OFFWELL ENVIRONMENT LINK
(incorporating The Friends of Offwell
Woodland Education Centre)
Also known as OELink
Registered Charity No. 1081439
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2007
Address:
Lavender
Cottage, Offwell, HONITON, Devon, EX14 9SA.
President:
Professor Christopher Wilkinson
Vice-President:
Jeffrey Benn
Trustees:
Chairman:
Derek
Browning (until 8th May)
Dr. Rosalind Wilson (from 5th
June)
Hon. Treasurer: Mrs.
Wendy Bartlett (until 8th May)
Ronald Graham (from 8th May)
Hon. Secretary: Mrs.
Gillian Graham
Executive
Committee Members:
Dr. Barbara Corker
Mrs. Pamela Costain
Mr. Timothy de Winton (until 8th May)
David Tilbury (until 8th
May)
Dr. Rosalind Wilson (until 5th June)
Mrs. Ruth Wilson
Hon. Auditor: Ernest
Witts, FCA
Bank: HSBC Bank Plc, 86 High Street, Honiton.
Governing
Document: Constitution adopted on 2nd
May 2000 and amended on 17th May 2005.
How
constituted: Association.
Trustee
selection: Elected annually by
members at the Annual General Meeting.
Objects:
1.
To advance the
education of the public in biology, ecology, the environment, conservation and the
countryside and its heritage.
2.
To support the
charitable work of the Offwell Woodland Education Centre (operated by the Offwell Woodland
& Wildlife Trust).
Summary of
main activities: Talks and lectures,
classes, educational field days, biological surveys, practical and financial support for
the Offwell Woodland Education Centre, fundraising in support of the Centre and our own
activities.
EDUCATIONAL ROLE:
Classes:
OELink sponsored a series of
entomological classes tutored by the President,
Professor
Christopher Wilkinson
Field Days:
Discovering Wildflowers led by Marion
Nalder (13th May)
Bat Evening led by Sue Searle”
(3rd August)
Fungus
Foray led by Jeff Benn ( 23rd September)
Talks & Lectures:
“Water
Voles in Devon: Voles Past, Present and
Future” given by
Mervyn Newman (27th February)
“The Axe Estuary Wetlands” given by James Chubb (8th
May)
“Is Transport Costing us the Earth”, 11th
Annual Offwell Lecture
given by Martyn Goss (20th November)
FUNDRAISING FOR OELink NEEDS AND IN SUPPORT OF THE OFFWELL WOODLAND EDUCATION CENTRE
Inkjet
cartridge recycling initiative continued
Box
Collection at Tesco (25th & 26th July)
Book Fair
organised by David Tilbury (19th August)
Craft
& Cake Sale organised by Dr. Wendy Graham (1st December)
Three separate donations, totalling £1,248.32, were made to the Centre: £335.00 towards the Lake Enhancement Project , £750.00 towards the Action for Biodiversity (Heritage Lottery) Project and £163.32 for an entry in the Teach Out Directory
The Centre was also supplied with a list of members
who had volunteered for practical work on the reserve.. The “Save the Centre”
Appeal to Members was wound up during the year and all monies remaining in the Appeal Fund
Account, totalling £10,750.00, were passed to the Centre to be used for core funding.
The
Executive Committee held eight meetings during the year.
1.
Executive Committee
leadership
Good
2.
Executive Committee
in control
Good
3.
The high
performance Executive Committee
Fair
4. Executive Committee
review and renewal
An area identified
for improvement
5. Executive Committee
delegation
Good
6. Executive Committee
and Trustee integrity
Very Good
7. Executive Committee
openness
Very Good
Four
Newsletters were issued during the year and a website, www.oelink.co.uk, was maintained. A stand was mounted in the Forestry Pavilion at
the Devon County Show (17th -19th May). As well as the usual displays, this featured two
competitions devised by Dr. Barbara Corker – one for adults and one for children. The stand received a Bronze Award from the Devon
County Agricultural Association.
Reciprocal membership was maintained with the Axe Vale & District Conservation Society, Devon Conservation Forum and Ottery St. Mary & District Later Life Forum.
OELink also
maintained its membership of the Otter Valley Association and East Devon Volunteer Support
Agency. It was represented on the Committee
of the Offwell Recreation Ground and Village Hall Charity by Ronald Graham.
Membership fluctuated around the 400 mark and included 16 corporate members.
We are grateful to our webmaster, Philip Cooper, and to those members who led or helped to run our field events and talks, contributed articles for the Newsletter, manned our stand at the Devon County Show and assisted at our various fund-raising events. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to David Tilbury, who masterminded and was the driving force behind the Book Fair.
Membership of OELink is open to all. Our activities benefit the public, either directly (see Object 1) or through the Offwell Woodland Education Centre (see Object 2). Our talks and lectures are open to the public. We do not charge for admission to these, although donations are invited to help defray costs. A modest charge (£3 per head) is made for non-members attending our field events.
GENERAL
Everything
that OELink has achieved during the year has been accomplished through voluntary effort. We have no paid staff and have neither applied for
nor received any grants.
One of the most effective ways in which OELink can assist the Offwell Woodland Education Centre is by offering third party match-funding when this can release grants from other bodies (the usual ratio being 10% from us and 90% from the other organisation). It is our policy to build up a reserve in readiness for every opportunity for third party match-funding.
Return to
‘About OELink' (About Us) Page