ANNUAL REPORT and Financial Statements

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Charity no 224018

Founded 1861

1861 - 2012 Celebrating over 150 years of recording Yorkshire’s ever changing flora and fauna John Newbould retired as General Secretary and Treasurer after the AGM

The Spring Conference at York University 24th March 2012 John Bowers (YNU Chairman), Adrian Norris welcome the Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon, Councillor and Mrs Mick Stanley, accompanied by John Wint (President) to the YNU AGM at Ripon Spa Hotel

David Newbould (centre) leads a seminar on data management using Excel: White th Hart Hotel Harrogate 11 September 2011. Adrian Norris (Chairman of Natural

Sciences) surveying at Hackness

Front Cover: Seven-spot lady Bird preparing to hibernate (Harrogate Valley Gardens www.ynu.org.uk October 2011)

Leeds University students in the Meanwood Valley. See page 10 of the Annual Report

Speckled Bush Cricket in Leeds

The Tree Bee (Bombus hypnorum) was first recorded in Britain in 2001. YNU members have monitored its spread northwards.

Surveying Veteran Trees at Ripley

Antler Moth at Malham Tarn. This grass feeding moth is more common in the uplands of Yorkshire rather than the lowland plains.

A small group of members have been surveying invertebrates in under recorded areas of VC65 (north-west Yorkshire) for four years centred on Swaledale. Here Bill Ely is surveying for Ichneuman’s on moorland

Photographs J.K. Bowers & J.A. Newbould Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

THE YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS’ UNION ANNUAL REPORT 2011-12 Charity No 224018 The Executive of the Union (the Trustees) are pleased to present the Annual Report, together with the financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2012 examined under the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. The report focuses on the main issues and activities with which the Union has been involved during 2011-12. The report is laid out to the requirements of SORP 2005.

1. REFERENCE and ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Registered Office: c/o N.E.Y.E.D.C. St William’s College, 5 College Street, York YO1 7JF Website: www.ynu.org.uk

MEMBERS OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mr J. K. Bowers (2013) Chairman of the Executive Mr J. Wint (2014) Vice Chairman Mr J.A. Newbould General Secretary: Retired November 2011. Mr A. Norris (2014) Chairman Natural Sciences Committee Mrs P. Lightfoot (2013) Treasurer from 1st April 2011 Mrs J. Warwick Publicity – Co-opted 19 November 2011. Mrs S. West (2012) Minutes Secretary Mr A. Henderson (2014) Mr A. Godfrey (2013) Mr C.C. Thomas (2012) Acting General Secretary from 19 November 2011 Dr A.V. Millard (2012) Mrs Hannah Droop Membership Secretary from 1st October 2010 (Attending non-trustee member) OFFICERS President Mr J.A. Wint to 19/11/2011 then Dr R.S. Key President Elect Mr J.A. Newbould from 19/11/11 R.S. Key was not a trustee of the Union, during the financial period.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Mr John M G Foster, West and Foster, Chartered Accountants, 2 Broomgrove Road, Sheffield S10 2LR

BANKERS National Westminster Bank, plc. Markets Branch, 66 Vicar Lane, Leeds, LS1 7JQ

INVESTMENTS COIF Charities Management Funds, 80 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DZ

INSURANCE Ecclesiastical Insurance Group plc, Beaufort House, Brunswick Road, Gloucester.

STAFF The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union employs no staff.

2. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT LEGAL STRUCTURE The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union is an unincorporated society of members and a federation of natural history societies and scientific societies in the County of York. It is a Registered Charity, no. 224018. During the year it operated under a constitution dated March 5th, 2005.

ELECTION OF TRUSTEES Each year three trustees step down by rotation and may seek re-election. The year in parenthesis (in the table above) shows the year of retirement. Members over the age of 18 are entitled to be proposed, and seconded as trustees and seek election at the Annual General Meeting. At the AGM, held at Ripon on 19th November 2011, John Newbould retired. Albert Henderson, Adrian Norris and John Wint were elected to serve until 2014. Notice of the election of trustees was published in the Annual Report 2010-11. Jill Warwick was co-opted as publicity officer for 2011-12. The Chairman has day-to-day responsibility for management of the Union’s affairs.

Paula Lightfoot is employed as the NBN Trust Data Access Officer; Craig Thomas is employed by Natural England; Sarah West is a Community Scientist on the OPAL project at the University of York; John Newbould is a council member of the National Federation for Biological Recording; Adrian Norris is a trustee of the Scarborough Museums Trust and Recorder for the Conchological Society of Great Britain.

TRAINING TRUSTEES All trustees have received a copy of the revised book CC3, The Essential Trustee: What you need to know and receive Charity Commission announcements. All Trustees are experienced field naturalists able to exercise their judgement in managing the scientific affairs of the Union.

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE The Executive Committee of Trustees, which met three times during the period, manages the Union. In order to provide a wider forum for discussion on matters of natural history importance, the Natural Sciences Committee met three times under the Chairmanship of Adrian Norris. This committee also provides a forum, where affiliated societies can meet with the Union. An open seminar for all members was held prior to the AGM at Ripon, to discuss changes to be made to the Union’s website. In addition, the Education Committee has met twice to deal with promoting the training of future generations of field naturalists. Authority has been delegated to these committees to deal with matters within their terms of reference. The Trustees approve all financial transactions.

RISK MANAGEMENT The Executive considered that, with only limited future financial contracts, financial commitments are well within our present financial reserves. COIF Investment Management, which spreads the deposits around 20 banks, holds our main deposits of cash. Cash reserves have been reduced to a minimum in response to low interest yields. The trustees have considered areas where cost savings can be made, especially in printing and postage costs. This strategy is being implemented using new technology in-house to reduce printing costs.

In terms of meetings, our greatest exposure to risk is Health and Safety at field meetings. The Executive reviews Health and Safety annually. The Union’s Health

and Safety Policy was circulated to all members in the spring of 2008 following a review, in the light of Defra concerns on animal health issues. Members are asked to contact any Trustee, if they feel that there has been a lapse of safety, which concerns them. Guidance notes for working in the field have been issued to all members and guests on training courses. Members are asked to sign the attendance list before the meeting starts at all vice-county excursions. The Executive was not notified of any reportable incident during the period.

The Trustees have issued the following guidance: “Young persons under the age of 18 are welcome to attend all meetings. However, as the Union has no member registered under the Children’s Act, their parent or guardian must accompany young persons. The leader of an event must be consulted if children wish to attend.”

The Trustees have considered our level of public liability insurance and other risks. We have £5,000,000 employer’s liability cover for members on Union business and £5,000,000 of public liability cover for visitors. Members of voluntary organisations such as ours increasingly need to work through charities that have liability insurance. Recent guidance from the Charity Commission suggests that Charities which give advice, should hold such insurance. We have complied and our Trustees and officers liability insurance provides £500,000 cover. A leaflet giving guidance on insurance matters was issued to members with the Spring 2005 mailing. The Executive has also considered roles and succession issues in respect of our principal officers. At present the greatest risk to the Union is loss of the considerable administrative support given by volunteers in the administration of the Charity. Failing after a sustained period to recruit a General Secretary the Executive convened an Extraordinary General Meeting to amend the constitution, removing the need for such a post and have taken steps to recruit a part-time paid officer to carry out the duties previously performed by the General Secretary.

3) OBJECTIVES and ACTIVITIES

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE UNION FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT These are to promote the scientific investigation of the fauna, flora and physical features of the county and encourage the conservation of these by means of a) the Union’s publications and b) the holding of field and indoor meetings in the Yorkshire Watsonian vice-counties 61-65. In terms of the Charities Act 2006, the Union qualifies for charitable status as a charity for the advancement of environmental protection and improvement, and have complied with the duty in section 4 of that Act to have due regard to guidance published by the Charity Commission. The trustees consider that the charity contributes the following public benefits: • We welcome as members, all who wish to investigate the county’s flora, fauna and habitats. To assist members to develop their knowledge, the Union is divided into sections, each specialising in different aspects of taxonomy. Each section appoints recorders, who keep records, either on an electronic database or card index of species records for the county and surrounding administrative areas. Skills are developed through field meetings, indoor meetings and our annual conference and the help given by our recorders in verification of data. Our publications provide inter alia an archival record and an explanation of records, information not easily available on databases.

