Attending: Chris Hoess, Anna Hull, Tracy Raymond, David
Ross, Henry Whitesel, Bill Whittaker in person; Molly Anderson via phone 2:00pm
at Lincoln University.
A) Key Dates
1. Our next board meeting
is scheduled for Sunday, March 6, 2:00-4:00 at Lincoln University, Room 235
Conference
Dial-in Number: (716) 748-0224 (potential
toll call)
Host Access Code: 445962*
Participant Access Code: 445962#
2. Hikes, Talks, Work
Days and Other Commitments
Saturday, March 5, Lower Chrome
Work Day – Molly leads
Saturday, March 12, Themed Hike
(photography) – NCP
Sunday, March 20, Oxford Public
Library/Ware Tal, 2pm -- Chris
Friday, March 25, GH Work Day, 9 am
– Anna leads
April 1, Oxford First Friday
Saturday, April 9, Themed Hike
(spring ephemerals) -- NCP
Saturday, April 16, Upper Chrome
Work Day, 9am -- Kent leads
May 6, Oxford First Friday
Saturday, May 7, NCP Work Day, 9am
– David leads
Saturday, May 14, Themed Hike
(birds) – Goat Hill
Saturday, May 28, New Texas, 9am –
Chris leads
Friday, June 3, Deloitte Work Day
at GH – Molly leads
Friday, June 10, GH Work Day, 9 am
– Anna and Henry lead
Saturday, June 11, Themed Hike
(TBD) -- Chrome
Saturday, June 25, Lower Chrome
Work Day, 9am – Bob leads
July 1, Oxford First Friday
August 5, Oxford First Friday
B) Action Items Going
Forward
Agenda Items Tabled to March
Approve outreach material budget.
Consider applying for Oxford fundraising permit.
Identify volunteers to cover First Fridays.
Review 2014 goals in preparation for 2016 goals discussion.
March 20 Talk final details
Molly Anderson
Will invite
Liz Johnson to our March 6 Board meeting.
Will lead March 5 Serps Day at
Lower Chrome 1pm to prepare for spring mowing; working out details of spring
mowing with Bob Folk – and more general protocol to share with volunteers who
mow in the Barrens.
Mike Bertram:
Point person for our history
initiatives
Bob Gray:
Point person for strategic planning
initiatives.
Chris Hoess:
Will work
with Tracy to maintain contact database.
Will lead
May 28 work day at New Texas
Will lead July 2016 fame flower walk
at Goat Hill
Anna Hull:
Will add to her agenda to discuss
with Joe availability of additional Rose Trail brochures for FSLSB outreach
events.
Leads March 25 work day at Goat
Hill, 9-2 and co-leads June 10 work day there.
Point person for science and education
initiatives.
Tracy Raymond
Will continue fine tuning banner
and brochure. Will circulate budget
before March board meeting.
Will pin down details for themed
hikes.
Will seek date for Sweetman
fundraiser.
Will work with Chris to maintain
contact database.
Point
person for membership and outreach initiatives.
David Ross:
Will explore need for West
Nottingham event permit.
Monitor that SerpsDay leaders have
correct liability forms.
Point person for administrative
initiatives.
Kent Wagner:
Leads April 16 Upper Chrome Work
Day
Point person for recreational uses
and trail planning initiatives.
Henry Whitesel:
Will contact Jim Herr proposing
March 12 as tentative mowing date for Goat Hill.
Will contact Pal with these topics:
Obtaining additional Chrome trail
maps for FSLSB outreach and explore willingness of Elk to print more.
Identifying and limiting sources
of ATV traffic on Upper Chrome trails.
Potential for Upper Chrome kiosk
as Eagle Scout project.
Will
contact Wilson King (and other mowing at Chrome).
Leads work days at Goat Hill to
prepare for March mowing.
Will provide Tracy with additional
Chrome Trail maps before April 1 First Friday.
Will follow up on Scout projects.
Co-leads June 10 work day at Goat
Hill.
Point person for
conservation/maintenance planning
C) Agenda Items
Considered
Welcome,
Meeting Minutes and Agenda
We started at 2:20
Approved the minutes of 1/8/16 meeting.
