British Lichen Society AGM & Winter Meeting
Date: Friday 19th - Sunday 21st January 2024
Location: University of Nottingham, School of Life Sciences.
A map of the University of Nottingham Campus is available here. The School of Life Sciences is building 23 on the campus map.
Online attendance: Online access has been arranged for BLS members who wish to attend online. A link will be sent to all members around 10th January. Non-members are welcome and can book to attend by emailing Fay Newbery (vice-president@britishlichensociety.org.uk). Booked non-members will also receive a link via email around 10th January.
BLS Dinner
A hot buffet dinner will be provided in the University’s Jubilee Hotel on the evening of Friday 19th January at a cost of £25. All bookings need to be made by 2nd January. Unfortunately, if money is transferred after 2nd January no booking can be made and payees will need to request a refund from the Treasurer. Any enquiries to Peter Crittenden (pdc@nottingham.ac.uk)
See further down for information on accommodation, parking, exhibitions, photo competition, nominations for trustees, AGM agenda and campus cafés.
Programme
Friday 19th January
17.30 Reception (wine and soft drinks) and Exhibition in the foyer, School of Life Sciences.
18.00: Lecture in Lecture theatre B3 on the first floor of the School of Life Sciences:
Ben Averis
“Stuff you get where the weather’s wet”
Exploring our Temperate Rainforests
B3 Lecture Hall, School of Life Sciences
19.45 Dinner (hot buffet) at the University’s Jubilee Hotel. A short walk from the School of Life Sciences.
Saturday 20th January
9.30 Coffee, tea and exhibition (Room B1, School of Life Sciences).
10.00 Annual General Meeting. B3 Lecture Hall, School of Life Sciences.
12.30 Lunch break and Exhibition.
There are various options for lunches on the university campus. Please see the list below.
14.00 Winter Meeting. B3 Lecture Hall, School of Life Sciences.
14.00 Introduction by Neil Sanderson
14.05 Andy Acton – Atlantic hazelwoods
14.30 Gothamie Weerakoon – Progress in the Graphidiaceae
14.55 Introduction to discussion sessions – Fay Newbery
15.00 Discussions
At Nottingham: How can the BLS help to train sufficient lichen surveyors for the UK?
Online: Uses of the BLS database. Host: Ann Claypole
Online: How to tackle an unknown. Host: Pam Muir
Online: English names for lichens. Host: Paul Whelan
15.30 Tea-break
16.00 Lottie Cavanagh-Sweeeney – Lichen Interpretation
16.15 Jiri Subrt - Do Arctic lichens bleach with climate warming?
16.30 Neil Sanderson – K/UV tests
16.45 Tamsin Green – Walking out of sleep: encounters with lichen territory
17.00 Winners and awards
17.00 Close of meeting and arrangements for Sunday’s field trip.
Sunday 21st January
Excursions to local sites.
Morning meeting: Newstead Abbey.
Afternoon meeting: Quarry Banks Wood SSSI.
Field meetings:
Bookings for the field trips is now closed. However, Newstead Abbey is open to the public, so feel free to join us. Parking will cost £10.00.
We have booked two locations. Newstead Abbey for the morning (SK541537) and Quarry Banks Wood SSSI (SK533521) for the afternoon. Parking is limited at Quarry Banks Wood. People are welcome to spend the whole day at Newstead Abbey where there are toilets and a café if they prefer.
10.00 am - Newstead Abbey was the home of Lord Byron and is owned and run by Nottinghamshire CC. Entry is normally £6 but free parking is available for cars that are booked. There are toilets at this location and a café where refreshments and lunch can be purchased but it can get busy on a Sunday. The Abbey and other architectural stonework (e.g. lake edging stones) are magnesium limestone. The entrance to Newstead Abbey is at Pilgrim Oak (SK556545) on the A60 at Ravenshead. A map of the site and lists of previous records are available for download at the bottom of this page.