• For publicity and access to our major events which are open to the public, information was placed on our website www.ynu.org.uk, and also advertised through the OPAL Project. • John Newbould has represented the Union on the Yorkshire and Humber Environmental Data Network. • We support the region’s local biological records centres, and through them place members’ data on the NBN Gateway. Working with OPAL, we have developed and trialled training on electronic data entry using Excel. • The Education Committee delivered five foundation courses in natural history recording, based on a continuous professional development model, to members of the public. These courses aim to provide an introduction to biological recording, using the minimum of classroom tuition and maximising the time spent on developing field skills. The Education Committee provided field skills training to forty-five Leeds University MSc students in May, 2011 and at the year end are planning instruction over one and a half days to around forty students in 2012. • We put biodiversity information into the public domain by publishing three editions of the Naturalist each year in a B4 format of 80 pages with colour front cover and colour pages and a Bird Report. In addition, jointly with Butterfly Conservation Yorkshire, we published a Butterflies and Moths Report for 2010 in the summer of 2011. We also publish an Annual Report. • In March 2012, the Union held its annual Spring Conference at York University attracting 69 delegates including non-Union members. • Union members continue to support the region’s Biological Records Centres, and have in the second half of the year given £2500 grant aid to YHEDN to support a volunteers’ Biological Records Officer. • The Union neither owns nor leases any office space. The General Secretary using equipment owned by him at his home undertook day-to-day administration and storage of records and publications. Similarly the work of the Editors of The Naturalist is undertaken at their homes. During the year, we were fortunate to use, at no cost, space to store the Union’s Library in St William’s College York. We estimate that this facility is worth at least £2,000. No payments are made for the other facilities and we are unable to quantify the value of services provided. • A small number of Union members act as organisers for National Societies’ recording schemes. Information on contacts for such schemes may be obtained from the CEH Biological Records Centre, Wallingford via. http://www.brc.ac.uk/recording_schemes.asp • Natural England generously made time available via. Emma Lusby (their Leeds based publicity manager) to promote the YNU and its 150th Anniversary celebrations. Other Natural England staff helped run the 150th Anniversary event (Scarborough BioBlitz). Staff time was also made available to design a new full colour membership leaflet, printed during the year. • Arising from the publication of the Plant Atlas of South Yorkshire, a leaflet advertising this book and its associated Story of South Yorkshire Botany was designed by Designwing and distributed to over 28,000 addresses. • The Union makes extensive use of volunteers. The Executive wishes to thank all those members who organise Union activities and business, only occasionally submitting claims for the expense involved. The Executive is unable to quantify the unclaimed expenditure.

• The financial implications of these activities are reflected in notes 2(c) and 3(b) of the financial statements.

4) ACHIEVEMENTS During the period covered by this Annual Report, the trustees are able to report progress in delivering public services.

• In our last Annual Report we reported on the establishment of a Yorkshire and Humber Environmental Data Network (YHEDN) as a community interest company. The financial year 2011-12 has been a difficult year for the region’s record centres due to public sector spending cuts and staff turnover in local government offices leading to YHEDN having to renegotiate the benefits of this network. Many YNU members ensure that their records are used to support local conservation and decision-making by sharing them with their local records centres either directly or via the relevant national recording scheme and the NBN Gateway, but there are others who are not currently mobilising their data for wider use.

• Members also continue to support many initiatives with local authorities and continue to support Natural England and other statutory agencies with records, and advice on the region’s flora and fauna. Recording is also undertaken for the National Parks, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the National Trust and other charitable organisations holding land as nature reserves. Members take part in a number of national projects organised by the British Trust for Ornithology, including the Wetland Bird Surveys (WeBS) across the county, the Winter Atlas Survey, Breeding Bird Census, bird ringing and also surveys for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Botanical Society of the British Isles and many other national societies recording schemes.

• A Bioblitz held in Scarborough on 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June, 2011 in partnership with many other organisations attracted considerable support with over 900 members of the public visiting the exhibition area in Scarborough Spa. Members provided guided walks and demonstrations and other members undertook species recording across Scarborough. An opportunity was taken to provide training for surveying marine organisms. Financial support for this project was been obtained from Welcome to Yorkshire and OPAL. (Our Trustee, Sarah West was not involved with the OPAL decision-making process).

PRINCIPAL MEETINGS The Annual General Meeting was held at the Ripon Spa Hotel on Saturday, 19th November 2011. John Wint gave the Presidential Address entitled: A tale of seven “Cs”. Thirty-six members and guests attended this meeting which was hosted by the Lower Ure Conservation Trust. The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Mick Stanley gave a welcome address.

On 12th November 2011 some seventy members and guests assembled at Doncaster Museum for the launch of the South Yorkshire Plant Atlas and its sister publication the Story of South Yorkshire Botany. The three editors, Geoffrey Wilmore, Jeff Lunn and John Rodwell, gave presentations. Members and guests were able to receive their pre-ordered books and have them signed by the authors. The Union

wishes to thank Doncaster Naturalists’ Society who hosted the event and Doncaster Museum for their hospitality.

On Saturday 24th of March we held a conference on “Brownfield sites and their importance for Biodiversity” at the National Science Learning Centre, University of York. The conference took the form of a series of presentations and discussion groups. Sixty-nine people attended the conference including the speakers Phil Wheater of Manchester Metropolitan University, Sarah Henshall and Clare Dinham of Buglife, Kevin Rich of the University of York, Simon Warwick of the Lower Ure Conservation Trust, Bob Croxton who talked about Treeton, Rotherham and Tim Kohler of Natural England. Sarah West chaired the conference and organised speakers and Hannah Droop dealt with the administration. Our President, Roger Key gave the closing address, thanking the organisers and participants and giving his reflections on the presentations and discussions. From audience reaction this conference was judged an outstanding success and it is hoped to repeat its format in future conferences.

The following principal field meetings were held during the year: VC 63 at Went Ings, Sykehouse on 21st May; VC61 Spurn NNR on 18th June; VC62 Newtondale on 9th July; VC64 Malham Tarn NNR on 29th – 31st July; VC65 Gunnerside on 13th August.

VC61 VC62 VC63 VC64 VC65 Number of members attending 25 22 25 50 25 Number of affiliated societies 13 14 15 25 15

Attendance was again up in 2011 giving an average attendance of 29.4 (27.4 in 2010, 21 in 2009 and in 2008). At both the VC64 and VC65 meetings, moth recorders spent the night in the area running at least eight MV traps. Members are thanked for sending field reports to the Excursion Secretary, which will be published in the Naturalist. The Union wishes to thank Adrian Norris for collating the reports and acting as Excursion Secretary.

The Sections organised 13 field meetings (14 in 2009) and 10 indoor meetings during the year. While the Entomological Section had few formal meetings during the year members continued surveying in small groups on an ad hoc basis. The Lepidoptera Group’s Annual Meeting was held at Bramham on March 11th, 2012.

PUBLICATIONS Three issues of the Naturalist (1076-1078) were published and distributed to members over the period. The three issues had 160 pages of print, devoted to a wide range of natural history papers with a number subject to peer review. The new B4 format contained colour and black and white illustrations.

The Naturalist now has an Editorial Board comprising John Bowers, Albert Henderson, Sarah West, Bill Ely, Andy Millard (Receiving Editor) and Paul Simmons who prepares the final copy for the printers. In issue 1076 an editorial was published outlining the guiding principles for articles. We continued to publish material from across the north of England. The Editorial Board welcomes contributions on all aspects of the county’s natural history. The Union, wishes to thank the new Editorial Board for their work in maintaining publishing articles relevant to the charity’s objectives, and all those who contributed material during 2011-12.

The 2009 edition of the Bird Report was published in May 2011. This report, edited by Craig Thomas, contained 208 pages including a number of colour photographs, graphs and other quantitative information. The report was in the larger B5 format and contained reports on 293 birds seen in the County. The union also wishes to thank the 1680 people together with data from 39 organisations who contributed to the Report. A special mention should be made of Mr G. Carr of Osset who supplied records for his 60th consecutive year. The Union wishes to thank Jill Warwick and the Bird Report Committee for selling spare copies of the Bird Report, 2009, and, with over £2550 banked from sales and advertising, by the end of the financial year, substantial progress has been made to recoup costs of the 2009 Report (see note 2c of the financial statements). The Executive requests that all members collecting ornithological data make it available via their local society or local Biological Records Centre, preferably electronically.

Howard Frost has continued to work with a team from the Lepidoptera Group to produce the sixth joint Butterfly Conservation/YNU Butterflies and Moths Report 2010. The ability of this group to produce a report so quickly revolves around the use of the Butterfly Conservation database for butterflies and the use of Map-mate for the macro moth records, which are co-ordinated by Dr C. Fletcher and micro-moths by H.E. Beaumont.

John Newbould has edited the 2011-12 Annual Report.

The major publishing event of the year was The South Yorkshire Plant Atlas edited by G.T.D. Wilmore, J. Lunn and J.S. Rodwell with specialist chapters on Geology by G D Gaunt and Botanical History by Graeme Coles published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union in partnership with the Yorkshire and Humber Ecological Data Trust in November 2011. (Design: Chris Gaughan, Designwing, Bradford and printed by Crowes, Norwich.)

