.rfN¥_IIO HOME JOIN EVENTS PLANTS & FUNGI BLOGS & PUBLICATIONS MEMBERS STUDENTS ABOUT 'Botanical Society . of _scotland. F_or-a11-epthusiasts of.plints'and fungi >". JOIN Lectures live, and.. .INCREA'SING_HINTS"O Fl& CILEN PROSEN: ECOLOGICAL BLANK CANVASI OR BOTANICAL HOTSPOTP AN EVENING WITH PROF. SPENCER BARRETT Botanical Society of Scotland Roval Botanic Garden, Edinburgb ard-ii"inninx i%"riter of Abandonment: ruderal swies. DXtWyte pl ther Strange 2nd beautiflll resideTtLs of th Cal Fl n k=. TF£ CAPE FLORISTIC WNGDOM: FLOWER SEX HOTSPOT AND EcTU￿E s HEN: THU 19 DEC 18.00-19.00 Jonathan Silvertown HEIIE: LECTLIRF. THF4TRE, RBGE. EDINBI.IRC,H DK BwAN STEIDINGER PRESENrs: THF. I.ATITiif)INAI. TRF.F. &PF.CIF. J5SS LEC RE SERIES Dinner with Darwin EITHER WAY- EN]OY AN EVENING WITH DAVID WILKINSON NUSONA EVENING :_ i ()()I), I)IIINK. ANI) EVC)I.UTIIIN TO DELVE AND DEBATE INTO THE PERSPECTIVES OF A UNDER FLOWERS . IJ IRP ALS ## Lectures live, and then on YouTube Thanks to Maria Chamberlain for organizing the lecture programme and Jim McIntosh for editing videos. Isn’t this where the famous Plant Pub meets? **----- Start of picture text -----**
Yes it is!
Come on
up!
**----- End of picture text -----**
Plant Pub 2[nd] Thursday, Sept –June (Dec, Jan) The Wash Bar The Mound Edinburgh Next: Nov 13[th] Chris Jeffrey ## Susan White Ben Averis We welcome items from anyone, including non-members. MOHE EYEITS PLMTS I FUM61 BL06S1 PUBLICA710*5 MMBERS STUDEMTS M4YT June 2025 Time Cost Sw"up8 So Far qsun. 11.'00- 13'.00 West Loihian Bings West Lothtsan Bings • kleetiry S3110 attendees • ReglstÈr and Slgn Up +J $19n ill to Sign Up q Sun, 10..00- 16".00 Hotyrood Pdrk Towards 900 plaThts to ¢elebraie Edinburgh gCKI Hotyrood Park Education Cen *F￿ * Register andsign Up attendees +J In to&gn Up CALENDAR Qsat io..00- 28 16..00 Ben Chonsie (via Glen T￿￿et}. BSS ￿pIne Field Meeting Ben Chonsie giiio * Register and Sign Up Sign up via this calendar. If an event shows as FULL. you can sign up anyway and your name will go list. Then, if a place later becomes available, you will be contacted. If you'd like to organise a field m¢ use the contscts page to let Us know and we'll get back to you. attendees Sign in to Sign Up EventType'. All- Dayofwttk. ￿l- Fitters- q Appty Firter July 2025 Time Cost So Far May 2025 Qsat 10:30- 12 17..30 Evanton. Easier Ross EvaThtor¥ Easter Ross S 0125 * Reglster and Sign Up *JSw)n into Sign Up Tlme Cost ￿.up8 SoFar q SaL 10".30- 12 17."30 Kinghorn Loch, Fife The Ecolow Cen￿. Kinghom QTue. 20 19..00- 21..00 CamustieGolf c￿jrse Camoustie Golf c￿rse g2125 •+Re915terand Up -• RewstEYaTrd &gn Up attendees aitendees Jsyn Into Up *JSKJll ￿10 Vp • F￿hd￿•rt QTh￿ 19..00- 29 21..00 Evening crash course in Ib)wefing £3.50 plant ID Ashworth Laboratory 6145 attendees •• Reg¥sTWa￿ Up qsaL ii..00- 26 16..00 Carsehall Bog, near Loch Leyen Loch Leverfs Larder •+Re9i5terand S￿rn Up Jsvjn Into &gn Up ## • We have an active student group, which is represented on Council - An undergraduate thesis prize - Training and fieldwork grants. - We support Botanical University Challenge, which was won this year by the University of Aberdeen ## _**Plant of the Week**_ **, every week since May 2020 Various contributors, images by Chris Jeffree and others** **Visit botsoc.scot** **> 300 species, now indexed** **Suggestions and offers are always welcome!** **Our science journal,** _**Plant Ecology and Diversity**_ **(On-line only, from 2025)** **Featuring a Special Issue** _**Urban Floras - a contribution to biodiversity**_ **A few early online articles of the Special Issue are available. Others are coming soon.