Threatened Plants Tasmania
Executive Meeting Minutes
Saturday 28 April 2012, 11.30 am
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden, Hobart
Chaired by: Viv Muller
Minute taker: Robin Garnett
Attended by: Phil Collier, Robin Garnett, Geoff Curry, Viv Muller, Richard Schahinger,
Chris Obst, Margaret Davies
1. Apologies: Alison van den Berg, Nell Hilliard, Michael Swanton
2. Minutes from meeting of 10 February 2012:
Accepted as true and correct. Moved Geoff Curry, seconded Phil Collier. Motion
accepted.
3. Business Arising
•
Cradle Coast NRM will provide support for data entry. Phil has handed over
the raw data from monitoring transect of Prasophyllum alpinum from the Vale of
Belvoir but has not received entered data yet. Phil to follow up
•
Future funding –the draft of a grant for funding the orchid seed work has
been prepared but Nigel Swartz is too busy to do further work at present; no word
heard of the fate of the Fonterra grant
•
Field trip policies and procedures – Alison could not find anything about
Wildcare’s weeding policy on its website;
ChemCert training – it has not been possible to find enough TPT coordinators
available for a weekend course and they are not free on weekdays. Our funding has
to be committed by 30 June 2012. Viv will contact Kingborough Council about the
possibility of a combined TPT Landcare weekend course. She will also email the wider
TPT membership to see if others who go on field trips are interested in taking part.
•
The Exec committee will continue to bear in mind the priorities for 2012-3:
field trips, new members and contributing to the NVA; helping members with plant
identification, and inviting speakers.
4. Correspondence
From Wildcare - The Wildcare treasurer, Craig Saunders has handed over to Liz
Charpleix. Wildcare groups will operate their financial affairs through new bookkeeper Carol Pacey.
Robin asked all the organisations that TPT has linked to on its website to reciprocate
the linkage. All responded in the affirmative.
5. Reports
a.
Treasurer: Financial statements and asset list (Viv)
The remaining LAP grant money has been committed for web maintenance and the
next lot of LAP money for administration ($250) has been received.
The TSN money reserved for a fire at Milford will be reallocated.
Acceptance of the treasurer’s report was moved by Geoff, seconded by Robin and
Carried.
b.
FAHCSIA Community Grant (Viv) – funds from this grant have been spent on
petrol vouchers, weeding tools, UHF radios and, hopefully, will be spent on the
Chemcert Course.
c.
Henry Somerset reserve – Phil and Peter Tonelli hired a slasher and cut fire
breaks so that Gunns could burn one section of the reserve. If Gunns carries through
with its planned burning regime TPT will need further funding for fire breaks in
future. The committee agreed to reallocate $1000 of the TSN funding to fund fire
breaks for the next five years.
d.
Cradle Coast NRM – has agreed to fund data entry. Phil will clarify with Sue
Botting what other TPT activities are to be funded by CCNRM.
e.
Glenorchy Council – Chris has coordinated counting and weeding of Velleia
paradoxa at Amy Street. He will continue to do this every 6 months and will keep
Glenorchy Council and DPIPWE informed.
f.
Future funding strategy/opportunities
A meeting between Viv, Richard Schahinger and Magali Wright (NRM South
Biodiversity Coordinator) may lead to some combined TPT-NRM South funded
projects.
There may be opportunities for similar relationship with NRM North. Robin to make
enquiries.
In future we could work towards having a TPT coordinator funded by combined
NRMs.
6. General business
a.
Web site
Phil’s test of the website’s capability for handling field trip enrolments and enquiries
has revealed some problems. Phil to attempt to improve this function and conduct
another test.
Some pages of the website need regular review and update. Robin to check and
organise updates on a monthly basis.
b.
NRM south initiative
See above: Future funding strategy/opportunities
c.
Milford burn
Due to lack of staff and other issues the Hobart City Fire crew has not been able to
burn at Milford. Richard will approach the local Tasmania Fire Service to see whether
they are able to do it.
d.
Lending of TPT equipment
We decided that TPT members who regularly go on field trips can make application
to the TPT committee to borrow GPS units to practice using them outside field trip
times. The software will be loaded on their computers, one-on-one training will be
given. They will be encouraged to complete the cycle of GPS recording →enter data
on computer →enter data in Natural Values For training and use?)
The committee gave permission for Geoff to use a TPT GPS to monitor the positions
of rare orchids in WA, and for Robin Garnett, Alison van den Berg and Margaret
Davies to be issued with GPS units for pre-field trip practice.
We do not need to lend radios in the same way. Two radios need to be moved from
the North to the South.
e.
Data entry into the NVA
The NVA has had some changes to its data entry form. Phil asked whether Richard or
Wendy could write a special TPT proforma to simplify data entry into the NVA
Richard to follow up.
f. High visibility jackets
High-vis jackets are rarely worn on TPT field trips at present. Geoff will review the
TPT guidelines and report back to the committee.
e.
Spring-Summer field trips
Phil presented the schedule of field trips that we had settled on during the planning
meeting.
f.
Future general meetings
The next general meeting will be on Saturday 18 August at the RTBG. We will ask
Wendy to invite Greg Jordan to be the speaker. Robin to contact Wendy.
Other general meetings will be held at Coles Bay on 4 November and at the Vale of
Belvoir on Jan 26 2013.
7. AOB
There was no other business and the meeting closed at 12.20 pm.