This work is the first major Flora covering the former administrative county of South Yorkshire and follows on from the work of F Arnold Lees Flora of the West Riding, published 120 years earlier and covering a much larger area. Recording for the Plant Atlas started in 2001, although many botanists had recorded for the millennium New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Recorders worked under the expert guidance of Geoffrey Wilmore who not only data processed the records obtained into Recorder 6 but wrote the captions to the species maps. Within nine field seasons records had been obtained from all the 1665 full or part 1km squares covering mainly VC63 but also parts of VC54, 56, 57 (along the south-west edge) and a very small portion of VC58. The editors have generously acknowledged the assistance given by many recorders, referees, photographers and database specialists. We must thank all our members and those members of Bradford Botany Group, the Sorby Society, Rotherham and District Naturalists’ Society, Barnsley Naturalists’ and Scientific Society and Doncaster Naturalists’ Society who so unstintingly gave of their time. We also thank staff of the four District authorities which provided some 100,000 records from their datasets. The Union wishes to thank Geoffrey Wilmore for co-ordinating the field recording, together with Jeff Lunn and John Rodwell for co-ordinating the text, to obtaining quality photographs and liaising with the designer.

Complementary to the plant atlas, Graeme Coles produced a 160 page book, The Story of South Yorkshire Botany covering the period from the 16th century to the late 20th century. It includes additional and more detailed accounts of botanists, their lives and their work than it was possible to include in the Plant Atlas, together with many illustrations of people, manuscripts, printed sources, herbarium sheets as well as a comprehensive bibliography of the area’s botanical literature. The book also includes the first ever-published transcription of the ‘Flora Sheffieldiensis’ of Jonathon Salt – a seminal work published in 1800. Graeme Coles spent many days and nights away from home over six years researching this work. In the latter stages, Professor Mark Seaward, who acted as editor, assisted him. Again the Union wishes to thank these two members for the considerable work of collation our historical knowledge of the area’s botanists and plants. One important result of these books is that for the first time, botanists are able to interpret their findings over two centuries and to local plants at sites first described two centuries earlier.

The Union made a grant of £3000 from the Special Publications and Illustrations Fund, the Yorkshire and Humber Data Network (YHEDN) contributed £3000 towards the printing costs. In addition, a member made an anonymous donation of £500. These figures are reflected in note 2a of the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA). In addition, YHEDN provided a loan of £8000 to help cash flow with printing costs. This is repayable from sales and is reflected in note 5 of the SOFA

The financial implications of all the Union’s publishing activities this year are found in paragraph 3(b) of the SOFA.

The Union wishes to thank Dan Jones and Paul Simmons for maintaining the Union’s website. At the October meeting of the Executive, it was agreed that the Union should commission Yorkshire Marketing and Design Consultancy (Biskit: http://www.biskit.co.uk/) to redesign the Union’s website and provide training for a team of members to update the website with new material as it becomes available. The funding for this project is to be split 50:50 between the Union’s General Funds and the Ornithological Section. The new website will be live in June 2012.

During the year, 2011-12, an outline of the proceedings of the 2011 Spring Conference, edited by John Newbould, was made available as a .pdf file on the Union’s website.

THE AFFILIATED SOCIETIES LIAISON OFFICER’S REPORT

There are now 44 societies holding Union membership (45 in 2011). We are pleased to welcome the Hawk and Owl Trust based at Fylingdales as members during the year. We regret to report the loss of Leeds Bird Watcher’s Club and Great Ayton Wildlife Association as members. Members of Affiliated Societies continue to liaise with the Union through the Natural Sciences Committee. During the year, we made contact with Societies to promote both the annual conference and exhibition and a training day in electronic recording using Excel. The Sorby Society ran a natural history day in February for all South Yorkshire Naturalists at Treeton Community Centre in February 2012. The Union wishes to thank Doncaster Naturalists’ Society for organising and hosting the launch of the South Yorkshire Plant Atlas.

The Union has received a number of membership cards, publications and annual reports during the period and all these items will be stored within the YNU archive at St William’s College. Societies are welcome to archive their publications within the Union’s library. These should be sent directly to St William’s College.

YNU members were invited by affiliated societies to assist with training events. Notably, Kevin Rich and Terry Crawford provided training in butterfly recording for YWT members. Roger Key provided training in invertebrate recording for Whitby Naturalists’ Club, the YWT and also at the MOD Foxglove Covert site.

Membership Report 2011-2012

We’ve seen a significant growth in the number of individual members over the last year largely due to the successful publicity surrounding our 150th Anniversary and the special offer for new members, which led to 76 new members joining the Union over the last year. Seven members have decided not to renew their subscription this year and there are still a large number of payments outstanding for 2012. Even so the final figures for the year should still show a significant growth. Associated society numbers have remained fairly stable, with 2 societies deciding not to continue their membership and one new society joining earlier this year.

Significant funding cuts have impacted across our institutional subscriber base, resulting in a number of cancellations and payments often deferred until the next financial year.

We regret to report the deaths of 3 union members during the period: Mr Michael Thompson, Mr Eric Thompson and Dr Robert Pemberton. We were also sorry to hear about the death of Mrs Betty Smith, who, although not a member, regularly attended the conferences. 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Individual members 435 382 379 374 400 400 397 392 395 Society members 44 45 43 41 41 41 42 41 42 UK subscribers 43 51 54 57 60 60 60 67 67 International subscribers 15 20 26 28 32 32 32 33 33

The Executive agreed to launch a taster membership of £15 for 2011 to encourage new members. It was agreed at the October meeting, this would continue in 2012.

Hannah Droop

EDUCATION COMMITTEE Over one and a half days fifty students from Leeds University MSc Biodiversity and Conservation course received tuition on skills recording of butterflies and moths, spiders, slugs and snails, lichens, birds and flowering plants. These training days were programmed into the students’ course work. On other occasions, students from York University have attended meetings on an informal basis, resulting in increased enthusiasm for their course. The value of the day to Leeds University with twelve tutors on a pro-bono basis would have been around £6000.

John Bowers ran a Dragonfly workshop and a Moth recording workshop in conjunction with Leeds Museum Service and Rodley Nature Reserve in July. In conjunction with the OPAL project, John Newbould ran a one-day Hedgerow Survey training based at Ripley; Paul and Joyce Simmons gave training in basic plant identification. John Newbould organised two workshops on using field records in an Excel database. David Newbould explained various techniques for searching and presenting results from such records on the second day. In addition to these courses, Geoff Oxford ran activities at Wild About Wood (Castle Howard Arboretum) for the Mammal Society, following this with a training day on recording spiders. The Union wishes to thank Sarah West of OPAL for organising bookings for these courses.

The Education Committee in conjunction with OPAL arranged a field excursion to Hackness to assess the suitability of a site for education in May 2011. Terry Crawford held a public moth trapping session at Castle Howard Arboretum and assisted at a primary schools event at Hackness Arboretum.

The Education Committee has taken responsibility for the Library at St William’s College and meets in the library. The Librarian (Chris Young) has started sorting and cataloguing the books and journals, removing duplicates and organising appropriate storage. Surplus items were sold. A number of volumes, including reports from affiliated societies have been added to the collection during the year.

BIOLOGICAL RECORDS OFFICER REPORT 2011-12 The work started last year on herptile and Orthoptera records, has continued throughout 2011. The Yorkshire and Humber Environmental Data Network (YHEDN) used data collected from the project to identify areas of habitat suitable for Great Crested-newts close to existing populations, where newts had not yet been recorded. Volunteers then surveyed many of these sites last spring, enabling us to fill in some of the gaps about the known distribution of the species in Yorkshire.

The new YNU Orthoptera group continues to grow and develop. Dave Chesmore, who has now officially taken over as the YNU Orthoptera Recorder, leads the group. As well as setting up an online group for people to share records and hear about interesting findings (http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yorks_Orthoptera) he is also working closely with the national Orthoptera Recording Scheme to ensure that the Yorkshire records are as up to date as possible. We will be running a series of orthoptera survey training days in August 2012 where we hope to recruit volunteers to survey their local area to help increase our knowledge of the distribution of this group.

After our success with Orthoptera and herptiles, work has been expanded to other groups to improve how the records are made available to inform conservation and

research. Although the Lepidoptera group pass their records to Butterfly Conservation, the current system of data access controls on the NBN Gateway does not allow Butterfly Conservation to provide YHEDN with full access to the Yorkshire records. The Lepidoptera group have now agreed to copy their data to YHEDN annually, This ensures that butterfly and moth records will now be flagged up in data searches and local authorities can be alerted if any planning applications or policies are likely to affect sites with rare or important species. YNU Lepidoptera recorders have also agreed to provide further information and evidence about the records to YHEDN when this happens.

