Minutes of the Nineteenth Annual General Meeting
2.00 pm Wednesday 22nd July 2015
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
(1)Welcome
Dr Matthew Jebb, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of PlantNetwork, welcomed all to the meeting.
(2)Minutes of the Eighteenth Annual General Meeting
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 1stApril at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire were approved and signed as a correct record.
(3)Report for the year to 31 March 2015, by Matthew Jebb, Chairman of the Board
Meetings: the following conferences and training meetings had been held in the year, with presentations and reports posted on the website.
Conference
1st to 3rd April Managing and enhancing the visitor experience in botanic and historic gardensat Chatsworth House Derbyshire
Unfortunately the June conference at Westonbirt Arboretum ‘Tidy lawns to wild meadows’ was cancelled due to lack of bookings. This was the first time PlantNetwork has had to cancel a conference.
Training day meetings:
19th February Nagoya Protocol and Plant Collections Responsibilities at Royal Botanic Garden Kew.
20thMarch Teaching and Research in Gardens at University of Leicester Botanic Garden.
3rd July Garden and Landscape Master Planning at Wrest Park Bedfordshire
31st July Plant Pests and Diseases Identification Day at RHS Wisley
Membership
2014 – 15 membership yearhad totalled 214, with 72institutional members and116individual or personal members (including free membership for26Trainees on placements in gardens as part of the Historic and Botanic Garden Bursary Scheme or the Heritage Horticulture Skills Scheme). Institutional membership included all staff employed or volunteering at the member garden or organisation. There were 54personal members within institutions that are already members of PlantNetwork, at the special rate of £15/year. The Board continued to seek horticultural colleges and students to become members.
Communication
The website, and increasing use of social media continued to be a useful, open access resource. Conference and training day presentations are posted onto the website. Christopher Weddell was thanked for managing it well. Christopher is supporting training for Administrator Pam Smith and Board member Rupert Wilson to be able to take on more website responsibilities.
The Administrator’s office has moved from the University of Birmingham Research Park to home based working. Our correspondence address has changed to PO Box 17016, Birmingham, B30 9EY. Phone number has also changed to 0121 6797430. Email address remains the same.
Our registered office address will be hosted by Cricthleys’ as Greyfriars Court, Paradise Square, Oxford OX1 1BE.
Charitable purposes
Members were reminded of the Charitable and public benefit purpose of PlantNetwork. Charges for meetings continue to be very competitive with comparable training days and we continue to respond to members’ needs and suggestions for future training events and website content. Student membership of PlantNetwork was offered at the low rate of £10/year.
(4)Treasurer’s report
The Chairman presented a report based on information from Christopher Weddell, Hon. Treasurer.
Subscriptions cover just over half of basic running costs; they are set at low rates, to encourage as many botanic and historic gardens as possible to become members, it was recognised from the outset that subscription income alone would not cover expenditure. Conference budgets include a contribution towards PlantNetwork overheads and administration. A sufficient amount had been set aside in reserves for PlantNetwork to run for at least a year should there be no further income.
Accounts for the year to 31 March 2015 had not yet been audited by Critchleys. Records to date show income from subscription amounted to £12,770. Surplus from conference,training meetings and email job advertisements amounted to £9,784. In summary total income was £32,286 and total outgoings were £37,828, giving a net loss of £5,367. Total funds carried forward at year end amounted to £29,149. No grants were received during the 2014/15 financial year.
The Board has a duty of care and a duty of prudence in running PlantNetwork: policies on risk, financial reserves, and internet and email usage were reviewed regularly.
Critchleys, of Greyfriars Court, Paradise Square, Oxford, was appointed as auditor for a further year.
(5)Election of officers to the Board of Trustees
The Board for 2014–2015 had been: Matthew Jebb (Chairman), Tim Upson (Vice-Chair), Christopher Weddell (Hon. Treasurer), David Rae (Hon. President), Richard Barley, Alistair Griffiths, David Knott, Edwin Mole, Don Murray, Mark Patterson, Faye Steer, Simon Toomer, Tim Upson, Rupert Wilson and Ian Wright.
The diversity in experience of Trustees brought a range of skills and expertise to the Board. The Articles of Association of the Company require one-third of Board members to retire at each AGM; they may stand for re-election. David Knott, Alistair Griffiths and Ian Wright stood down from the Board. David Knott was re-elected. Tim Upson stepped down as Vice Chair but agreed to remain on the Board.
The Board nominated Simon Toomer as Chair and Faye Steer as Vice Chair and both were elected to these roles unopposed. Nominations for Ros Burnley and Rob Brett had been received and both were elected to the Board, unopposed. No other nominations had been received.
Matthew Jebb, after over 10 years as Chair stepped down. David Rae thanked him for his valuable contribution to PlantNetwork. David Rae stepped down as Hon.President and asked Matthew to take on the role. Matthew accepted the position as Hon. President with unanimous support and thanks from the members present.
(6)Matthew thanked members and the Board of Trustees for their support to PlantNetwork over the past year.
The meeting closed at 2.30pm.
PlantNetwork: The Plant Collections Network of Britain and Ireland is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England, number 3777793; registered charity 1081747. Registered office: Greyfriars Court, Paradise Square, Oxford OX1 1BE