A few hundred RSPB members and staff met in Birmingham on Saturday for the 125th AGM* of the RSPB.
As ever, it was a great opportunity to hear RSPB highlights from the past year, to meet up with some old friends and to learn something new.
My highlights were...
...celebrating the outstanding contribution to nature conservation of this year’s RSPB Medal winner, Professor Dame Georgina Mace. From assessing species extinction risk by pioneering the red list concept, contributing to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and understanding and valuing natural capital, Georgina has been at the cutting edge of conservation thinking throughout her career. She is a worthy recipient of our top award.
...hearing from our head of international science, Dr Juliet Vickery, about the next phase in our attempts to recover Asia’s vultures through the establishment of Vulture Safe Zones where risk of exposure to diclofenac is small. These may become the receptor sites for those vultures bred in captivity. We are twenty years into this recovery programme and we shall stick at it until we secure a sustainable future for these highly threatened birds.
...seeing our work come to life through great talks and new videos about nature friendly farming in the Fens, connecting kids to nature through our schools programme and the successful introduction of marine protected areas around UK Overseas Territories thanks to the Great British Oceans campaign.
My colleague, Jonathan Hall, reminding the RSPB AGM audience why the Marine Protected Area around Ascension Island is so important
...being reassured that the next generation is prepared and fully capable of coping with whatever environmental problems they inherit from us. Jojo Jenner was the latest teenager from our Phoenix Forum to remind us that the environmental leaders of tomorrow are in the wings, waiting to play a big role in shaping our future.
...feeling confident that, despite the current volatile operating environment brought about in part by the Brexit vote, our current conservation strategy is fit for purpose. We’ve summarised our plans in our latest Nature’s Home magazine including producing an infographic (reproduced below) which summarises our ambition. With the support of our members and through deepening collaboration with others, I am convinced that we can successfully do whatever nature needs.
...listening to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra play a public concert at Birmingham New Street Station. They were so good, I missed my train home.
Our AGM will be back in London next year. If you have not been before, why not put 7 October in your diary and come along. You’ll have a great day and I promise you’ll learn something new about the RSPB and leave inspired.
*Given that we were founded in 1889 and are now in our 127th year, I am not sure why we’ve only had 125 AGMs. There’ll be a reason – there always is. If you know, please enlighten me!