BACK__________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEWSLETTER No. 42 -  Spring 1999

WEST MIDLANDS BRANCH, BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION

 

Minutes of the Annual General meeting

Held at Three Villages Hall, Grafton Flyford ,on 21st Nov. 1998

1 Apologies for Absence
None. Fifty members present with Digby Wood in the Chair.

2 Minutes of Last AGM
These were approved and there were no matters arising.

3 Chairman’s Report
This had been a poor year for butterflies but a good year for the West Midlands Branch.
The following highlights were reported:
Two butterfly identification courses held were in Worcester Museum.
Millennium Atlas meetings were held in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Herefordshire.
The official opening of Grafton Wood took place.
32 conservation days were organised –the importance of health and safety on these occasions was emphasised.
There were 9 field trips and 7 moth nights.
Under the Gardens for Butterflies scheme numerous activities took place including 3 days at the Malvern Spring Garden Show and Howard Hughes’s talk at the Ludlow Festival and 8+ talks to outside organisations.
The Chairman thanked the committee members for all their hard work throughout the year. The Chairman then announced that he was standing down and that Ian Duncan had agreed to take over the position.
Ian Duncan then thanked Digby for all his efforts on behalf of the society and presented him with a gift as a mark of appreciation.

4 Treasurer’s Report-Terry Smith
The Treasurer tabled the 1998 accounts, summarised below; these were approved by the meeting. The Branch accounts presented to this year’s AGM showed a surplus of income over expenditure of £542.51 and a balance carried forward of £4513.99. The total income for the year was over £9000, including grants towards conservation projects. Expenditure was £8500. Running costs of the Branch increased, partly due to the expenditure required to keep the Branch van on the road. Expenditure on conservation exceeded £4000 for the year. In answer to a question, the Treasurer agreed to review the amount of money held in the current account.

5 Conservation Officer’s Report-Mike Williams
The main points were as follows:
Regional Action Plan – Species champions had been appointed for all the priority species with the task of coordinating conservation actions. New sites had been discovered for several species and funding had been received from English Nature for High Brown Fritillary, Marsh Fritillary and Large Heath surveys. These surveys had highlighted the need for urgent action to address (a) the deterioration of bracken stands on the Malvern Hills affecting the High Brown and ( b) the impact of flooding on Large Heath larvae at Whixall Moss.
The importance of bracken as a habitat for fritillaries was stressed. In this regard the publication of “Brackens for Butterflies” was timely and the role of Jenny Joy in its production was gratefully acknowledged.
Grafton Wood had the potential to become a showcase reserve for Butterfly Conservation .The management plan was almost complete and conservation work had started. Members were urged to attend the work days held every second Sunday of the month at the wood. A transect had been started in 1998 and 24 species were recorded.

6 Recorder’s Report-Andy Nicholls
Up to the end of 1997 6,500 records ,covering 850 squares had been processed. .This year to date a further 1,500 records covering 340 squares had been received. Members were reminded that 1999 was the last year of recording for the Atlas and that records would have to be submitted by late autumn to ensure inclusion in the publication.

7 Moths Officer Report-Jeff Andrews
In an attempt to increase awareness towards moths it was planned to produce a guide to the commoner moths in the West Midlands. It was also intended to produce a computer database of all the moth records in the area.

8. Millennium Atlas Coordinator’s Report–Richard Southwell
All participants were thanked for their contributions.
Good progress was being maintained however more recording in both Staffordshire and Shropshire was required. The target was 100% of the entire area .

9 Election of Committee
The meeting approved the re-election of Ron Hatton, Richard Lamb, Jeff Andrews and Bob Bishop. Mark Farmer and Dave Jackson were elected as new members to the committee. Phil Hopson, who was standing down was thanked for the valuable contribution he had made over the years.

10 AOB
There being no other business the meeting closed and after tea Tom Brereton gave a very interesting talk on Pearl-bordered Fritillaries.