Over the last few months I have been working with the Botanical Section. As this is a large group with a lot of active recorders I first of all contacted all individuals and groups in the region with an interest in botany to find out where they record, how they store their records and whether or not they share their records with other recorders or groups. I then used the information collected to draw a network map to show how records are shared between the recorders, which highlighted a number of ways in which we could improve how the records are being made available. Following on from this work I had a meeting with YHEDN and the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) where an agreement was made that YHEDN could get access directly to the BSBI’s central database. This means that YNU plant recorders will now pass their records directly to their equivalent BSBI recorder and will no longer need to create duplicate datasets to ensure that local record centres are also getting access to their data. It also means that the plant records YHEDN includes in it data searches will all have been verified by experts, which will greatly improve the reliability of the data being made available.

I have also been doing some work with crayfish records. White clawed crayfish are a protected species that are seriously threatened by non-native invasive species. However, many conservation bodies are finding it very difficult to get hold of sufficient data to build accurate maps of their distributions. As with the botanical section, I therefore spent some time contacting people who work with, or have an interest in, crayfish to find out what they do with the records they collect. Most of the people I spoke to were professional consultants and the results of the work showed that, although a large number of records are being collected, the records are being passed to different organisations and so there is no complete dataset of crayfish records for the region. It also appears that very few of the records submitted by consultants to statutory bodies are being entered onto the NBN Gateway. This work is now being followed up by YHEDN who will be discussing the findings with the Environment Agency to see if they can improve how the records are currently being shared.

Alongside this work I have continued to receive records from YNU members and recorders and to look at how YNU records are managed. A new YNU Data Policy was written and adopted at the beginning of this year (published in the Oct-Dec 2011 edition of The Naturalist). We hope that the policy will clear up any uncertainty recorders may have had about passing on records they received from members to organisations and individuals outside of the YNU. The policy is now being sent out to all new members when they join the YNU and will also be available on the new website once that is up and running.

I am now running a Recorder 6 Database that acts as a central database for the Union. After a lot of discussions we felt that this database should run alongside the existing databases and record systems held by each section of the YNU. Record management varies so much across the sections that we felt it would be counter productive to try and get one central database that would hold all YNU records. Instead the central database will be used to store records from YNU excursions so that these records can easily be accessed from one place in the future. It is also being used to store datasets that include records from a number of different sections. Copies of the data are still being sent to the relevant sections but it means we will now be able to retain a complete copy of the original data as it was received. All other records are being sent directly to the YNU recorders and I will continue to work with the recorders to make sure these records are being sent to a national scheme or local record centre.

Over the next few months I will be starting an audit of all the biological records held by the YNU. As so many different recorders hold records it is hard to get an idea of just how many records the YNU has. More importantly it also means it is very difficult to judge how many records are actually being made available for education and research, which is one of the core aims of the YNU. I therefore intend to contact all YNU Recorders to find out more about how they manage their records and to get a better idea of how many YNU records are shared throughout the Yorkshire region. The YNU contribution to the costs of this project is reflected in item 3(b) of the SOFA under grants.

Hannah Droop

PUBLICITY During the year our publicity officer (Jill Warwick) worked closely with Emma Lusby a senior Publicity Manager for Natural England. Using material supplied by the YNU we achieved: • Publicity for the 150th year started with an article in the February edition of the Dalesman magazine when the reporter interviewed both Craig Thomas and Jill Warwick at Nosterfield LNR. The following month, the YNU’s 150th anniversary received further coverage when Terry Crawford was interviewed in the Yorkshire Post. • Our membership leaflet was designed with the help of the graphics team at Natural England in April 2012. • Bioblitz publicity in Scarborough – Emma Lusby helped to write press release, leaflet and advise on publicity. This event received good coverage and is reported on further on page 20. • Emma Lusby spoke to Harrogate press in run-up to the November AGM in Ripon, following up Jill Warwick’s contact with the Ackrill Group and providing additional information. The AGM was co-incidentally mentioned in the Ripon Mayor’s weekly column too! • South Yorkshire Plant Atlas issued a press release about the November launch and talked to contacts about it, which resulted in a feature in the Yorkshire Post and coverage in several South Yorkshire papers. • Emma Lusby has continued general promotion of YNU work and latest activities, to journalists using information provided by Jill Warwick.

The importance of such publicity in providing public service links using our website is

illustrated by the following email received by our General Secretary:

“I just wanted to send you a quick e-mail to say thank you for your webpage (http://www.ynu.org.uk). I'm a middle school science teacher and came across your page while looking for some resources for my students to help them with their research projects. We're doing a unit on different types of insects. Your page has some great resources that we'll be able to use. Thanks so much for sharing!” (JH)

The Executive The trustees met three times during the year to manage the affairs of the Union. Its activities in managing the Union’s affairs are reflected under earlier headings of this report.

In the 2011-12 Annual Report, the YNU reported that John Newbould would be retiring as General Secretary and Treasurer during 2011. As part of this process, we welcomed Hannah Droop as Membership Secretary in October 2010. Having undertaken this role, she efficiently built a new membership database in Microsoft Access. She also processed all the new members onto the system reported on page 9 of this report. Paula Lightfoot agreed to undertake the role of Treasurer working with John Newbould for a handover period. We would like to thank these members for taking on a crucial role in managing the members’ database and the financial affairs of the Union.

John Newbould first became involved in YNU administration in the mid-1980s, initially managing the first electronic database of our membership. He became Membership Secretary in 1993 on the retirement of the late Don Bramley. For many years, he distributed all the Union’s publications from his home. In 1995, he took on the additional role of Treasurer from the late John Ackroyd. He developed an integrated double entry cashbook, which produces up to the minute reports of the financial affairs of the Union. There were further changes to the Charities Act in 2001, resulting in further restructuring of the accounts reporting process but also resulting in the Union’s present administrative structure. In 2004, he assumed the role of General Secretary, formalising a de-facto arrangement, which had existed for many years.

He had primary responsibility for the organisation of a steady succession of Spring Conferences together with other ad hoc gatherings of which the conference on Recruiting and training the next generation of field naturalists is the most important. He and John Bowers, the current Chairman, worked together to establish the Education Committee and with it one of our largest public service events, a variety of training days, when we offer field experience to students on the Leeds University MSc courses. John also worked tirelessly promoting the role of Yorkshire’s Environmental Records Centres including training courses for members on providing data electronically.

For twelve of the fifteen years during which John has been so active in Union affairs, he has lived in Weymouth, often commuting to Yorkshire for YNU business and field meetings by rail. The Union owes him a great debt of gratitude for his years of such sterling and devoted service.

THE NATURAL SCIENCES COMMITTEE – MEMBERS RECORDING IN YORKSHIRE

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT With 2011 being the Union’s 150th anniversary we used the occasion to promote our natural history recording effort. I would therefore like to personally thank the very many active members of the Natural Sciences Committee for all of their efforts in 2011 which helped to bring to fruition the many activities and changes to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union which have taken place over the last year. In particular I would like to thank those younger members who stepped up-to-the-mark undertaking some of the administrative roles so important to the activities of any organisation.

The various Excursion secretaries set a very high standard with an average of 25 members attending most field meetings. The three-day meeting at Malham was a particular success with over 50 attending. The outstanding event of the year however, has to be the Scarborough BioBlitz. Held over three days in early June over 100 members and friends help us involve over 1.000 members of the public to become involved in the work of the Union. This event could never have been the success it was without the dedication of the small group of our younger members who coordinated everything from booking rooms to the various activities that took place over the three days.

Many of our affiliated societies complain that it is difficult to recruit younger members and to get them involved in their activities. In many cases this is due to a reluctance to change and embrace modern technology. The Union has not fully embraced all of the aspects of modern technology available to our younger members, but we have started the process, and I have no doubt that further changes and developments will take place in the near future.

Mammals Further to earlier work on Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) colonizing isolated conifer plantations in remote Yorkshire Dales (The Naturalist 133: 55-61) Ian Court of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, his colleagues and volunteers have made substantial progress monitoring the status and distribution of this Biodiversity Action Plan target species. The results are presented in a new study imminently to be published in The Naturalist.

Progress on monitoring occurrences of the Polecat (Mustela putorius) in the western and southern fringes of Watsonian Yorkshire, the results of public outreach appeals, was presented in a paper entitled ‘Dial ‘P’ for Polecat!’ given to the PLACE/Hallam University Conference ‘Back from the Edge: The fall and rise of Yorkshire’s Wildlife’

The discovery of measurements and the results of tissue samples relating to the mass stranding of Long-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melaena) on the Holderness coast in January 1985 has enabled an analysis of the age range and social composition of this population. This study has been offered for publication in The Naturalist.

Other mammal related studies completed by the YNU Mammal Recorder during 2011 have included ‘When did the Weasel become part of the Yorkshire fauna’; ‘Ice- age Mammals in the Don Gorge, Doncaster: A tribute to Edward Bennett Jenkinson

FGS (1838-1878)’; ‘Historical records of the Dormouse (Muscardinus avellana) on the North York Moors and adjacent areas of Cleveland and North Yorkshire’; ‘Bird Pellet Studies in the North York Moors and adjacent areas of Cleveland and North Yorkshire areas: Introduction and sources’.