1.30 pm (to 3.30 or 4.00 pm as preferred) - Quarry Banks Wood is only a few kilometres away. It was designated an SSSI for its botanically rich calcareous vascular flora. It is on a busy farm. We have permission to park on the farmland. Again, this is on magnesium limestone and it is believed that the stone for Newstead Abbey was quarried at this site. There are limestone cliffs in the wood but a small open area near the entrance (probably once a service area for quarry operations) where the limestone is exposed underfoot will probably prove interesting (as might some walls near the farmhouse). The entrance to the farm is tricky to find in Linby at SK533510. It will probably be best if we leave Newstead Abbey as a convoy and arrive at the farm together.
Accommodation
There are many hotels both large and small available in Nottingham. The Jubilee Hotel is a 15-20 minute walk from the School of Life Sciences where the BLS meeting will take place. A bus service is also available; this is unlikely to be much quicker but will cut the walk down by about 50%.
Parking
There is a sizeable car park on the south side of the Life Sciences building. Parking here, and in all other parking areas on campus, is free after 4:00 pm and at weekends. There are two entrances to the School of Life Sciences building: one on the south side facing the car park and the other on the north side just past the George Green Library (Science Library). Those staying at the Jubilee Hotel can park there. The walk to the School of Life Sciences takes 15-20 mins and brings you to the north side of the building.
Exhibitions
Exhibits can be put up in room B1 from 14.00 on Friday and should be ready for viewing by 17.30. They can be viewed during tea breaks until the close of the meeting on Saturday. Please advise Fay Newbery by e-mail at vice-president@britishlichensociety.org.uk of your requirements for tables or display stands before 31st December.
The BLS sales table will be present. There will also be Pd and sodium sulphite available in small quantities at a small charge. Contact Eluned at ehsbiol@gmail.com to pre-order if you want to be sure stock is put aside for you.
There will also be a take-and-donate table. Please bring anything that you no longer need which other lichen-lovers may be able to make good use of. Donations to the BLS.
There is still space for other exhibitions, whether that is art or a set of themed specimens or a poster or…
British Lichen Society AGM Photo competition
Share your photos with fellow AGM attendees.
Entries to our photo competition will be on display. There are two themes:
Lichen portrait
Lichen with friends
Competition winners will be selected by popular vote of those attending the AGM in person.
For those attending online, we will share a Dropbox folder so that you can admire the photos too.
Nominations for Officers and Trustees of the Society
The BLS would like to thank Judith Allinson, Janet Simkin and Gothamie Weerakoon for their service to the society, they will be stepping down at the upcoming AGM.
Nominations are sought for three new Trustees. Proposals should be sent by email, or in writing, to the Secretary at secretary@britishlichensociety.org.uk at least two weeks before the AGM. No person may be nominated without their consent.
AGM Agenda
Please sign the attendance list and write your own name badge. Please will those attending online update their displayed name so that they can be recorded as attending.
1. Apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 4th March 2023. Please refer to the minutes published in the Summer Bulletin 2023 (no 131).
3. Matters arising.
4. Reports of Officers:
4.1. President Neil Sanderson
4.2. Treasurer Duncan Wright
4.3. Conservation Bryan Edwards
4.4. Data Paul Cannon
4.5. Education & Promotions April Windle & Raymond Griffiths
4.6. Bulletin editor Maxine Putnam
4.7. Lichenologist Senior Editor Chris Ellis
4.8. Website Editor Neil Sanderson
4.9. Field Meetings Secretary Graham Boswell
4.10. Librarian Theresa Greenaway
4.11. Archivist Mark Seaward
4.12. Herbarium Curator Richard Brinklow
5. Election of Officers & Trustees. Paul Cannon
6. Any other business.
7. Date and place of AGM 2025.
Local organiser:
Prof. Peter Crittenden, School of Life Sciences, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD Email: pdc@nottingham.ac.uk
Cafés:
Costa Coffee (Ground floor, Portland Building)
Monday to Friday, 8.30am-6pm
Saturday and Sunday, 9.30am-4pm
Filthy Vegan (B Floor, Portland Building)
Monday to Friday, 11am-5pm
Saturday and Sunday, opening soon
Saijokai Pan Asia (E Floor, Portland Building)
Monday to Friday, 11am-4.30pm
Saturday, 11am-3.30pm
Subway (B Floor, Portland Building)
Monday to Friday, 10am-7pm
Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm
Portland Coffee
Saturday & Sunday
11:00 am - 5:00 pm