** **Contents of 2024: 17 papers published, my ‘top pick’ is is:** **Experiment at Glensaugh: Over 20 volatile compounds identified** ## **BSS Group: Urban Flora of Scotland (2015-now)** _**(“what grows in your street”)**_ **Analysis:** Science papers now appearing online in the Special Issue of _**Plant Ecology and Diversity**_ **Publication:** BSS is funding a full-colour 400 page book _**The Urban Flora of Scotland**_ **Dissemination:** the complete **irecord data set** now being ‘cleaned’ before being made widely available via the EIDC (UK/CEH Environmental Information Data Centre) **Public Engagement: FSC WildID Guide** now available Urban Flora of Scotland WildlD Guide WildlD Urban plants of Scotland and northern Engla .rfN¥_IIO HOME JOIN EVENTS PLANTS & FUNGI BLOGS & PUBLICATIONS MEMBERS STUDENTS ABOUT 'Botanical Society . of _scotland. F_or-a11-epthusiasts of.plints'and fungi >". JOIN , www.botsoc.scot **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** The Botanical Society of Scotland is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) SC016283 1 ## **Contents** |Income and expenditure account|Page 2| |---|---| |Balance Sheet|Page 3| |Notes to the financial statements|Pages 4 - 6| |Independent Examiner’s Report|Page 7| **Bankers BSS Head Office** Bank of Scotland c/o Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 20a Inverleith Row Edinburgh EH3 5LR The Botanical Society of Scotland is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) SC016283 1 ## **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** |**Statement of Bank Receipts and Payments**|**Note**|**2025-26(£)**|**2024-25(£)**| |---|---|---|---| |**1. Incoming resources, voluntary Income:**|||| |Subscriptions||6,184.42|
5,504.43| |Donations||246.47|
745.81| |GiftAid Claim|Note 5|4,139.85|
-| |RogerWestBequest|Note 6|44,818.58|-| |**Total **||**55,389.32**|**6,250.24**| |**2. Incoming resources, charitable activities:**|||| |Editorial Subvention||3,380.00|
3,380.00| |Royalties-Journal (Taylor & Francis)|Note 7|10,578.42|
-| |**Total**||**13,958.42**|
**3,380.00**| |**Total - All Incoming Resources**||**69,347.74 **|
**9,630.24**| |Interest-CCLA InvestmentAccounts||6,690.63|6,407.58| |**Total– All Incoming Resources & Bank**||**76,038.37**|
**16,037.82**| |**3. Payments: Costs of generating funds**|||| |Journal, Members’Copies & Edit. Meeting|Note 8|**8,184.86**|
**2,936.00**| |**4. Charitable activities, directly allocated:**|||| |LectureExpenses (incl.hospitality, editingYouTube videos)||1,658.74|
890.91| |BSS/BSBIJointAnnualConference||300.00|360.00| |Printing Newsletter||1,216.68|
3,029.54| |Designing Newsletter|Note 9|1,000.00|
1,000.00| |Student Thesis Prize|Note 10|200.00|
400.00| |Student Grants|Note 11|3,757.19|
1,328.62| |BotanicalUniversity Challenge|Note12|2,000.00|2,000.00| |Student GroupExpenses||-|
-| |**Total**||**10,132.61**|
**9,009.07**| |**5. Charitable Activities, support costs:**|||| |Printing||88.00|
-| |Insurance||100.00|96.00| |**Total**||**188.00**|**96.00**| |**Total - AllCharitable Activities**||**18,505.47**|**12,041.07**| |**6. Governance costs:**|||| |Subscription rebate|Note 13|-|-| |Accounting Fees||210.00|
200.00| |Officers’ Expenses (incl. postage, publicity)||45.89|204.36| |Website Upgrade||675.00|215.99| |WebCollect–Membership Management||-|324.20| |MyClubHouse–New Membership Management|Note 14|656.16|
606.00| |Bank charges for paying in cash|Note 15|0.81|| |**Total– Governance**||**1,587.86**|
**1,550.55**| |**Total Net Resources Expended**||**20,093.33**|**13,591.62**| |**Net**||**55,945.04 **|
**2,446.20**| |**Purchase of investments**||**-**|**(25,000.00)**| |**Net surplus on restricted funds**|Note16|**22,658.00**|**20,000.00**| |**Net surplus on unrestricted funds**||**33,287.04 **|
**(42,553.80)**| 3 ## **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** |**Statement of Balances**||**2025-26(£)**|**2024-25(£)**| |---|---|---|---| |Closing balances at bank, 30April||72,516.41|
16,571.37| |Opening balances at bank, 1 May||(16,571.37)|
