Download the full newsletterPresident’s Report
By Geoff Curry
2020 was a year of change for everybody, and TPT was faced with many challenges. My thanks go to the hard-working Committee who have been very busy in the background keeping TPT running and moving forward. Despite all the challenges in 2020, there have been some very exciting developments over the last 12 months that will dramatically improve the running of TPT.
Early last year the Committee held a planning session to discuss the future direction of TPT and begin developing a Strategic Plan. We discussed the possibility of changing our model to enable us to take more ownership over the type of projects and partners we work with. It was decided to undertake a call for projects and field trips from a range of partner organisations for the 2020/2021 field season. This resulted in a diverse and exciting field trip program, with interest from DPIPWE, Forico, NRM South, Tasmanian Land Conservancy, Enviro-dynamics, and Glenorchy Council. You can read more about these trips in this newsletter.
With the assistance of a grant from the Federal Government’s Communities Environment Program we have also been developing a new TPT website. Many thanks to Priscilla, who has been working hard to deliver this project. The new website will dramatically improve our administrative processes and will be more user friendly. It is in the final stages of development and should be launched in the near future. You can find an article all about the new website in this newsletter.
You may also recall that we sent out a survey to TPT members last year. Thanks to everyone for their feedback which is now being used to help improve the running of TPT. One of the important questions for us was whether members would be willing to pay a membership or make a financial contribution towards the administrative costs of TPT. The majority of respondents indicated that they would pay, which was very encouraging.
In order to receive membership payments or donations we need to register as an incorporated association. So, the Committee has been working towards registering TPT as an incorporated association, which involves developing a constitution. Huge thanks to Allison for taking on this complex task.
Those who attended field trips in 2020 would be aware that TPT had to put in place COVID-19 protocols in order to conduct our field trip program. Members who signed up for DPIPWE trips were asked to complete COVID online training and volunteer induction. Other partner organisations had similar requirements. Thanks to everyone for following these new requirements.
I hope you enjoy this edition of our newsletter and I look forward to another great field trip program in 2021.