The AGM for the Mires Research Group at the BES winter meeting in Warwick is
at 20:30 on Wednesday 19 December in the Engineering Building, F110.

On the agenda:
1. Thematic session for the BES Winter meeting in 2002
2. Progress on MRG web site
3. Any other business (ideally notified to D. Pearce beforehand)

1. The MRG would like to suggest a thematic session for the BES Winter
meeting in 2002.  A theme which gained support at the MRG meeting held in
Sheffield in Sept. was 'Applying long-term perspective to contemporary
problems' - using the unique potential of the wetland archive and long-term
monitoring of sites to provide a longer term view of the origins /
consequences / severity / treatment of contemporary issues in wetlands.
This would include neoecologists as well as palaeoecologists.  Possible
guest speaker: Prof. Barry Warner from Waterloo, Ontario.  This idea needs
refining and a firm proposal submitted to the next BES committee meeting in
February 2002.

2. Progress on MRG web site
From analysing the questionnaire (sent to the bes-mire mailbase around July
2001) and from the MRG meeting in Sheffield (Sept. 2001) it became apparent
that we require a stimulating web site.

The BES as you probably know is redesigning their web site and in the first
instance I suggest that we run our web site within the BES web site.  I have
sent initial web copy to the BES.  The site is due to be launched in
December in time to be showcased at the Winter Meeting.  Once implemented
the system will allow myself and any other named person to edit the MRG
pages.  The site will be based on a series of templates designed by Livewire
Design (who have been contracted by the BES) to give the site a coherent
look and also make maintaining and updating the site easy.  Ownership and
hence responsibility for editing existing copy and producing new material,
will rest with the MRG.
The headings (*) below are links from the MRG main page:
*Bes-mire mailbase
*Future Conferences, Field Visits, Workshops
*PhD Students and Projects
*Useful Links
(useful links e.g. International Mire Conservation Group http://www.imcg.net
Society of Wetland Scientists http://www.sws.org)
*Results of Questionnaire (July 2001)
*Report to the BES (14 Sept. 2001)
(includes a summary of the last three years activities and plans of future
activities)
*Annotated Bibliographies
*Debates
*Reports on Meetings
*Work in Progress
*News about Individuals Activities
(To include short descriptions of 'work in progress', or of sites worked on)
Short Biographies/Interests of Members

I hope many of you will be able to attend this meeting and I promise that it
will be informal and brief (unlike in Sheffield!).  I am sorry that this
is being sent so late but all copy from special topic groups was omitted
from the BES Bulletin (by accident.

Best wishes,
Deborah Pearce