Approved the agenda as circulated.
Next
Meeting Date
March 6, 2:00-4:00 at Lincoln University, Room 235
Outreach (Tracy)
Banners
and Brochure Approval
Tracy will continue working
on our outreach kit:
Vinyl Banner
Table cloth
Brochure (one-third of a
sheet size)
Henry will provide additional
Chrome trail maps and will check with Pal to see how many other copies are
available and explore having Elk cover the cost of future printings.
Anna will ask Joe how many we
might get from BoF.
·
Budget
Approval
Tracy to circulate outreach
material budget before March board meeting.
·
First
Fridays
Tracy has filed request with
OMI for April, May, July and August; asks to place us near NCP table.
We will consider in March
whether to apply for permit to raise money in Oxford.
Membership (Tracy and everybody)
·
Define
membership
We reviewed Tracy’s summary
of PPFF chapter memberships. Managing membership lists and services imposes
costs (but might appeal to individuals not drawn to restoration work). Membership categories might bind individuals
more closely to the organization and bring in needed funds.
We agreed to revisit the
question in the fall, while adding membership coordinator to the list or
potential volunteer roles.
·
Email
lists
·
Using
Google Docs for contact lists (Chris)
Chris and Tracy have created
a Google Docs file to manage our email lists, updated with contact
categories. They will be responsible
for providing the list to workday leaders and workday leaders will be
responsible for forwarding “bounces” back to them
Mowing
Update for all Barrens
·
Chrome
(Molly and Henry)
Rescheduled Lower Chrome work
day to prepare for spring mowing to Saturday March 5 – Molly leads
Lease agreement with Bob Folk
in progress, will incorporate best management practices for keeping invasives
out.
Henry will approach Bobby
Riesler, who is mowing the trails at upper Chrome, about mowing the NE corner
of upper Chrome.
The trails have been chewed
up by ATV’s and horses.
Through conversations with
Pal and Wilson King, Henry will attempt to identify folks who use Chrome for
riding and we are encouraged to introduce ourselves to riders we encounter
during walks there. The goal is to work together to make the trails better for
riders and walkers alike.
·
Goat
Hill (Henry)
Weather have interfered with
Henry’s plans to schedule 4 additional work days to prepare for mowing. We have
enough cleared to justify scheduling Jim Herr, even if no additional clearing
occurs. Henry will propose March 12 with
a general openness to whatever fits Jim’s schedule.
·
New
Texas (Henry)
Henry proposed approaching the Hannums about their mowing
certain grasslands in early Spring 2017. We would then target stump and rock removal as work goals for the coming
year.
We have time between now and May work day to move forward
with this.
Spring and Summer Activities
·
Calendar
Anna updated Activity
calendar (see key dates above).
·
March-June
Hike Themes (Tracy)
Tentative schedule (for 2nd Saturday of each month)
March hike – photography hike
at NCP – Patty O’Brien and Michelle Jonson (?)
April hike – spring
ephemerals NCP
May hike – birds at Goat Hill
June hike – TBD at Upper Chrome
Tracy is exploring potential
activities to co-sponsor with the 64th Brandywine Baden-Powell
Service Association, a coed Scout group located in Oxford.
·
Summer
Sweetman fundraiser/event (Tracy)
The sooner we can pin down a
date the better for lining up musicians. David will look into whether a permit
is needed. Leaning toward having folks bring their own food with tie in to a
local micro-brewery.
Report
on Action Items from January Board Meeting
·
NCP
Shed
Nothing to report
·
Scout
Project
Henry reported that the Scouts
like both options and may find individuals able to pursue both.
·
Chrome,
stream restoration project
Tabled to March board
meeting.
·
Grants
Nothing to report.
2016
Goals
Review – for March meeting
Serpentine
Barrens Flora/Fauna Guide
Tabled to March board meeting.
Other
Business, Adjournment
We congratulated Anna (with thanks to Bob) on completion of
our PPFF annual report.
Adjourned, 4:05 with thanks to Anna for hosting and to Anna
and Chris for cookies.