(39,125.17)| |**Surplus/(deficit) for financial year**||**55,945.04 **|
**(22,553.80)**| |Movement on unrestricted funds||33,287.04|
(42,553.80)| |Movement on restricted funds||22,658.00|
20,000.00| |**Surplus/(deficit) for the financial year**||**55,945.04 **|
**(22,553.80)**| ||||| |**Cash**|||| |Closing Bank Balance||19,846.12|
7,591.71| |Cash in hand||-|
-| |Cash in CCLA reserve fund (C–Deposit Fund)|Note 17|52,670.29|
8,979.66| |**Total**||**72,516.41**|
**16,571.37**| ||||| |CCLA Investments (AA-Ethical Income Fund)||169,208.42|
172,383.04| |CCLA Investments (AB–Ethical Accum. Fund)|Note 18|48,614.20|
47,970.91| |**Total**||**217,822.62**|
**220,353.95**| |**Net Assets**||**290,339.03**|
**236,925.32**| ||||| |**Reserves (restricted) Funds**|Note 19||| |SymingtonGrieveTrustFund||500.00|500.00| |Urban Flora Project||24,000.00|
2,342.00| |DouglasMalcolm Bequest (conferences)||10,000.00|10,000.00| |Taylor & Francis (journal editing)||21,000.00|
20,000.00| |**Total**||**55.500.00**|
**32,842.00**| ||||| |**General (unrestricted) funds**||**234,839.03**|
**204,083.32**| |**Total Available Funds **||**290,339.03**|**236,925,32**| 4 ## **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** ## **Notes to the Statements of Receipts & Payments** ## **Note 1 - Accounting Policies** - **Receipts and Payments** These accounts are presented as receipts and payments - **VAT:** the Society is not registered for VAT, so, expenditure includes VAT, where appropriate. - **Unrestricted funds, Revenue** - The funds of the Society that the Council are free to use are in accordance with the Society’s objectives. Any unrestricted revenue surplus is transferred to the unrestricted capital fund. ## **Note 2 - Council members remuneration** Council members do not receive any remuneration in their role as council members. ## **Note 3 - Taxation** The Society is recognised by the Inland Revenue as a Charity. No charge for taxation arises on the results for the year. ## **Note 4 - Commitments and contingent liabilities** There are no contingent liabilities at the 2025-26 year-end. Editorial subventions from Taylor & Francis in support of the editing costs of the PED journal have accumulated a surplus of £20,000 to date. ## **Note 5 – GiftAid Claim** GiftAid was claimed for the past four accounting years – see table below. |**Accounting year**|**Amount**|**Repayment Interest**|**Total Payment**| |---|---|---|---| |01May2021 - 30Apr2022|£953.50|£101.32|£1,054.82| |01May2022 - 30Apr2023|£956.25|£86.80|£1,043.05| |01May2023 - 30Apr2024|£986.25|£49.37|£1,035.62| |01May2024 - 30Apr2025|£995.00|£11.36|£1,006.36| |**TOTAL**|||**£4,139.85**| ## **Note 6 - Roger West Bequest** Roger Morgan West, a lifelong member of the society died November 2024 and left a bequest to the society. There were no stipulations for how the funds should be spent. **Allingham & Co. solicitor (executor): March 2025** |**Note 6 - Roger West Bequest**
Roger Morgan West, a lifelong member of the society died November 2024 and left a bequest to the
society. There were no stipulations for how the funds should be spent.|**Note 6 - Roger West Bequest**
Roger Morgan West, a lifelong member of the society died November 2024 and left a bequest to the
society. There were no stipulations for how the funds should be spent.|**Note 6 - Roger West Bequest**
Roger Morgan West, a lifelong member of the society died November 2024 and left a bequest to the
society. There were no stipulations for how the funds should be spent.| |---|---|---| |**Allingham & Co. solicitor (executor): March 2025**||| |1|A share of investment with Aegon Ireland (now known as
Monument)|Encashment value = £6,898.58 (July
2025)| |2|20% share of share portfolio held with Rathbones