As part of the YNU programme to digitise the backlog of Yorkshire mammal records, over 2,800 VC61 records (1981 to 1990) have been transcribed from the paper archive held by the YNU Mammal Recorder and applied to an EXCEL Spreadsheet. This will be passed to the YNU Biological Recorder for sharing with local Records Centres and the NBN Gateway. Colin Howes

Fish Report Activities of the Marine and Coastal Section, accompanied by fascinated members of the public, generated records of rock pool fish including Long-spined sea scorpion (Taurulus bubalis), Shanny (Lipophrys pholis), Butterfish (Pholis gunnellus), Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) and Montagu’s sea-snail (Liparis montagui), photographs taken by Paula Lightfoot featuring on the YNU website.

A further outline of Yorkshire records of the now extinct Burbot (Lota lota) is given in ‘A Review of the historical distribution and status of the burbot in English rivers.’ Worthington, T., Kemp, P.S., Osborne, P.E., Howes, C. and Easton, K. (2011) Journal of Applied Ichthyology 27 (suppl. 1): 1-8. Colin Howes

YNU Birds Section Over the last 12 months the Section has helped compile data covering a range of bird-related issues, including contributions to the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, a review of Scarce Migrants between 2006-10 and the unprecedented invasion of Lapland Buntings in 2010. A major area involves assisting the work of the British Birds Rarities Committee, ensuring prompt submission and thorough documentation of national rarities. Concurrent with this, the Section’s Adjudication Panel has assessed in excess of 100 records of county rarities over the last 12 months, working hard to produce decisions in as timely a manner as possible. Records are now exclusively circulated electronically and an 85% of 2010 records were judged before the end of the year. Obviously the Section’s main aim is to summarise all of the aforementioned information in the annual Yorkshire Bird Report. The 2010 Bird Report will be published in mid-May and the number of records submitted for inclusion once again increased substantially. The Union wishes to thank all contributors to our increasingly popular report. The 2010 Report included details of Yorkshire’s first ever Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, as well as a host of other mouth-watering rarities including Black-throated Thrush, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Brown Flycatcher and two Fea’s Petrels. In addition, it details how species were influenced by two of the coldest spells of weather over the last few decades, as well as documenting several spectacular autumn ‘falls’ that occurred from mid August through into October. Copies of the latest Yorkshire Bird Report can be ordered from Jill Warwick for £10 plus postage & packing; contact [email protected] or 01765 602832. Several previous Reports are also still available, at discounted rates. Craig Thomas

Entomological Section Two indoor meetings have been held during 2011, following the pattern established in recent years, the first at Wilberfoss in April for the presentation of Recorders’ Reports, and the second at Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery for the Annual General Meeting.

On both occasions the formal business was followed by displays of members’ exhibits and a general conversazione. The standard of exhibits was high on both occasions and covered a wide range of subjects, from displays of insect specimens newly recorded in Yorkshire (which often prompt discussion of climate change!), to photographic records of galls. The AGM was graced by the exhibition of a recently executed portrait of our distinguished former colleague, the late Dr Peter Skidmore.

There was just Sectional field meeting during the year held at Thorpe Marsh Nature Reserve as a joint meeting with the Sorby Society and British Plant Gall Society. The Section was represented at all five vice-county meetings of the full Union. Some useful recording was undertaken and highlights appeared in the published reports.

YNU members and its affiliated societies made a substantial contribution to Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) of Britain and Ireland with Bob Marsh our Coleoptera recorder co-ordinating the YNU records. W A Ely added another 100 species to the list of Yorkshire Ichneuman (Hymenoptera: Parasitica) as a result of surveying and also being able to use new keys to identify old unidentified specimen collected over many years.

The Union was represented by members of the Section at the Royal Entomological Society’s ‘Insect Festival’ held in the Museum Gardens in York in July. This event was rated a huge success and our exhibitors were kept extremely busy throughout the day. This fine educational event is greatly appreciated by young and old alike.

It is gratifying to report that the Section is attracting several enthusiastic new members who are making useful contributions to the on-going work on invertebrates within the County.

Roy Crossley

Lepidoptera Group The annual group meeting was held at Bramham on 6 March 2011 with thirty-six participants. The weather in 2011 was generally noticeable for the early warm spring bringing out record numbers of spring moths and a warm autumn/early winter resulting in several "spring" species recorded before the end of the year. The total number of moth records submitted in 2011 had increased by 4,000 to a record of 135,942 with a total of 1159 species, up by 27 species on 2010. The number of contributors was over 220. The Yorkshire database now contains 1,458,593 records of 5.7 million moths.

Only one new macro species was added to the list – the Four-spotted at Armthorpe. There were a small number of new vice county records: VC61 - Lunar-spotted Pinion; in VC62 - Beautiful Hook-tip; in VC64 - Waved Black, Silvery Arches Sycamore and Beautiful Snout; VC65 - Vine's Rustic (Hutton Conyers), Suspected

and Pinion-streaked Snout. There were approximately 30 new vice county micro moth records and several new county records: Ypsolopha horridella, Ptocheuusa paupella, Hymenia recurvalis, Etiella zinckenella and Ephestia parasitella Records are sent to National Moth Recording Scheme, National Pyralid and Plume scheme, National Gelechiid Recording Scheme, National Leaf-mining Lepidoptera Scheme plus all records of migrants to Sean Clancy who coordinates national migrant records and all micro-lepidoptera VC records go to John Langmaid and Mark Young who publish these in The Entomologist’s Record.

During 2011 we also saw the publication of the joint YNU and Butterfly Conservation Butterflies and Moths annual report (Argus 60), which included a 10-year update report from 2001-2010.

The group continued its activities in 2011, with more than 20 organised public moth trapping events throughout the county and overnight prior to one YNU Field Excursion. The Lepidoptera Group also had a stand at the Royal Entomological Society's Insect Festival on 3rd July held at the Hospitium in the Yorkshire Museum Gardens in York. Several thousand members of the public attended the event. A moth identification day was held on 27th August at St Nicholas Fields Environment Centre in York supported by the Big Lottery Fund and OPAL. More than 20 people attended. Dave Chesmore

Conchological Section The status of the Yorkshire Conchological Society’s ongoing recording scheme at the date of the AGM is as follows; 47,862 records from 3,114 sites are now in the database. This is an additional 1,749 records with198 extra sites visited in 2011. Most of these new sites are bases in four areas, the northern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, VC61, the Yorkshire Dales in VC64 and 65 and areas surrounding the North Yorkshire Moors in VC62. In April a joint meeting with Doncaster Naturalists Society was held in the Don Gorge area. The weather was good for April and the morning was spent examining three 1km squares in the Gorge area. The Doncaster naturalists left in mid-afternoon and the remaining members examined a further square of woodland further to the North. Two members of the CSGBI attended the meeting

The number of new records in 2011 is almost half of those recorded in 2009, a year in which we added some 3,394 new records and visited 297 new sites. The downward trend in recording in is mainly due to the very strange weather conditions we have experienced in recent years. Long cold winters followed by a dry spring and hot summer have left many of our woodlands very dry and species numbers found at any particular site, have dropped as a result. This, and the cost of transport, has resulted in fewer recording trips.

In 2011 we recorded only 103 different species within the county, this compares with 124 in 2005; 116 in 2006; 122 in 2007; 117 in 2008; 114 in 2009 and 110 in 2010. Although this has shown a constant reduction in the number of species recorded year on year since 2005, we have still added a number of very interesting new vice- county records. Five new VC records have been confirmed in 2011. Arion owenii from Kirby Malham in VC64, Arion ater ss from Strang Land and Tandonia sowerbyi from Reeth both in VC65. Physella gyrina was also found in the Leeds and Liverpool

Canal near Gargrave in sites within both VC63 and VC64. A Physa species was known from both VC63 and VC64 from within Leeds was presumed to be this species, but their true identity has never been established; therefore the Gargrave sites must be considered as the first records for this species. In 2011 we also formalised the recording of marine mollusca and a database of marine species found in Yorkshire has been established. This database presently contains 2,471 records.

During the year members have supported both the YNU and the CSGBI at meetings. In May Adrian Norris, David Lindley and Terry Crawford assisted the YNU with a survey in Upper Nidderdale, which proved extremely interesting. At the YNU VC65 meeting to Gunnerside both Adrian Norris and David Lindley extended their stays and a large number of records were produced from previously unrecorded 1km squares.

The year ends on a sad note. I have deep regret in having to report the death of Eric Thompson. Eric was a long-standing member of the Yorkshire Conchological Society as well as the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. In recent years, age and infirmity prevented him from attending meetings. With his passing Yorkshire has lost yet another good natural historian.

