The constitution can be downloaded here
Additional rules and standing orders were adopted to the constitution at the AGM on 21st March 2016. These are as follows:
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In the event of an inquorate Annual General Meeting, the current officers and committee members may continue until another meeting can be convened with a quorum.
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Meetings resulting from such a deferral should not be more than 15 months apart.
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Proxies for voting can be transmitted by mail or e mail giving the name of the member and the person to whom their proxy vote has been assigned, which may be the Chair of the meeting.
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Committee members who are absent from committee meetings without apology for a period of six months will be deemed to have resigned.
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Members will be required in any new joining process to provide a valid e mail or postal address.
Standing Orders
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Statements and press releases should be circulated for committee comment before release. Interviews with the press or other media be made by or through the Chair or Secretary, unless specific delegation has been agreed.
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Members may organise events on behalf of the Committee provided the event has been agreed by the committee and a reporting line (through one nominated committee member) on progress and requests for finance (prior to committing to an expense) has been agreed by the nominated committee member who must confer with the Committee (see 3 below) before giving assent.
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Financial commitments up to £50 can be undertaken by a Committee member provided the expenditure has been agreed in principle. Financial commitments over £50 should be agreed by the committee at a quorate meeting. In the event of an urgent expense, the committee may give assent after an e mail consultation. If not unanimous the expenditure should be deferred until the next meeting. Requests for payment or reimbursement must be accompanied by an order for goods, a letter of intent, or contract for services, which should be copied to the Treasurer and archived by the Secretary.
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Risk assessments for projects or work days or other activities should be copied to the Secretary for archiving.
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Observations, representations and similar opinions made on behalf of the Association should be in line with agreed policy and approach and copied to the Secretary for archiving and, where the policy line has not been previously agreed by the Committee but the matter has emerged as a matter of urgency, the representation must be copied to the Chair for information and dissemination at the next meeting of the Committee.
Non committee roles
There are many tasks that don’t require being a committee member. We currently have a member who conducts a butterfly survey on our behalf and other members who are ‘litter marshals’ and carry out litter picks near their home when they have time. If you have even a small amount of time you can put aside each month you could make a very big difference to how much we can achieve. If you would like to make a difference and give something back to nature and the community, take a look at our volunteering page and see if there is anything there that suits.