Minutes of Doncaster Naturalists’ Society Committee Meeting 7th December 2023

Present: Nora Boyle, Margaret Prior, Joyce Simmons, Louise Hill, Colin Howes, Les Coe.

  1. Minutes of last meeting

Nora proposed the minutes as correct, seconded by Joyce

  1. Articles for the Doncaster Naturalist

Joyce listed the articles already submitted or promised. There is no limit to the number of images submitted. Joyce asked about an article about the Pasque Flower and how much about it should be revealed i.e. its location. Louise said the location shouldn’t be revealed. The introduction to the journal will be a re-write of Pip’s obituary. Action: Colin to write an article about the fritillary in Owston Meadows using Pip’s notes. Colin also suggested an article on the microscope slide collection and other ephemera from Matthew Henry Styles who was a founder member of the NATS. The collection was purchased by Prof Jim McCormick in the USA. When the professor was visiting Doncaster Pip and Colin met him. Colin suggested a ‘potted’ version of a longer report could go in the journal. Action: Margaret to ask members for articles, they don’t have to be long, one page with an image would suffice. The journal is dedicated to Pip but articles don’t have to be about her.

  1. Connections with other groups.

Friends of the Crags want to meet us again at Easter although Louise thought this would be a bit too early. Action: Nora to contact them to suggest a later date. The Dunsville group will fit in with us. Action: Joyce to arrange a meeting with two groups for the summer programme. Nora also let us know that her contact at The Doncaster Green Space Network , Gareth Dowle was leaving and as yet has not been replaced.

  1. Accounts

Gerri asked if assets that have no value should be included. The answer is yes as it shows what assets we have. Gerri stated that she has the accounts online and asks if anyone wants access. Gerri prefers online accounts rather than a paper ledger. After a discussion it was decided that Gerri will print out the accounts and paste them into a book. Also all the committee will have access to the accounts online. Action: Gerri to set this up. Gerri also pointed out that 4 members hadn’t paid their subs, it was decided to leave them on the books for now.

  1. AGM

Nora asked about the forthcoming election of a new president as she is resigning from the post. Member Jim Burnett’s name has been put forward but there are concerns about him not being online and his ability to communicate with the committee. Action: Margaret to phone Jim and ask him about this.

  1. Indoor meetings

Nora asked should we have a maximum time for a talk as the previous indoor meeting talk was overlong for some people. After discussion it was felt that  one and a half hours was the maximum as the room is only booked for 2 hours anyway. Nora also felt that the talk on leaf hoppers was rather too academic and detailed for most members. There followed a short discussion about the YNU affiliation and its benefits.  Members should be reminded about it. Lastly Joyce said that Jim Horsfield has offered the Tofield room for activities.

  1. Facebook

Gerri said that members need to join the FB group and ‘like’ the page. Action: Gerri to send out information to members about FB membership.

  1. Bat detector update

Colin has had advice from Rob Bell and Nick Gibbons about bat detectors. Smart phones and tablets are used these days that involve downloading an app and purchasing a device to plug in. There are also camera trap type devices available that pick up sounds. The suggestion is that we buy an echo meter ‘touch to Android’ to connect to an android phone at a cost of approx £199 and download the app. Action: Colin will email the information that he has gathered to the committee.

  1. AOB

The secretary asked if she should pass on emails to members about events that are nothing to do with natural history e.g. a choir that a member belongs to. The answer was no.

 

Next meeting is the AGM on 13th January