Botanical Society of OtagoAGM, 13April 2016
AGENDA
Apologies: John Steel
Minutes of 2015 AGM (below)
Chairman’s, Treasurer’s and Secretary’s reports: (posted on the BSO website)
Election of Officers:
Chairman David Lyttle
Vice Chairman
Secretary Allison Knight
Treasurer Mary Anne Miller
Committee:
Robyn Bridges (Communications officer),
David Orlovich (Web manager)
John Barkla (Calendar; Newsletter proof-reading)
Marcia Dale (Newsletter editor)
John Steel
Tina Summerfield (University liason)
Gretchen Brownstein (Social co-ordinator)
Kate Caldwell (FaceBook, Newsletter Editor)
Esther Dale (Student liason)
Greg Nelson
Lydia Turley
Bridget Thomas
Ex officio help:Jean Bretherton
Further nominations:
Other business:
Meeting finished:
MINUTES of AGM15 April 2015 Allison Knight
Apologies were received from Moira Parker, John Steel and Janet Ledingham
The Chairman spoke briefly about Bastow’sextensive contribution to the BSO committee,
expressed our sorrow at his sudden death and extended our sympathy to Bastow’s wife, Raewyn.
The Chairman’s, Treasurer’s and Secretary’s reports had been posted on the BSO website and were accepted as read.
Mike Thorsen commented that no-one could equal Bastow in asking penetrating questions. He thanked Mary Anne for the good work she is doing as Treasurer, and Allison for donating the profits from sales of her Lichen Guide to BSO to help achieve a positive balance.
The following were elected unopposed.
Chairman David Lyttle
Secretary Allison Knight
Treasurer Mary Anne Miller
Committee:
Robyn Bridges (Programme manager; communications officer),
David Orlovich (Web manager)
John Barkla (Calendar; Newsletter proof-reading)
Marcia Dale (Newsletter editor)
John Steel
Tina Summerfield
Gretchen Brownstein
Kate Caldwell
Greg Nelson
Esther Dale
Ex officio help:Jean Bretherton
The possibility of co-opting further help and committee members was kept open.
A most beautiful framed picture of Lichenomphaliaalpina, painted by the talented artist Marcia Dale, was presented to Allison Knight.
The meeting finished in 8 minutes.
Chairman’s Report David Lyttle
In the past year the BSO has conducted a full programme of talks and field trips. As well as local field trips throughout the year (Catlins, Molteno's Bush, Leith Saddle, Mt Cargill, Harbour Cone, Silverstream, Taieri Mouth Track) BSOorganised two summer alpine field trips, one to the Old Man Range on the 19th December (jointly organised with Forest and Bird) and the second to Borland on the 12th -14th February where we climbed Mt Burns and botanised in the Monowai Swamp. Both these trips were very successful and were well attended. It is gratifying people who do not reside in Dunedin choose to come on these trips and that we are able to cater to a membership throughout the Otago/Southland region. The monthly talks were also popular and well attended except perhaps for Jon Sullivan’s presentation on NatureWatch in June which happened to coincide with the worst rainstorm experienced by Dunedin for many years. Highlights were; O' mice an' men on remote Antipodes Island a joint presentation from Geoff Rodgers and Brian Rance in May, Natural History of the North Andean High Mountains from Robert Hofstede in July, Effect of immigration timing of New Zealand plant ancestors on present-day communities from Angela Brandt in October, Alex Fergus’ Botanical adventures in the Russian Far East in November and Plants and People in the Pacific Past from Monica Tromp in March this year. The 2015 Photographic Competition attracted 53 entries and was again judged by Peter Johnson, Kelvin Lloyd and Rod Morris. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Peter, Kelvin and Rod for the time and effort they put in judging the competition and the constructive comments they make on the entries. The August meeting was a Botanical "Show and Tell" evening with member contributions. This is a great opportunity for members to contribute to the programme and we intend to make it a regular event on our calendar.
The 13th Annual Geoff Baylis Lecture entitled “The discovery of slowness: life in the plant lane” was delivered by Professor Steven Higgins in which he discussed the role of plants in shaping our planet and how this might be affected in the future by rapid climate change.
Our nomination of Sir Alan Mark for the 2015 Allan Mere Award was successful and this was presented to him by Anthony Wright, President of the New Zealand Botanical Society, at our December meeting. This was followed by a slide show entitled, "Images and Adventures", which told the stories and showed some of the places where photos selected for Alan's Book,” Above the Treeline”, were obtained.
