MINUTES OF THE DONCASTER NATURALISTS SOCIETY COMMITTEE MEETING
Held by ZOOM on Monday 26 October 2020 at 3p.m.
Present: Nora Boyle (in the chair); Geoff Carreck; Les Coe ; Louise Hill; Colin Howes; Margaret Prior; Joyce Simmons.
Denaby Ings Project
Nora referred to the summary of the last meeting sent out to Committee members.Louise produced the SSSI citation, which was read with interest . Geoff had contacted Jim Horsfall concerning the Local Management Committee . The PC term was now the Local Supporters Group, but Jim confirmed that it was defunct.
Geoff had obtained a map from Jim , which had been distributed to those attending the meeting at Denaby Ings on 26 September. He would send a copy to Margaret to attach to the e mail she would be sending to all members of the Society regarding the Project.
The site meeting had been attended by 11 members, split into two groups for reasons of Covid. All had appreciated the fine qualities of the site and several had kept records.
Colin had produced a plan in which he divided up Natural History into many different chapters, allocated to editors who would receive reports, advise on identification issues and eventually produce compilations which would be collected as “The DNS Handbook on Denaby Ings: History and Biodiversity”.It would be a considerable work, larger than the Wadworth Wood Survey.
Nora recommended that we not be too ambitious. It was agreed to drop the additional sections Colin had suggested, such as Railway History. Otherwise, Colin’s plan was broadly accepted.
The timescale was considered. One or two years was suggested, but this could be kept elastic. Members could start assembling records – indeed some had already started – especially as now was a good time of year for fungi .
Colin mentioned that Bob Marsh has a lot of Denaby Ings records which he could supply to Editors, so that they could make use of them when writing their reports.The meeting felt that past records are interesting in terms of the trends they show with respect to current situations , but should not dominate the report.Joyce had experience with the reports she and Paul produce on 3 species of butterfly and had found them quite easy as the system involving the original text and the updates was well established: what we were proposing to do was more complex.
Nora asked how locality should be specified. Specifying the compartments on the Reserve Map was fine for plants, but what about volant creatures? Joyce used grid squares. Louise began a discussion suggesting Polygons were now the Holy Grail but were not established, that grid references required either GPS or highly skilled map reading and recommended that compartments should be used. The Committee agreed.
Nora asked who should approach the editors of the “chapters”? The meeting agreed it should be someone who knew them, but no action was proposed at this time. Some had not been seen since Covid began or were not members of the Society. Colin suggested that , at the present time, reports be sent to Bob Marsh. Geoff expressed reservations, as the project was intended to advise the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It was agreed that Colin and Louise would act as Project Coordinators and that Colin would receive reports from the membership. They could be put on an XL Spreadsheet or he would do that himself.
Nora mentioned Fern Harrison, a new member who was interested in mammals and reptiles, and the author of a dissertation on pollinators, who might be very helpful to the project.
Louise produced a catalogue of YNU referees, but as it contained confidential information it could not be circulated.If faced with a difficult identification , the subject should be photographed and the result sent to a NATS YNU member (Joyce, Louise or Margaret).
Future Meetings
Joyce asked if field visits in the Spring could be mentioned in the e mail Margaret was sending out. Covid obviously had to be taken into account.
Zoom subscription
Zoom sessions in excess of 40 minutes were available on an annual subscription or £14.99 per month. The Committee agreed that we should renew on a monthly basis and that Nora should be reimbursed for moneys she had paid out personally in this respect.
Website
Les wanted to add to the Home Page . Colin agreed that his piece on the Denaby Ings survey could be included. Les suggested putting the Project Proposals and Updates in its own section on the website. This was agreed.
Les reported that there were now c. 1000 photos on the website, which probably had the capacity to cope.
Nora asked Les about including the species list and some of the photos from the Bawtry Forest Fungal Foray. Les agreed to do so.
YNU Zoom Meeting
Joyce referred to the e mail from the YNU asking if the NATS would contribute to a joint Zoom meeting. The Committee agreed.
Wadworth Wood
Jim and Colin had found a line of sink holes in Wadworth Wood. These were the result of the leeching away of gypsum deposits. He was sure the local flora would be of interest in the Spring, and worth a visit.
The meeting concluded at 4.30pm.
Date of Next Meeting : Monday 23 November 2020 at 3pm ( by Zoom).