Investment Management. Shares sold by solicitor on
behalf of BSS.|No. of shares = 153,502
Value = £37,920 (September 2025)| |||Total = 44,818.59| ## **Note 7: Royalties - Journal (Taylor & Francis)** Royalties are normally calculated as 10% of annual turnover. Payment for the previous accounting year (2024-25) from Taylor & Francis was late, received in January 2026 (£5,088.70). Payment for the current accounting year (£5,489.72) was made in March 2026. A total payment of £10,578.42 therefore appeared in the current 2025-2026 accounting year. 5 ## **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** ## **Note 8 – Journal, Members’ Copies & Edit. Meeting** The costs of producing physical copies of the journal, Volume 17, Issue 1-6 (2024) for society members in the previous accounting year (2024-25) was £3,874.86, invoiced in May 2025. In the current accounting year 2025-26, the society has moved to online access, with costs of £1,000 (£10 per subscriber, based on a minimum of 100 online subscribers). A duplicate payment of £1,000 was made in error against invoice for £1,000; Taylor & Francis is in the process of refunding the society £1,000, which will appear in the next accounting year 2026-27. Journal editor (Laszlo) attended an overseas conference to promote journal, with T&S costs of £2,310. ## **Note 9 – Designing Newsletter** These are charges for engaging professional services in designing two editions of BSS News. ## **Note 10 - Student Dissertation Prize awarded during the 2025-26 Session** A single prize of £200 was awarded to James Callaghan. **Note 11 – Student Field Research and Study Grants awarded during the 2025-26 Session.** Grants totalling £3,757.19 were awarded to seven recipients: |**Grants**|**Amount**|**Recipient**| |---|---|---| |1|£100.00|Illya Kavosh| |2|£369.00|MG Scott| |3|£1,000.00|Caitlin Lynch| |4|£954.00|Clara Courtney| |5|£675.00|Mariam Shabbir| |6|£59.19|Tiye Salgado Swabe| |7|£600.00|HannahUdall| ## **Note 12 Support for Botanical University Challenge** Support to University of Reading for organising and hosting Botanical University Challenge £2,000. ## **Note 13 – Subscription rebate** Membership subscription rates were changed in May 2025 to reflect increasing costs of running the society. The new rates are: Standard membership = £25 Student membership = £5 (unchanged) Online electronic access to digital journal = £10. Overpayment: 27 members who subscribes with standing orders/BACS continued paying £40 (membership + journal). They confirmed they are happy for overpayment to be treated as donation. Underpayment: 27 members who subscribes with standing orders/BACS continued paying £20 (membership only). Underpayment were written off by the society as they are long-standing members; they were all contacted to encourage them to change payment method to direct debit, where possible, to ensure they pay the correct amount for their subscriptions. 6 ## **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** ## **Note 14 – MyClubHouse** MyClubHouse membership management software has replaced the previously used WebCollect. There are no overlapping period between the two in the current accounting year. ## **Note 15 – Bank charges** New charges were brought in by the Bank of Scotland for charity accounts in the current accounting year. |**Note 15 – Bank charges**
New charges were brought in by the Bank of Scotland for charity
year.|accounts in the current accounting| |---|---| |**Account features for Charity Account (from 13 November 2025)**|**Account for charities**| |Cash paid in – Branch counter, ATM, depositpoint™, Nightsafe,
Post Office® orotherthird-party depositmethod|£0.75 for every £100| |Cheque paid in – Branch counter, ATM, depositpoint™, Nightsafe,
