CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN
I have discovered over the last year how varied a chairman's life can be! Activities have included chairing meetings of the Members' Centre; visiting reserves and sitting in on reserve management committee meetings; contributing to meetings at Cramond; gentle encouragement of members who have volunteered to help in various ways or as some might put it, arm twisting; co-ordinating activities etc.……… and writing a column for FAWN. Some aspects are challenging but all are very enjoyable particularly because of the contact with members and staff who have the interests of conservation at heart.
Another activity, and a first for the Members' Centre, was the holding earlier this year prior to the election of the political 'hustings' meeting in Cupar, described elsewhere in FAWN. This was a very successful event. The Members' Centre committee is enthusiastic about repeating this for future elections to maintain the profile of environmental issues to politicians.
There have been some changes in personnel locally. Andre Thiel, our Conservation Manager in Fife, has moved to a new post as an ecologist with Scottish Coal. I should like to thank Andre for his hard work in Fife at what has been a difficult time for all staff and I wish him every success in his new venture. I welcome his successor, Stephen Blow who started in July, and look forward to working together. On the Members' Centre side, I am pleased to welcome Tricia Towler as our new membership secretary.
As always we are keen to encourage members to volunteer to help locally, either on reserves or in the other various activities of the Members Centre. We would be particularly pleased to hear from those who are new to the Trust or who have not been able to be involved before. Even a few hours of your time can be very valuable. Please contact me or any committee member, (details on the back page) if you would like to become involved. I look forward to hearing from you and to meeting you at future events.
Jean Stewart