The next major event we are planning is the Hereweka/Harbour Cone Bioblitz at the Pukehiki Hall on the 23rd/24th April. We have a considerable amount of expertise within the Society and it is important that we become involved in issues of a botanical nature that impact on the wider community.
We enjoy close links with the Botany Department, University of Otago with students playing an active role in the Society. I would like to thank Professor Steven Higgins for his support and encouragement for the BSO and our programme during the year. Thanks are due to Allison Knight for her work as secretary and Mary Anne Miller as treasurer. Gretchen Brownstein did an outstanding job organising the Borland field trip. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of every Committee member for all their hard work during the year; Robyn Bridges, David Orlovich, Kate Caldwell, John Barkla, Tina Summerfield, John Steel, Marcia Dale, Esther Dale, Gregory Nelson. On a final note we run field trips and events that are open to members and non-members alike and have no intention of restricting attendance to members only. However we rely on subscriptions to fund our activities so we would urge all members who enjoy our activities to renew their subscriptions and encourage friends to participate and to join the Society.
Treasurer’s Reports: Mary Anne Miller, 6 April 2016
There are two statements: an overview of financial position and a more detailed statement.Some of the differences between years are because in 2015 Westpac restructured its operations, causing a change to the way we manage our funds.Also we had bigger sales of Lichen Guides when they were launched in 2015. Money from the sales of the Lichen and Moss guides is invested in higher interest accounts but earmarked for the Audrey Eagle Botanical Publishing Fund; photographic competition dates fell twice in the 2015 financial year and the launch of the Peter Bannister Student Field Grant in 2015 doubled that input for 2015. Please note that unlike the financial year, the subscription year follows the calendar year, so that if you have not yet payed your sub for 2016 the AGM is a good place to catch up.
BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF OTAGO / CC24010ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT for the year ended 31 March 2016
Statement of Financial Position
CAPITAL
Current Assets / 2016 / 2015
Non Profit Account / 3,916.52 / 4,849.53
Bonus Saver Account / 10,642.36 / 14,445.90
Business Online Saver Account / 6,312.65 / NA
Accounts receivable / 0.00 / 0.00
Inventory – publications / 200.00 / 540.00
Petty Cash / 4.20 / 3.60
Float for cash sales / 23.00 / 10.00
Current Liabilities
Sundry Payables / 0.00 / 0.00
Subscriptions in Advance / -168.00 / -368.00
Working Capital / 20,930.73 / 19,481.03
Membership:
General / 54 / 61
Student / 7 / 7
Total paying members / 61 / 68
Complementary – libraries & schools / 18 / 61
Printed newsletters distributed per issue / 79 / 129
Detailed Statement of Financial Performance / 2016 / 2015
INCOME / Total $ / Total $
Membership / 1,160.00 / 1,065.00
Donations / 40.00 / 255.00
Calendar sales / 1,954.50 / 2,012.80
Meeting Donations / 887.90 / 745.10
Lichen Guide sales / 475.00 / 4,534.50
Moss Guide sales / 265.00 / 263.00
Baylis Lecture -Botany Dept share / 300.00 / 300.00
Bonus Saver Income / 12.00 / 12.00
Bank interest Bonus Saver / 330.27 / 121.97
Bank interest Term Deposit / NA / 109.38
Bank interest Business on Line / 113.65 / NA
Bank interest Non-Profit Account / 0.96 / 16.89
Peter Bannister Student Field Grant 2016 / 2,000.00 / 4,000.00
Term Deposit to Bonus Saver Account / NA / 7,341.91
Audrey Eagle Fund return to Bonus Saver / NA / 3,300.00
7,539.28 / 24,077.55
EXPENDITURE
Newsletters / 652.95 / 594.88
Newsletter postage / 139.50 / 192.70
Geoff Baylis Lecture / 388.89 / 516.51
Botany Department Student Colloquium Prizes / 150.00 / 50.00
Calendar printing / 1,900.38 / 1,829.36
Administration / 241.11 / 261.07
Photographic Competition Prizes / NA / 450.00
Audrey Eagle Drawing Competition Prizes / NA / 200.00
Lichen & Moss Guide printing / NA / 1,730.33
Lichen Guide postage / NA / 97.30
Speaker expenses / 19.50 / 0.00
Meeting Expenses / 511.98 / 406.11
Peter Bannister Student Field Grant 2015 / 2,000.00 / 2,000.00
Lichen database grant / NA / 1,300.00
AE Publishing grant return from Cheque Account / NA / 3,300.00
Term Deposit to Bonus Saver Account / NA / 7,341.91
To Bonus Saver / 12.00 / 12.00
6,016.31 / 20,282.17
Profit (Loss) / 1,522.97 / 3,795.38