Post Office® orotherthird-party depositmethod|£0.50| |Cheque paid in – Immediate Deposit Machine or Business, Mobile
BankingApp|£0.42| |Chequepaid out|£0.50| |Bacs – electronic payment directly from BSS to another account|£0.07 for each payment| ## **Note 16 – Net surplus on restricted funds** The net surplus on restricted funds for 2025-26 is the increase for the Urban Flora Project. ## **Note 17 – CCLA Investments (Deposit Account)** £44,818.58 from Roger West Bequest is held in this fund awaiting council decision for its investment in other CCLA funds. ## **Note 18 – CCLA Investments (Ethical Accumulation Fund)** This fund is intended to hold restricted funds: £21,000 from Taylor & France (subvention payments), £10,000 from Malcolm Bequest and Urban Flora Project. £24,000 has been reserved to meet anticipated Publication Costs of the planned Urban Flora.book, ## **Note 19 – Reserves (restricted funds)** At CCLA Ethical Accumulation Fund is now deemed to contain all reserves (restricted) funds. These notes form part of these financial statements, as approved by Council. Yuk Sim Tang David F. Chamberlain ………………………………… …………………………………. Yuk Sim Tang (Treasurer) David F. Chamberlain (Deputy Treasurer) 7 ## **The Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO Financial Statements For the Year to 30 April 2026** ## **Independent examiner’s report to the council members of Botanical Society of Scotland** ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s statement** My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks 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 accounts. ## **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 requirements: - to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and - Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and - to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 - of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ## _**D. Millar, Edinburgh**_ _**Date: …………12 May 2026…………………………**_ 8 ## **APPENDIX 1** |
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**|
**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||Period start date||||Period end date||| ||Day|Month|Year||Day|Month|Year| |From|
1|May|2025|To|
30|April|2026| ## Office of the Scottish **Charity Regulator** ## **Reference and administration details** **Charity name Other names charity is known by Registered charity number Charity’s principal address** Botanical Society of Scotland SCIO n/a **SC016283** c/o Royal Botanic Garden 20a Inverleith Row Edinburgh **Postcode EH3 5LR** ## **Names of the charity trustees on date of approval of Trustees’ Annual Report** ||**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if**
**not for whole year**|**Name of person**
**(or body) entitled to**
**appoint trustee (if any)**| |---|---|---|---|---| |**1**
**2**
**3**
**4**
**5**
**6**
**7**
**8**
**9**
**10**
**11**
**12**
**13**
**14**
**15**|Richard Wilson|President, Publicity
and Website Admin|President from June
2026|n/a| ||David Adamson|Treasurer|Elected 21 May 2026|| ||Brian Ballinger|BSBI Liaison||| ||David Chamberlain|Deputy Treasurer||| ||Maria Chamberlain|Programme Sec||| ||Tobias Cullen|Student Rep||| ||John Grace|Urban Flora
Convenor/Journal Ed
Cttee||| ||Chris Jeffree|Newsletter co-Ed||| ||Hamlyn Jones|Mountain Plants
Alliance||| ||Elizabeth Kungu|Scottish Rainforest
Alliance||| ||Fiona Maguire|Membership Sec||| ||Nikolaos Maragkos|Deputy Programme
Sec|Co-opted June 2026|| ||Richard Milne|||| ||Jonathan Silvertown|Newsletter co-
Ed/Previously
President|President for 2025-
2026 reporting period|| ||Rachel Thomas|General Secretary||| **1** **APPENDIX 1** ## **Reference and administration details** ## **Names of all other charity trustees during the period, if any, (for example, those who resigned part way through the financial period)** |**Name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**| |---|---| |Yuk Sim Tang|Treasurer, 2025- 2026 reporting period| |Laszlo Nagy|Stepped down at May 2026 AGM| ## **Structure, governance and management** |**Type of governing document**
