The Essex Naturalist
1
Report of the Essex Field Club for 1995/1996
Approved at the Annual General Meeting on 16th March 1996
The Council of the Essex Field Club has met seven times during the year
discussing a wide range of topics. The closure of the Passmore Edwards Museum
and the future fate of the Essex Field Club's collections there has occupied a
large part of Council's time during the year, and in particular that of the
President who, together with Roger Payne and Colin Plant, has been authorised
by the Council to negotiate matters on the Club's behalf. We are happy to
report that the various problems relating to this matter are now, in March 1996,
apparently approaching a satisfactory resolution and it is likely that in the near
future the Club will enter into a legal agreement with the Corporation of
London, through the Conservators of Epping Forest, whereby a new natural
history museum is established in Epping Forest. The Club will play a major role
in the management of this museum, but since the precise terms of the legal
agreement are still to be determined it is judged premature to suggest at this
stage what they may be.
Because of the closure of the Passmore Edwards Museum it ceased to be
practical to continue using that address as the Headquarters of the Club. We
were fortunate in obtaining the permission of the authorities at the University of
East London to use their address in Stratford, next door to the Passmore Edwards
Museum, as our new Headquarters. Mail sent there will now be received directly
by our retiring President, Dr Ken Adams.
A special meeting of the Council was held in February 1996 to discuss the
present and potential future role of the Essex Field Club, debating just how we
could give the Club a new, attractive image that would give us steadily
increasing membership, and how best we might interrelate with such
organisations as the Essex Wildlife Trust, English Nature, the National
Biological Records Centre and the various local natural history societies within
the county. As a result of this meeting it was proposed that at the Annual
General Meeting today the Essex Field Club should change its name to the
"ESSEX NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY" and redefine its objectives and
rules in line with its modern image. A first draft of a revised set of rules has been
prepared by our Vice-president Colin Plant and copies of this are in circulation
at this meeting for comment.
We have held two indoor meetings during the year, both at Chelmsford,
where we received presentations from Martin Henry on the Birds of Spain and
from Professor Ted Benton on bumblebees.
The successful "four seasons" recording meetings were continued this year on
Galleywood Common during May, August and October; results of these
meetings have been published in the Newsletter.