Minutes of committee meeting, 28th March, 2013

Minutes of committee meeting held March 28th, 2013

Apologies for absence were received from Peter Harris, due to ill health. The rest of the committee attended apart from Jim Jayes.
AGM. Committee members were very pleased with the way the AGM had gone and had no further follow up items to table.
Follow up purchases. Since the AGM the remaining items under the KWT grant have been purchased. These are 2 extra-long reach litter pickers, 6 pairs of gauntlets, 4 pairs of goggles and 2 tick removal tools.
RSC Blog. Russ Edwards has prepared a draft RSC blog which will act as a more immediate communication channel than the existing web site, which will continue as the main repository of data. Russ tabled a discussion document (appended) and described the process and operation of the blog. During the meeting it was agreed that the existing RSC web server (HostPapa) would be used rather than Google. This has a number of advantages, including the use of a river severn custodians designated email address for the blog master, Russ. There may be a lack of memory to successfully run this blog on the server in which case extra memory can be purchased. The intention is to make the blog accessible to Custodians to post blogs and to the general public for comments.
Contact with Environment Agency. The recent positive contact with the Environment Agency was welcomed. It seems as though our reporting of problems are being acted upon. All members are encouraged to report observed problems to us and directly to the EA on 0800 807060.
Water events. Joan Avery has been investigating having a stall at the Newtown Carnival on June 8th, which we could use to publicize our activities and encourage wider participation. The cost to our group would only be £5 plus an additional charge for provision of electricity. It was agreed that electricity would be needed to show videos and images on lap tops and Joan will investigate additional cost involved. Joan had a number of excellent suggestions for activities and others were suggested by committee members. One suggestion is to use a fish tank to show species from the river, such as American Signal Crayfish, to the public. Other ideas included stone sculpture competition on the river cobbles; pooh sticks,; displays of flora and fauna photos and videos; water divining (Kath to investigate); balloons with River Severn Custodians on them; and a raft on the river being used as a fun ferry.

We will also explore having a similar event as part of the Newtown Food Festival which is on Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd September, 2013.

Will any member willing to participate in either of these events please contact Mike.

Continuation of river survey. Paula is still reviewing and analyzing the data collected on previous surveys. The data from the invasive species is now available on the web site. Once this analysis has been completed, additional survey will need to be carried out.
Hate Hogweed event. The Giant Hogweed is growing again near the Mochdre Brook and now is a good time to make our first attack on this horrible plant. This first Hate Hogweed event will take place on Saturday 13th April at 10am.

Will any member willing to participate in this please contact Mike. Safety equipment and training will be provided.

Need for further funding. It was decided that our funds are now insufficient to purchase additional equipment needed. For example, in order to present displays at the Carnival and the Food Festival we will need to purchase a gazebo, display boards, balloons, etc. We do have a £50 garden scheme voucher, won as part of the Tidy Wales award, and this was supplemented by a member’s contribution, but further funding is needed and will be investigated. This will include the recently advertised Tidy Towns Community Led Funding.
Other business.

The Caersws Angling Club has contacted us for advice on control of invasive species and we have provided information on the work that we are doing. Any improvement in their environment helps us because it will reduce the amount of seeds coming downstream.

Documents being distributed in Word format by email are not accessible by all. In future, pdf format will be used.

Mike Davies
29/3/2013