David Lindley & Adrian Norris

Botanical Report During the year the section held a meeting in each vice-county. At Cadeby Common members explored the disused railway lines and ground adjacent to the Trans Pennine Trail. There were many notable limestone plants with the rarest being Danes’ Elder, Sambucus ebulus and Hawkbit Oxtongue, Picris heracioides. The meeting at Spurn concentrated on the old fields, which are slightly saline. There were several typical sea-side plants. The rarest species were Spiked Sedge, Carex spicata and a Stonewort, Chara sp. The venue at Semerwater had to be changed due to heavy rain causing the marshy area to be under water. Members went to Marsett where some conservation work was done removing Garden Lady’s’ Mantle, Alchemilla mollis, which was invading the hillside. Members noted Caraway, Carum carvi and Bay Willow, Salix pentandra on Marsett Village Green.The meeting at Priory Meadows, Cottingham was subject to heavy rain, however many interesting plants were noted notably three species of Water Dropworts, including Corky-fruited Water Dropwort, Oenanthe pimpinelloides growing at its only northern site.

At the Malham weekend work was carried out to obtain modern accurate O.S. Grid References for the rare plants growing on the Tarn Moss. It was good to see that the pond where the Lesser Bladderwort, Utricularia minor had been cleaned out and enlarged. The pond had a large colony of the plant in good condition. The meeting at Clifton Backies had to be abandoned at lunch-time due to heavy rain and a thunderstorm.

The Bryological Section held its usual two meetings visiting underworked squares to obtain modern records.

Don Grant

History Section The key event of the year was our AGM and Work in Progress meeting at Walton Hall. Following the brief and uncomplicated business of the AGM, most members participated in an examination of the icosahedral sundial on the island, one of the chef d’oeuvres, if now a little tattered, of the master sundial maker, George Boulby. Much of the afternoon’s post-prandial discussion was on the matter of the celebrations being planned by Wakefield Council and Museum of the 150th anniversary of Charles Waterton’s death. We noted that John Edmonstone, Waterton’s ex-slave protege, was among Darwin’s tutors, Darwin’s own 150th anniversary having occurred, of course, very recently. Albert Henderson

Lichenology The highlight of the lichenological year was the discovery by Professor Seaward of a considerable quantity of the umbilicate macrolichen, Lasallia pustulata, during the Saturday of the Malham weekend Excursion. Later in the year, an intensive day’s survey was conducted of Mr White’s historically rich orchard at the Old Priory, Norton, by the River Went in South Yorkshire. Albert Henderson

Marine and Coastal Section The YNU has a strong tradition of marine recording, thanks to the Marine Zoology Committee which was formed in 1887 and produced an impressive output of papers, field meeting reports and records published in The Naturalist from the 1880s to the late 1930s. The Committee disbanded in the 1940s, and since that time marine molluscs, fish, birds and mammals have been recorded separately by the relevant specialist sections. However, in response to an upsurge of interest in studying the full breadth of Yorkshire’s marine and coastal ecology and its associated conservation implications, the Marine and Coastal Section was re-launched in 2011. In its first year, the Marine and Coastal Section organised seven field meetings, two training courses and gathered almost 1,300 records of over 350 species. They also carried out Shore Thing surveys at four sites to collect data for the Marine Biological Association on climate change indicators and invasive species. The records have already been made fully publicly available via the NBN Gateway. Paula Lightfoot

SCARBOROUGH BIOBLITZ AND ENVIRONMENT FAIR

Introduction The Scarborough BioBlitz and Environment Fair was the largest event of its kind ever undertaken in Yorkshire. The event was a resounding success from the point of view of the participating public and the organisers.

The purpose of the event was to help safeguard the rich biodiversity of the Yorkshire Coast for the long-term and to engage with visitors and local communities in celebrating the rich coastal environment. The event was also organised to celebrate 150 years of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and to stimulate more interest in the marine environment, following the re-formation of the Marine and Coastal Section.

Events 2nd June – Briefing of experts and survey of North Bay and environs 3rd June – Family activities, events and survey of South Bay 4th June – Environment Fair at the Spa, plus family activities and events

Economic Benefit Close to 100 specialists in their various fields helped or are helping with the identification of material collected or photographed. Nearly all the specialists had overnight stays within the Scarborough area. We estimate that there was an additional 200 or so overnight stays as a direct result of the Bioblitz. Specialists attended the event from as far afield as Weymouth in the south and Inverness to the north, with others from Wales, as well as North, East, West and South Yorkshire. Some long-distant attendees even extended their stay as an annual holiday.

Public Benefit We actively engaged with over 1,100 people over the three days, most of whom became involved with one activity or another. Although Thursday the 2nd of June was intended to be only for specialists, some members of the public still participated in the event at this stage. The lack of greater public involvement at this venue had to be made on health and safely grounds due to the more dangerous rock formations at Scalby Ness, some of which are higher out to sea than those closer to the shore, with the subsequent risk of people being marooned on rocks by the incoming tide. However, a successful public Dinosaur Footprint walk also took place on the 2nd with the unexpectedly exciting discovery of a new important fossil footprint of a long- extinct crocodile. It is hoped that this fossil will go on display at the local Rotunda Museum in due course.

Public walks and activities ranging from botanical walks to rock pooling took place on the Friday and Saturday with some people attending Bat detecting events on both the Thursday and Friday evenings, with four species of bat being recorded. The Environment Fair on Saturday the 4th of June was such a success that a number of the organisations involved asked if we could establish it as an annual event.

Scientific outcomes The BioBlitz elements were also successful. With the involvement of both the local fishermen and divers we were able to produce a number of interesting and new records for the area. It will take some time to get a full list together as quite a lot of material has been forwarded to experts for further analysis and identification. Once this process is completed we hope to be able to put a full report together for publication.

At the year-end, well over 2,612 individual sightings have been entered into the Recorder 6 database of the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre, which covers the Scarborough area. We recorded 1,158 species of which 23 were Biodiversity Action Plan species.

Large numbers of photographs were taken over the three days many of which can be found via the YNU website www.ynu.org.uk/scarboroughbioblitz

Media Coverage A significant amount of media coverage was produced by the event:

TV - Two and a half minutes of TV coverage by BBC Look North took place on 3rd June. Radio - Yorkshire Coast Radio broadcast Interviews with participants on the 3rd June Press - Substantial spreads were published in the Scarborough Evening News on both the 3rd and 6th of June

Welcome to Yorkshire Support. The YNU on behalf of all participating organisations thank for the support of Welcome to Yorkshire whose financial help allowed the event to take place in a safe and well-publicised manner. The purchase of high-viz vests with the Welcome to Yorkshire logo prominently overprinted ensured that all leaders could be easily seen and identified by the public and helped ensure that no member of the group was left to explore the lower shores without a land-based lookout watching over them.

Four large banners were printed and hung along the seafront, harbour, Spa and the Sealife Centre, Large and small posters and leaflets ensured that both visitors to Scarborough and the local public knew about the event. Much of the print was distributed by TICs in Scarborough, Whitby, Filey, Bridlington, Malton and Pickering.

We are also grateful for the valuable publicity, which resulted from inclusion in the monthly e-newsletter produced by Welcome to Yorkshire.

List of participating organisations (* these organisations contributed staff time):

The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Yorkshire & Humber Environmental Data Network* OPAL (University of York)* Natural England* Scarborough Borough Council* ISpot* Scarborough Museums Trust* Scarborough Field Naturalists’ Society The Sealife Centre BTO, British Trust for Ornithology Yorkshire Wildlife Trust University of York Wildlines Education Trust* Butterfly Conservation, Yorkshire University of Hull, Scarborough Campus* University of Hull, Hull Campus* The Natural History Museum, London* East Yorkshire Bird Ringing Group Yorkshire Conchological Society The Badger Group Ryedale Natural History Society Yorkshire Coast Maritime Archive Flamborough Head Management Group NEIFCA East Riding Seasearch Northeast Scarborough Sub-aqua Club NBN - National Biological Network*

In addition to funding from Welcome to Yorkshire, the Union wishes to acknowledge financial assistance from the OPAL project. This provided equipment for participants to use on field demonstrations during the Bioblitz and also to pay for specialist training of field naturalists from the YNU and other organisations in identification skills for marine recording. The financial implications are reflected in notes 2a and 3b of the SOFA. We wish to thank: Adrian Norris for being the YNU lead on this project; also Natural England, the Yorkshire and Humber Environmental Data Network (in particular Mark Wills who supervised data entry and kept the score), iSpot, OPAL and the Scarborough Museums Trust for staff time, which is not reflected in our accounts. We also thank the Scarborough Sealife Centre for use of their premises for an initial training day for leaders and English Heritage for permission to use Scarborough Castle for Bird Watching where one of the most fascinating observations witnessed by Mick Carroll was a pair of Peregrine Falcon carrying a Starling as prey.

