32 members present with apologies from Laurence Cooper.
Norman Clyde-Watson in Chair - welcomed Friends and gave his report
Chairman's Report (Copy on file)
The Committee had met 4 times. It had been an active and well supported year. A raffle had raised £28 for Notts Wildlife Trust. We had publicity in Breeze magazine, walks were arranged, a new seat was donated by Raymond Beurle and was sited overlooking the meadow area.
More wild flowers were planted, issues of conservation raised with Broxtowe BC and plans were well advanced for a new hedge to be planted.
Meetings had been well attended. Norman thanked the Committee for their support and Kevin, Landlord of the Rose Grower, for his continuing use of the Lounge for our meetings.
Treasurer's Report (Copy on file)
Eric Curtis circulated a summary of this to all members present. Subscriptions had remained at £4.00 (£232 .00), Donations (£60.00) and Xmas Raffle (£25.00). These, with other items, gave an Income of £378.00 and a Total of £609.88. Expenses for Speakers (£60.00), purchase of a tree (£30.99) and cost of Xmas buffet (£90.00) accounted for most of Expenditure of £235.02.
A Balance of £374.86 has been carried forward to the new year and this was considered reasonable to meet anticipated costs, but subscription would be reviewed next year. No questions were raised.
Eric thanked Mary, John, Mary Hodges for helping in distribution of meeting notes to the membership.
Project and Work Report (Copy on File)
Geoff Fewkes detailed a variable year with successful tree planting, litter clearance, bracken bashing and clearing of mown grass, which was removed by BBC for composting -hence no skip this year!
Less well supported was the proposed walk at Findern - to be re-arranged, Rosebay removal and the 2nd bracken bash. However, the hard work was producing beneficial effects with litter quantities down and areas regenerating etc.
Norman thanked Geoff for the hard work in organising these events and more members were invited to come and share these activities, whenever possible.
Flowers, Birds and Butterfly Report
John Appleton gave details of the Wildflower planting, involving the children, which had been successful again with hopefully some self-seeding for next year. More will be planted next year.
The Butterfly Survey over the Ridge continued from March to October. 19 species were recorded with large numbers of Speckled Wood Gatekeepers but less Small Tortoiseshell and Peacocks. Small Coppers hit double figures in August.
The Birdwatch had identified 13 species in January as part of the National event when 8.6 million birds were recorded. House Sparrows were top of the list but generally down as a percentage. The Song Thrush is now down to 19th place and still in decline. An unusual reported sighting of a Pheasant in ·The Dell' - this was a first for the Ridge.
John was thanked for his involvement with these activities and his production/distribution of the ‘Bird Box'.
Note - The bird boxes on the Ridge have been removed, cleaned and plated to avoid damage by squirrels!
The next Birdwatch will be the last weekend in January (29th/30th) - details to follow.
Meetings Report
Heather Cox detailed a varied and well attended programme with topics including Moths, Trees, Owls, Walks, Marshland and Environmental Issues.
Although the majority of the subjects have addressed Natural History, if members have any information or contact numbers for speakers who would be willing to talk for a small fee on subjects of local interest pertinent to the Ridge and its conservation etc, they would be most welcome.
Norman thanked Heather for her work and looked forward to a New Year of interesting topics.
Election of Officers
No new nominations had been received. The current officers were willing to continue and agreed to do so with the approval of members.
David Woodward thanked Norman for his Chairmanship which had been very demanding and others for help in production and distribution of notices etc.
Special Note regarding 6th December Meeting
For the Social Evening, Kevin is unable to provide a Buffet, so members are asked to bring along a small contribution of a sweet or savoury food for the evening. In addition, Mary will arrange the Raffle - £1.00 per member - you are asked to bring along a small gift-wrapped item for participation in this event. We hope this will again be an enjoyable evening for all.
The meeting concluded with a talk by Julie Pescod of Global Action Plan, an International Charity Group, on Environmental Issues. Julie introduced the concept of 'Eco Teams' which were established in 1990 to encourage households to identify lifestyle changes which could reduce energy consumption and protect the environment. Small groups of households recorded their consumption and disposal of utilities and then explored together, experience, found solutions and eventually, by implementation of small changes, made cost and energy saings.
In view of potential Global Warming and Pollution, it was put to members to check their own basic use of resources - Suggestions which could help:-
- Replace light bulbs with low energy varieties.
- Tum off electrical equipment - do not leave TVs etc. in standby mode.
- Turn down thermostats by 1°C.
- Stop Junk Mail - subscribe to the Mailing Preference Service - it's Free!
- Tum off taps and only use Washers and Dishwashers with a full load.
- Try using eco-friendly cleaning materials, eg. vinegar, lemon juice, bi-carbonate of soda.
Remember the 3 Rs – Reduce… Reuse Recycle
Broxtowe BC was inviting households to participate - if interested, contact Julie or BBC. Commitment would be 2 hours per month for 4 months and to meet with 6 - 8 other households.
Julie concluded with information about local Food Producers - Notts Nosh & Recycling 'Wheels' available from BBC and application forms for the Mailing Preference Service.
Norman thanked Julie for a very informative talk.
Note for Diary - Sunday 28th November 10:30am - Will be a work session to prepare the site for the planting of the new Hedgerow
REMINDER - Subscriptions are now due - payable in Cash or Cheque at £4.00 per member before the end of January please…You can leave a cheque, payable to 'Friends of Bramcote Ridge' with Eric. No reminders will be issued - The Group depends on your active support and subscription!
The Meeting closed at 8:45pm
The Friends are always looking for extra pairs of hands to help out or to simply support their work, so...
- to find out when the next work session will take place, click here, or
- to find out about becoming a member please contact us here, or
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