Vera Grant Hewitt Collins Scientific Papers

This material is held atFreshwater Biological Association Archives

Reference
- GB 986 COLV
Dates of Creation
- 1941-1984
Name of Creator
- Vera G. Collins
Language of Material
- English
Physical Description
- Approximately 3 metres (1 box,1 drawer,and 1 plan chest)

Scope and Content

The Vera Collins collection contains data relating to lakes and rivers within Cumbria, and one river within Scotland, including measurement of:

bacteria counts
temperature
dissolved oxygen
pH

It also includes dissertation findings from lakes by a student. Data also relates to the Lakes Tour, which is a seasonal survey of the 20 major lakes in the English Lake District; this is carried on today by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).

Also included are press cuttings, describing water droughts and water extraction plans.

Administrative / Biographical History

The late Vera Grant Hewitt Collins, born on the 5th March 1926, joined the Freshwater Biological Association (a charity dedicated to the understanding and effective management of fresh waters and the organisms that live within) as a scientific assistant in April 1947. She worked in the bacteriology department, and was approved for a series of promotions (from Experimental Officer, to Senior Scientific Officer, then finally to Principal Scientific Officer) in the 1960s.

Her work included sampling freshwater for bacterial counts, and devising new methods for counting bacteria. Work was also undertaken on micro-flora

Vera Collins retired from the Freshwater Biological Association on the 28th February 1977

Works published can be accessed via various journals including the Freshwater Biological Associations journal 'Freshwater Biology', 'Journal of general microbiology', and the 'Journal of applied microbiology'