Trees A Crowd

Dr Steve Etches MBE is a renowned fossil expert. His collection of over 2,000 pieces from the Kimmeridge Clay include remains of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs and a whole host of Jurassic marine life. Once housed in his garage, the collection is now on display at the Etches Collection in Dorset. In this in-depth conversation, he describes how he stumbled across the world's first ammonite eggs, shares how his discoveries still give him “that same childhood thrill” that he first experienced as a five-year-old, and explains how the centre, with 25,000 visitors a year, is as much about educating people about the past as it is preserving it.