NHSF Blog: Practice, People and Purpose – Heritage Science at Icon26
In this month’s blog post, Annie Lane reflects on the heritage science themes at the recent Icon26 conference, hosted by NHSF member Icon – The Institute of Conservation.
Icon26, the latest instalment of the Institute of Conservation‘s biennial two-day conference, took place from 24th – 25th June 2026 at the beautiful, historic Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. The conference welcomed a bustling audience of conservation professionals from across the UK, including heritage organisations, researchers, private practitioners, freelancers, and students.
With a dedicated Heritage Science Zone sponsored by RICHeS (Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science) and several thematically relevant panels across both days, the programme demonstrated how greater awareness of and access to heritage science topics, data, and resources can benefit the wider conservation community.