5. FINANCIAL REVIEW Turnover excluding legacies at £51,573 (£32,850 in 2011, £28,187 in 2010) increased in this financial year, mainly due to income from sales of the new publications, the South Yorkshire Plant Atlas and the Story of South Yorkshire Botany and grants received for the Scarborough Bioblitz. Income from individual membership subscriptions and from library and university subscriptions showed an 11% increase on the previous year, while income from affiliated societies’ subscriptions showed a 25% decrease due to delayed payments. A grant of £2,500 was paid to the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre to help sponsor a joint project to encourage the mobilisation and use of volunteer data.

The integration of the Naturalist and the Bulletin led to a reduced expenditure on these publications of 28%, which more than compensated for the small increase of 5% in the cost of producing the Bird Report and the Butterfly and Moth Report. We showed an operating loss of -£3,321 on general funds including legacies; this is mainly due to the cost of producing the aforementioned high quality botanical publications, and it is hoped that this loss will be recouped in the coming year through book sales and the recruitment of new members.

Legacies: During the 2010-11 financial year we were notified of a legacy from Mr Robert Dickens. The sum of £5,418 was received during this financial year upon the sale of Mr Dickens’ house. We were also notified this year of a legacy from Dr Robert Pemberton in the form of his library of books, journals, maps and offprints, with the request that the proceeds from any sale of those not retained by the Union’s library at St. William’s College, be used for the benefit of said library.

Due to market conditions, our COIF cash holding showed an unrealised loss on investment assets of 1.3% over the course of the last financial year. Most of our surplus funds are invested in four specialist charity funds operated by CCLA Investment Management Ltd, who operate an ethical investment policy. At the financial year end the Union had £261,396 either held on deposit or invested within (i) the COIF Investment Fund, which aims to provide an above-average return performance through capital and income return combined; (ii) the COIF Property Fund, which aims to achieve a high and sustainable level of income with some capital appreciation and (iii) the COIF Global Investment Fund which aims to provide an income yield greater than that on the FTSE All World Series World Index. The allocation of investments between the three funds is shown in note 4(a) of the Financial Statements. Surplus cash is held in The COIF Charities Deposit Fund, rated Aaa by Moody’s.

The Union still faces considerable financial challenges. This is likely to be exacerbated in the next financial year due to increased administration and governance costs if we are unable to find a volunteer to take on various administrative tasks.

Investment and Reserves Policy: The Charity Commission requires each registered charity to have a policy covering its reserves. In March 2002, the Executive agreed that our reserves of unrestricted funds are to be invested, in accordance with the Trustee Investment Act 2000, to provide an income to be used to promote the study of natural history of Yorkshire through conferences, research, meetings and publications. This matter was considered again in October 2011, and it

was agreed to renew the policy. Once again, the Trustees used investment income to assist with conference costs and publication of journals and books.

6. FUTURE PLANS. 1. To continue to develop our educational programme working in partnership with the OPAL project, Leeds Museums Service and Leeds University School of Biology. 2. To assist the Yorkshire Dales National Park and other public bodies in achieving their vision for Biodiversity 2020. 3. To gather more data electronically and use regional data facilities to assist with producing reports - (increased progress). 4. To support the new formed Marine and Coastal section recording. 5. To assist at a public Bioblitz in based at York Museum gardens in June 2012.

7. FUNDS HELD AS CUSTODIAN TRUSTEE The Union does not act as a Custodian Trustee for any other charity.

STATEMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE’S (TRUSTEES’) RESPONSIBILITIES.

The Charities Act 2011 requires the Executive Committee of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union to prepare financial statements for each financial period. In preparing these financial statements, the Executive Committee has adopted the recommendations laid out in the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities – (SORP 2005) issued by the Accounting Standards Board and confirmed by the Charity Commissioners. The Executive considers that in preparing these financial statements, it has used appropriate accounting policies, consistently applied and supported by reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates and has complied with current statutory requirements and the charity’s constitution.

The Executive Committee is responsible for keeping proper accounting records to enable it to comply with the Charities Act 2011. The Executive Committee is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Union and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf:

Mr J.K. Bowers (Chairman). 24th June 2012

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF

YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS’ UNION

I report on the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31st March 2012 which are set out on pages 25 to 31

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act), as amended by s.28 of the Charities Act 2006) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to: • examine the financial statements (under section 45 of the 2011 Act), • to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act, as amended), and • to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the financial statements.

Independent examiner's statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that: ! proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act); and ! financial statements are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act; or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

John M G Foster FCA West and Foster Chartered Accountants 2 Broomgrove Road Sheffield S10 2LR 26th July 2012

24 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Charity Commission Registered Number 224018

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st March 2012

See Unrestricted Note funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2012 Total funds 2011 £ £ £ £ Incoming Resources Voluntary Income 2[a] 13,974 2,899 16,873 5,835 Investment income 2[b] 11,125 1,744 12,869 12,801 Incoming resources from generated funds 25,098 4,643 29,741 18,636

Incoming resources from charitable activities 2[c] 27,022 0 27,022 17,535 Other incoming resources 2(d) 228 0 228 75

Total Incoming Resources 52,348 4,643 56,991 36,246

Resources Expended

Costs of generating funds 3[a] 1,804 0 1,804 0 Charitable activities 3[b,c] 52,474 8,994 61,468 30,644 Governance costs 3[d] 1,592 0 1,592 1,298

Total Resources Expended 55,871 8,994 64,864 31,942

Net Incoming Resources before transfers -3,522 -4,351 -7,873 4,304 Gross Transfers between funds 6 201 -201 0 0

Net Incoming Resources before other recognised gains /(losses) -3,321 -4,552 -7,873 4,304

Gains/(losses) on investment assets Realised 0 0 0 -819 Unrealised -2,716 -465 -3,181 4,433 Net movement in funds -6,037 -5,016 -11,054 7,918

Total Funds brought forward at 1st April 2011 231,886 54,737 286,623 278,705

Total Funds carried forward at 31st March 2012 £ 225,849 £ 49,721 £ 275,568 £ 278,705

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 27 to 31 form part of these financial statements

Page 25 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Charity Commission Registered Number 224018

Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2012

Note 2012 2011 £ £ £ £ Fixed Assets

Investments 4a 245,263 248,444 Tangible assets 4b 570 712 Total Fixed Assets 245,833 249,156

Current Assets Prepayments and accrued income 1,054 5,741 Cash at bank & in hand 38,733 34,780

39,788 40,521

Creditors - amounts falling due within one year 5 10,052 1,807 2,052 Net Current Assets 29,735 37,467

Net Assets 8 £ 275,568 £ 286,623

Funds Unrestricted Income Funds 7 225,648 231,885 Restricted Income Funds 7 49,921 54,737

Total Charity Funds £ 275,568 £ 286,623

The Financial Statements on pages 25 to 31 were approved by the Executive Committee on 24th June 2012 and signed on its behalf by

Mr J K Bowers Chairman

Mrs P Lightfoot Treasurer

The notes on pages 27 to 31 form part of these financial statements

Page 26 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Notes to the Financial Statements for year ended 31st March 2012 1. Accounting Policies a) Accounting Convention (i) The financial statements are prepared under the historic cost convention as modified by the inclusion of investments at market value and in accordance with the Finanicial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April, 2008). In preparing the financial statements the charity follows best practice as laid down in the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (SORP 2005) and by the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2005.

b) Restricted Funds (i) Restricted Funds are those where the use has been specified by the donor (ii) Restricted Funds include grants from other bodies - statutory, corporate or charitable for specific purposes [iii] The ornithologcal fund represents funds used by the ornithological section and includes funds previously held by the Protection of Birds Commitee. [iv] The Special Publications fund includes the interest on a donation to enable the cost of printing photographs in the Naturalist on a regular basis. Grants or loans may also be given to authors. [v] The Mycological fund represents cash raised from the sale of the Fungus Flora of Yorkshire.

c) Income and Expenditure i) Revenue grants and payments are taken to the income and expenditure account in the years to which they relate ii) Subscriptions and legacies are accounted for on a cash received basis. iii) Operating Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. iv) The Charity has trustees and volunteers liability insurance v) Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is conveyed to the recipient vi) Charitable activities include all costs of providing services or goods by the charity for charitable purposes vii) Support costs include office, communications, insurance and other costs identifiable as integral to support the charity's objects and are shown in note 3(c). viii) Govenance comprises costs for the running of the charity itself as an organisation.

d) Capital Expenditure The costs of publications are written off at the time of payment. Office equipment purchased valued under £1300 is written off in the year of purchase, other equipment is capitalised at cost and depreciated at the rate of 20% on a reducing balance basis

e) Salary and Pension Costs The Union employs no staff - its administration and proceedings are all handled by volunteers. No statement on pensions is required under FRS 17

f) Value of Investments The financial statements show the selling value of the investments at 31/3/12 using the price listed in the Financial Times. Investments are undertaken for the Union by a specialist charity investment house, viz. COIF Charity Investment Funds

g) Changes to previous financial statements: There has been no change to the accounting policies (valuation rules and methods of accounting) since the previous financial period.

h) Value Added Taxation The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union is not registered for Value Added Tax. The financial statements include VAT where applied.

