NOTICES
NOTICES BSBI SUPPORTER SURVEY
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he staff and committees would like to extend their thanks to everyone who took part in the first Member and Supporter Survey across August and September. We had a fantastic response, with over 770 current members, former members and nonmembers taking the time to give feedback on their experiences of BSBI. This insight will now inform discussions across the charity, acting as a tool and source of information for our teams and committees in taking the goals of the Society forward. At the same time, responses represented a real insight into individual experiences of botany and how people want to practise their interest and engage with fellow botanists. It was very encouraging to see that the majority (93 %) of current members are happy with their membership and, health allowing, likely to continue as members into the future. After the past few years, many are also keen to engage more and more with like-minded people who share their interest in wild plants. Through our expanding presence, more and more individuals are finding out about BSBI through the internet and social media, where previously it had been more common to come across the Society at university. However, there remains a universal truth: individuals are more than twice as likely to have heard of BSBI through another member than any other source. It is fantastic to see such advocacy for botanists, by botanists. As an initial piece of work and insight, there is a lot to be positive about. As with BSBI data in general, the findings give us a baseline to compare future surveys against, so we can look to know if we are moving in the right direction, and hopefully future iterations will continue to show the impact of all the hard work done at BSBI.
Sarah Woods
BSBI Fundraising Manager sarah.woods@bsbi.org
MEMBERSHIP
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hanks to a targeted promotional campaign online and on social media, this year’s Special Offer from the start of October, where new members get the last three months of the year ‘free’, resulted
in an unprecedented number of new members joining (over 200 in the first eight weeks). This included almost 50 students who joined as a result of a student recruitment campaign (see below). To comply with GDPR regulations, BSBI no longer offers a List of Members. If you have any query regarding members details, including lists of members in your area, please contact our CEO Julia Hanmer (julia.hanmer@bsbi.org) in the first instance. Following new postal regulations for all international destinations, including Ireland and the Channel Islands, full customs labels are now obligatory on all mailings. It would be useful to know if any overseas member has experienced delays or any problems with customs, not just for regular mailings but also for books. When sending change of address details please remember to give your membership number or your old address, especially postcode, and include any new phone number. I would also ask all Irish members to please let me have their Eircode if they have not done so already. If you don’t know it, visit https://finder.eircode.ie/#/ to find out.
Gwynn Ellis
BSBI Membership Secretary gwynn.ellis@bsbi.org
LONG-STANDING MEMBERS
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SBI thanks every member for your ongoing support – your contribution helps to make the Society the success that it is. And particular thanks go to the following who have reached an amazing 60 years of membership! Joined in 1960: Dr D.F. Chamberlain, Mr B. Goater and Mr M.M. Oakes. Joined in 1961: Mr I.R. Bonner, Mr J.C. Henly, Dr M. Keith-Lucas, Mr J.E. Kirby, Mr J.R.I. Wood and Dr A.J. Gray. Joined in 1962: Miss A. Burns, Dr G.C.S. Clarke, Mr A.N. Codling, Dr J. Dransfield, Mr P.J. Ellison, Mrs R.F.L. Hamilton, Dr A. Harrington, Mr R.J. Mitchell, Mrs M.E. Pugh, Dr F.M. Slater and Mr P.W. Wilberforce.
Steve Gater
Hon. General Secretary steve.gater@bsbi.org
BSBI NEWS 149 | January 2022
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