan was looking forward to a long and happy retirement, continuing his life passions.

A good friend to many, a valued SER-Europe Board member, and a brilliant educator, Jonathan leaves behind a legacy defined by intellect, warmth, and an infectious sense of humour, and great outlook on life, and restoration.

A highly regarded botanist and academic Jonathan who studied at Bangor and Cambridge before conducting grassland ecology research across Europe at Lancaster University, and at Utrecht University. In 2007, he took a joint role with the University of Reading and Carter Ecological, bridging academic theory with commercial consultancy and achieving the UK’s highest level of botanical identification. At Reading, he directed an award-winning ecological Master’s programme known for its 100 per cent graduate employment rate. Renowned for his expansive and engaging teaching style, he was deeply popular with students for his classroom singing, eccentric and cheerful field-trip outfits, and his ubiquitous hand lens. Not least Jonathan was involved in some large-scale restoration work not least the Channel Tunnel, and sowings on the excavations made, and which I was hoping to visit with him one day.

I hadn’t spoken to Jonathan for a while. The last time we connected, he was looking for Professor John Rodwell, his former Lancaster colleague there, and architect of the UK Vegetation Classification—and I remember, humorously directing him to the right doorstep in Lancaster, from Liverpool, as he knocked on different doors.

Jonathan had a rare gift for bringing people together, a quality beautifully illustrated just two years ago in 2024. He brought Tokyo Professor Susumu Yamada to visit us in Liverpool.  In effect this was a tour which included many others. Jonathan, I know, gave Susumo a wonderful European grassland excursion linking his botanical friends and grassland interests.   We shared a wonderful couple of days, visiting Liverpool wildflower sites, and eating out at the end of each day. They stayed at the historic Adelphi Hotel (as had Bob Dylan), the nostalgic site of the SER 2000 Liverpool Conference. I took them both on a tour of Liverpool’s parks and green spaces, introducing them to a set of parks folk.

One hot evening, after eating, with my partner Polly, we kind of shot through the Mersey tunnel with Jonathan and Susumu. We walked across a municipal golf course, coming over the rise, just in time to greet a spectacular pink and orange sunset over Liverpool Bay. Susumu rolled up his trousers and paddled in the water up to his trousers, looking out past the windmills toward the Irish Sea, while we ventured further out in terms the water. Looking back we can still picture Susumo standing there, looking out towards us, smiling in that glowing, pink and orange water, which looked exactly like a scene from a Studio Ghibli cartoon.  After that sea swim, we capped off the night with drinks at Le Petit Paris, a fine cocktail bar on the corner of Duke Street. It was a memorable visit. Jonathan and Susumu co-authored a June 2024 study on grassland recovery and mowing management, which I look forward to finding.

That magical evening on the Mersey, brought back memories of the wonderful fjord dips, laughter, and good humour at the Oulu conference some time previously—gatherings where Jonathan always seemed to be an infectious centre of gravity.  Jonathan truly believed that the best teaching comes through encouragement and fun. He was widely and affectionately known for his popular website, “Dr M Goes Wild” a joyful platform designed to spark a love for botany in everyone. He proudly invented and championed the concept of “Extreme Botany” (or the B-word, as he loved to call it), a passionate approach to the natural world that he shared during a 2013 BSBI Exhibition Meeting.

For years, Jonathan was the legendary, and popular compere and quizmaster for the National Botanical University Challenge which he co-founded with Professor John Warren (Aberystwyth University) and Professor Paul Ashton (Edge Hill University). He was exceptionally proud to have overseen the most recent Challenge hosted at Whiteknights this August, celebrating Reading University’s Centenary. The event brought together 32 universities from across the UK and Ireland, with Jonathan’s characteristically exuberant presentation setting a joyful tone. It has become a great career meeting place for many young students.

Beyond the fields and classrooms, Jonathan was a talented musician and singer. He was a key member of the University choir, he read out Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood on You Tube. He went out of his way to give others a good time, During the COVID-19 lockdowns, he co-founded “The Dairy Project”—a virtual choir named after a favourite bar on London Road.  More recently, he organised a series of sold-out Music at Acacias concerts at the London Road campus, including a special evening that exclusively featured the vocal talents of a well-known, celebrated concert tenor, Jonathan of course. 

As I write this today, September 7th, his Reading friends and colleagues are gathering to remember him and many happy hours. He once even made the effort to create a bespoke beer, Whiteknights Cedar Ale, as part of a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of botany Master’s degrees at Reading in 2019. So I encourage you to raising a parting glass to Jonathan, to his boundless and over-lapping energies and his infectious humour. 

His absolute favourite piece of music was Beethoven’s Sonata Opus 111. He once heard it by chance on the Radio 3 on a country drive, having stopped to witness up close, an extraordinary moss laden wall, where he listened with his mother spellbound, pianist Jonathan Biss happened to be discussing and playing Opus 111. Together, under the spell of the music and the bryophytes, mother and son sat in rapt silence.    That was the most wonderful music I have ever heard said Jonathan’s Mum, “What was it?”. “What was it?”  Said Jonathan “It was a miracle. We had shared a little miracle of moss and music!  Amidst the tragedy of this pandemic and the plain weirdness of lockdown this was a shared musical experience to remember forever.”  it was a deeply spiritual, joyful, and inclusive connection with the natural world. For Jonathan that spirit of restoration, was reflected with humanity, culture, nature and society inextricably all woven together in the process of healing.

So, try and find that recording if you can, turn it up loud, and toast a great teacher, scientist, and Extreme Botanist.  Like the late artist David Hockney, Jonathan loved life, and plants exceptionally.

Bravo, Jonathan!

Richard Scott. September 7th 2026

Susan Medcalf and Reading University colleagues keen to celebrate Jonathan’s life and work have set up an email to gather tributes and memories DrMTributes@gmail.com to share with Jonathan’s family, and if given permission more widely to use his impact to support his greatest last passion Botanical University Challenge and Student Botany Festivals.