Page 27 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Notes to the Financial Statements for year ended 31st March 2012

Unrestricted funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2012 Total Funds 2011 £ £ £ £ 2. Incoming Resources 2(a) Voluntary Income Legacies 5,418 - 5,418 3,396 Donations 500 - 500 9 Tax refunds on covenants & gift aid 2,662 - 2,662 2,242 Grants received 5,000 2,899 7,899 General Grants - - - Development appeal 394 - 394 188

£ 13,974 £ 2,899 £ 16,873 £ 5,835

2(b) Investment Income Dividends - UK Income Units 11,090 1,651 12,741 12,669 Interest on cash deposits 35 - 35 33 Interest: - Ornithological Fund - 44 44 33 - Special Publications & Illustrations Fund - 40 40 57 - Mycological Publication Fund - 8 8 9 £ 11,125 £ 1,744 £ 12,869 £ 12,801

2(c) Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities Subscriptions:- Members and Associates 9,745 - 9,745 8,787 Affiliated Societies 895 - 895 1,196 Libraries and Universities 1,453 - 1,453 1,305 Sponsored members - - - - Book and publication sales 253 - 253 87 Conference and meetings 1,675 - 1,675 2,367 Sale of Bird Reports 2008 and earlier 627 - 627 3,146 Sale of Bird Reports, 2009 1,369 - 1,369 - Advertising Income 650 - 650 300 Special publications & illustrations - - - 93 The South Yorkshire Plant Atlas 8,409 - 8,409 - The Story of South Yorkshire Botany 1,769 - 1,769 - Lepidoptera book sales 177 - 177 254 Mycological Book Sales - - - - Yorkshire &Humber Environmental Data - - - -

£ 27,022 - £ 27,022 £ 17,535

2(d) Other Incoming Resources Other income £ 228 - £ 228 £ 75

Page 28 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Notes to the Financial Statements for year ended 31st March 2012

3. Resources Expended

Unrestricted funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2012 Total Funds 2011 £ £ £ £ 3[a] COSTS of GENERATING FUNDS General Funds 416 - 416 - Development Fund 1,388 - 1,388 - £ 1,804 £ - £ 1,804 £ -

3[b] CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Total grants to institutions (3) 2,545 - 2,545 1,505 Publication Costs: The Naturalist 6,147 - 6,147 6,225 The Bird Report 5,471 1,771 7,242 6,783 The Bulletin - - - 2,272 The Butterflies & Moths Report 2,121 - 2,121 2,087 South Yorkshire Plant Atlas 24,150 - 24,150 - Story of South Yorkshire Botany 3,267 - 3,267 - Book Sales postage 710 - 710 292 Special Publications & Illustrations - 4,349 4,349 1,038 Conference & meetings expenses 3,233 - 3,233 4,302 Ornithological section expenses 93 21 113 233 Education and Training 586 - 586 1,183 Scarborough Bioblitz 1,851 2,853 4,704 249

£50,174 £ 8,994 £59,168 £ 26,169

3[c] SUPPORT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Printing and stationery 286 - 286 306 Officers expenses 30 - 30 60 Depreciation of display equipment 142 - 142 178 Library - - - - Other administrative expenses 1,593 - 1,593 2,216 Computer equipment, consumables 249 - 249 1,247 Development account - - - 468 - - - - £ 2,300 £ - £ 2,300 £ 4,475

3[d] EXPENDITURE on GOVERNANCE Independent Examiner's fee for reporting on the financial statements 700 - 700 675 Printing and stationery costs 862 - 862 552 Meeting costs - - - 30 Administration costs 30 - 30 41 £ 1,592 £ - £ 1,592 £ 1,298

Page 29 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Notes to the Financial Statements for year ended 31st March 2012 4. Fixed Assets 4(a) Investments listed on a recognised Stock Exchange 2012 2011 Unrestricted funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2012 Total funds 2011 £ £ £ £

Market value at 1st April 2011 212,538 35,906 248,444 248,444 Additions at cost - - - - Disposals - - - - Unrealised Gains (losses) on investment assets -2,716 -465 -3,181 -

Market value at 31st March 2012 £ 209,822 £ 35,441 £ 245,263 £ 248,444

Historical Cost 31st March 2012 £ 210,980 £ 34,260 £ 245,240 £ 217,533

Investments representing more than 5% of the portfolio by market value are as follows: 2012 2011 General Funds at 31st March 2012 £ £ COIF Charities Investment Fund 147,915 70% 149,239 70% COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund - 0% - 0% COIF Charities Global Equity Funds 13,712 7% 14,182 7% COIF Charities Property Fund 48,195 23% 49,117 23% £ 209,822 100% £ 212,538 100% Ornithological Section (Restricted) £ £ COIF Charities Investment Fund 24,509 69% 24,728 69% COIF Charities Fixed Interest Fund - 0% - 0% COIF Charities Global Equity Funds 2,373 7% 2,455 7% COIF Charities Property Fund 8,559 24% 8,723 24% £ 35,441 100% £ 35,906 100% 4(b)Tangible Fixed Assets Display Equipment Cost: £ At 1st April, 2011 4,548 Additions in th year - Disposals in the year - At 31st March, 2012 4,548

Depreciation: At 1st April, 2011 3,836 Charge for the year 142 At 31st March, 2012 3,978

Net Book Value: At 31st March, 2012 £ 570

At 31st March, 2011 £ 712 5. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 2012 2011 £ £ Bank Overdraft - - South Yorkshire Plant Atlas loan 8,000 - Accruals 2,052 675 £ 10,052 £ 675

Page 30 The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Notes to the Financial Statements for year ended 31st March 2012 6. Transfer of Funds £201 was transferred from the ornithological fund to the general fund during the year.

7. Reconciliation of funds Balance at Movement in Resources Balance at 1st April 2011 Incoming Outgoing 31st March 2012 £ £ £ £ Restricted Funds Ornithological Fund 8,054 1,696 -1,792 7,958 Special Publications & Illustrations Fund 9,655 40 -4,349 5,345 Mycological Publication Fund 1,323 8 0 1,331 Ornithological Acumulated Fund 35,705 -465 35,240 Bioblitz OPAL account 0 2,899 -2,853 46 Total Restricted Funds 54,737 4,178 -8,994 49,921

Unrestricted Funds Accumulated Fund 172,502 2,702 0 175,204 General Revenue Account 56,810 46,537 -54,482 48,864 Designated Development Account 2,574 394 -1,388 1,580 0 0 0 0 Total Unrestricted Funds 231,886 49,632 -55,871 225,648

Total Funds 286,623 53,811 -64,864 275,568

8. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds Display Fixed Asset Net Current Equipment Investments Assets Total £ £ £ £ Restricted Funds Ornithological Fund - - 7,958 7,958 Special Publications & Illustrations Fund - - 5,345 5,345 Mycological Publication Fund - - 1,331 1,331 Ornithological Accumulated Fund - 35,441 - 35,441 Bioblitz - - 46 46 Total Restricted Funds - 35,441 14,680 50,122

Unrestricted Funds Accumulated Fund - 175,204 - 175,204 General Revenue Account 570 34,618 13,476 48,663 Designated Development Account - - 1,580 1,580 Total Unrestricted Funds 570 209,822 15,055 225,446

Total Funds £ 570 £ 245,263 £ 29,735 £ 275,568

9. Related Party Transactions There were no related party transactions during the period 10. Trustees Remuneration No remuneration was paid to trustees during the period. 11. Trustees' Expenses Trustees' expenses reimbursed in respect of travel and telephone totalled £30 for one trustee. (2011 - £60 for one trustee). 12. Status The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union is a registered charity no 224018

Page 31 Page 19 of the Annual Report highlights the re-formation of the Marine and Coastal Section.

Rock pooling at Cayton Bay, Scarborough.

What have I found?

Members of Whitby Naturalists’ Club surveying on the shore.

Ancula gibbosa (Flamborough)

Edible Crab Scarborough.

Dahlia anemone Flamborough

Photographs: Paula Lightfoot Juvenile Asteris rubens

SCARBOROUGH BIOBLITZ 2nd, 3rd and 4th June, 2011

North Bay, Scarborough

Filming for Look North at the Bird Ringing

Malham Tarn VC64 Meeting July 2011