Planning for the Annual Exhibition Meeting. 

Meetings & Communications Committee.
Photo: L. Marsh

BSBI's Meetings & Communications Committee met today in the Angela Marmont Centre at the Natural History Museum to plan future meetings (indoor and in the field) and to look at how we communicate what BSBI is doing to our members, the media, the wider public and the scientific community. Our new President, Ian Denholm, is also Chair of what was simply Meetings Committee until today, and has been a driving force behind recent publicity and outreach initiatives, so we all agreed this afternoon to change the name of the Committee to reflect this widening of its remit.

One item on today's agenda was to look at how preparations are going for this year's Annual Exhibition Meeting. We are holding the AEM in London this year, at the Natural History Museum on 23rd November, and the theme is Plants - Publicity - People. 

Ian Denholm and Uta Hamzaoui planning the AEM.
Photo: L. Marsh

Uta Hamzaoui is the Committee member co-ordinating the event. She is preparing a flyer about the AEM, which will go out to all members in the next issue of BSBI News, but the event is also open to anyone interested in the wildflowers of Britain and Ireland. I'll be posting details here about the AEM, and there will be info on the website soon, so non-members can see what is on offer and whether it's worth dropping in on 23rd November to find out more. 

The AEM features talks, posters, exhibits, presentations, natural history booksellers and all things botanical, as well as a chance to meet other botanists, from beginner to expert, and find out what BSBI has to offer. And it's free!