Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society
Annual General Meeting 2019 Year
Minutes
Wednesday January 6, 2021
Via Zoom – Host 1, Bob Kennedy; Host 2, David Patriquin
Present via Zoom:
Charles Cron (Pres), Heather Marchione (Bd), Sunetra Ekanayake, Jim Jotcham, Bob Kennedy (Bd), Mary Kennedy, Bathsheila Kent, Mary Macaulay (Sec), Bob McDonald, Wendy McDonald, Beth McGee, Shirley McIntyre (Bd), Anne Mills (Bd), LH Paris (Bd), David Patriquin (Bd), Burkhard Plache, Ingrid Plache, Jean-Marc Renault, Marion Sensen (Bd), Keith Vaughan, Rachelle Watts (Bd), Dottie Welch
Regrets: None
- President Charles Cron called the meeting to order at 7:57 pm.
- Approval of 2019 Year AGM Agenda
Moved by Heather Marchione, seconded by Rachelle Watts to accept the 2019 Year AGM agenda. Carried.
- Approval of Minutes of 2018 Year AGM.
Moved by Jim Jotcham, seconded by Anne Mills to accept the 2018 Year AGM Minutes. Carried.
- 2019 Year Membership Report submitted by LH Paris.
Summary as of December 31, 2019 – NSWFS had 51 memberships in 2019 with 12 being new.
Discussion: Bethsheila Kent suggested an increase in memberships may be encouraged by a more active social media presence. Heather Marchione has recently established a Facebook page for the Society which now has 128 members and Bethsheila has agreed to cohost this site with Heather. Bethsheila also suggested members be allowed to post to our website. The BOD agreed to take this back for discussion.
Moved by Bob McDonald, seconded by Jim Jotcham to accept the 2019 Year Membership Report. Carried.
- 2019 Year Financial Report presented by Shirley McIntyre.
Summary:
Balance Sheet – Assets $1,782.18 Bank Balance Dec 31, 2019
Income Statement –
Income:
Membership Fees $665.82
Expenses:
Room Rental & Joint Stocks – $237.65;
Speaker expenses – $65;
Nature Nova Scotia – $70,
Total Expenses – $372.65
Surplus – $298.17
Balance Dec. 31, 2018 – $1,484.01
Balance Dec. 31, 2019 – $1,782.18
Discussion: Keith Vaughan suggested that a suspension of dues be considered since meeting expenses were not incurred in 2020 due to Covid-19. The consensus was that individual membership fees were already low at $15 annually. It was agreed that we do, however, need to distribute more of our funds and that the BOD take this back for discussion. Members suggested a subscription to Zoom be financed so that meetings and presentations can be resumed digitally.
Moved by Shirley McIntyre, seconded by Bethsheila Kent to appoint Heather Marchione as Auditor. Carried.
Moved by Shirley McIntyre, seconded by Heather Marchione to accept the 2019 Year Financial Report. Carried.
- 2019 Year President’s Report presented by David Patriquin as submitted by Charles Cron:
I have already forgotten much of the 2018-2019 year as this was our last regular full season. The 2019-2020 season was cut short by the pandemic Covid-19.We had regular meetings from Sept. 2019 to Feb.24/20. In early March the pandemic shut down all activity at the Museum which has remained closed to all of us users to the present. Since then we have managed only one field Trip,( to Troop’s Island in June). We were able to arrange a test Zoom meeting of the current Board on Nov 18/20 and planned to hold our postponed 2020 AGM on Jan 6/21 as a Zoom meeting following the successful test meeting of Nov 18/20. The current Board has continued in a caretaker role to the present and a new board will be proposed at the AGM. Some details will still need to be worked out. I wish to thank especially, David and Bob for setting up the Zoom meetings and all other Board members for coordinating and continuing our communications. Paris has been a great help in maintaining our membership lists and keeping us in touch with each other. The basic structure of our group has been preserved and we hope we will soon be able to have some regular meetings (even if they are Zoom meetings) and possibly some field trips. Pandemic restrictions still limit all group activities both indoors and outside. Small group field trips may be possible this spring but indoor meeting restrictions my last longer.
Moved by Bob Kennedy, seconded by Jim Jotcham to accept the 2019 Year President’s Report. Carried.
- Election of 2020 Board Members by acclamation
Slate of Board Members:
Marion Sensen (Past Pres)
Charlie Cron
Heather Marchione
Bob Kennedy
Mary Macaulay
Shirley McIntyre
Anne Mills
LH Paris
David Patriquin
Caitlin Porter
Rachelle Watts
Moved by Jim Jotcham, seconded by Bob McDonald to accept the 2020 Slate of Board Members. Carried.
- New Business:
- Mary Kennedy requested Halifax members sign up with iNaturalist (inaturalist.org) for the City Nature Challenge. To connect with Mary about this email her at: cnc2019hrm@gmail.com.
- Anne Mills suggested members investigate using the SEEK app to assist with plant identifications
- Mary Macaulay summarized her field identification activities on Crown Blocks slated for harvest as identified in the Harvest Plan Map Viewer https://nsgi.novascotia.ca/hpmv/ Since mid-December, 2020, Mary has visited 5 sites slated for cutting; two host black ash, one has monarch butterfly habitat, one is old growth spruce and pine, and the last is regenerating beech forest with old growth yellow birch in the over-story. Communications with DNR indicate that only blocks supporting species at risk will have harvest plans revisited. Due to the limited time to give feedback on blocks to be harvested, the BOD gave Mary authorization on December 14 2020, to comment on behalf of NSWFS. David Patriquin is also working on this project and is doing a more in depth review of the sites and featuring some of them on the NSWFS website. Member Bob McDonald, while supportive of this NSWFS HPMV project, was disappointed the general membership was not brought into the discussion sooner. It was agreed that Mary and any others who do harvest block visits on behalf of NSWFS, will send Anne Mills information about this to circulate to the membership when they are escalated to the NSWFS as having unusual conservation concern.
- The consensus of the membership was that our Zoom AGM worked well as a way to meet and that NSWFS should purchase a subscription so that regular member meetings and presentations can resume; even if only remotely for now. The BOD agreed to take this back for discussion and action.
- Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn at 8:45 p.m. moved by Bob Kennedy, seconded by David Patriquin
