The Future of the Branch

by James Mann, Chairman

After the Annual General Meeting I spent some time thinking about the future of the branch and the direction we want it to take. I will share my thought with you. I was disappointed by the low A.G.M. attendance but that is A.G.M.'s for you. When it came to the election of the committee there were no extra nominations and after serving the committee very well since the founding of the branch Michael and Jenny Kelsey have decided not to seek re-election. The remainder of the committee will continue to serve but due to the small numbers most will have two or more jobs. The branch has been running well. We always have a full and interesting programme of field trips all of which are well attended. We have one of the best recording networks in the country which was emphasized to me when Richard Stewart explained that he had already had promises to fill in many of the empty tetrads.

A sea of change is now taking place in the name of Biodiversity. Julian Roughton of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust talked about this at the A.G.M., his talk highlighted the enormous task in front of us. What is happening in Suffolk of interest to us? The Biodiversity Action Plan for Suffolk and East Anglia is being produced. We are working on our own Regional Action Plan. A recovery programme for the Silverstudded Blue on the Sandlings has been produced and the recovery of Butterflies in Suffolk will be published shortly. To carry out the recommendations of all these initiatives will need a great deal of work. Taking the Silver-studded Blue in the Sandlings as an example. This July a survey is to be carried out on all likely habitats between and around the known colonies including places like forest rides. This will determine exactly where Silver-studded Blues are present and will enable us to determine where colonisation may take place naturally and where relocation is necessary. There are probably around 30 kilometres of rides etc. to check so if we have five volunteers that's only about three miles each in old English! The other initiatives will in their turn require input to make them work. We must decide whether we want ro be full partners in these projects and have our name appearing alongside the other participants or whether we want to carry on as we are and keep a low profile. I would like us to be full partners and get the name of the branch much more widely known. If you agree with me please let me know by putting your name fotward to take part in the Silver-studded Blue survey this year. If it comes to it I will do the work myself but there is a limit to what one man can do. If you prefer to have the branch carry on as at the present also let me know to enable the committee to run the branch in the way the membership would like.