**Trustee recruitment and appointment**|The BSS is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is
governed by a constitution. Members of the Society appoint people to
serve on Council. The Council controls the activities of the Society and
decides on the roles of Council members. The Council is responsible for
monitoring and controlling the financial position of the Society. The BSS
is not affiliated to any other body but works closely with the Botanical
Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI).
There were no changes to the constitution May 2025 to May 2026.| |---|---| ||Trustees (Council members) are elected by members of the Society at
the AGM (May each year). At each AGM all Trustees retire from office
but are eligible for re-election. Those who have served on Council for a
period of three years automatically vacate office at the end of that period
but are eligible for re-election.
No external bodies are entitled to appoint Trustees| ## **Objectives and activities** |**Objectives and activities**|| |---|---| |**Charitable purposes**
**Summary of the main activities**
**in relation to these objects**|1. To advance the study of plants, algae, cryptograms, fungi and
associated organisms, to spread botanical knowledge, and
understanding of the part played by these organisms in Scotland’s
environment, culture, history and heritage.
2. To encourage the academic study of botany at school and university
level by providing a forum for professional and amateur botanists and
students to study and discuss all aspects of botany and by offering
grants and awards for excellence in project work.
3. To promote public interest in Scotland’s botany, native plants and
vegetation and their habitats by involving and engaging with the public.
4. To provide information, education and advice with the aim of
promoting awareness of the unique character of Scotland’s flora.| ||The society runs a series of free lectures in the winter many of which are
recorded for You Tube and a programme of field meetings in the
summer. It holds a joint, annual meeting with BSBI – ‘The Scottish
Botanists’ Conference’
It produces an academic journal Plant Ecology and Diversity (now online
only) and a more accessible newsletter for all Members and others.
Prizes and grants are awarded to undergraduate students studying plant
sciences – an undergraduate thesis prize, field work and training grants.
Reports from this work are published in BSS News.
The Urban Flora project which has collated information about the urban
flora of Scotland’s towns and cities has moved on to its publication
phase.
BSS continues to support the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforests and the
Mountain Plants Alliance| **2** ## **APPENDIX 1** ## **Achievements and performance** |**Summary of the main achievements**
**of the charity during the financial**
**period**|The BSS ran 12 public lectures over the winter of 2025/26 in Edinburgh,
Dundee (jointly with the Dundee Naturalists) and Inverness (with
Inverness Botany Group). Most of these were recorded and subsequently
promoted more widely via YouTube.
There were eight field meetings across Scotland and a joint indoor
meeting with the BSBI – the Scottish Botanists’ Conference. Increasing
numbers of student members continued to participate in their own
workshops and events including a ceilidh, a cyanotype printing
workshop and a moss identification workshop. The Society supports
Botanical University Challenge which was won by a team from
Aberdeen University in 2025. The monthly 'plant pub' event enables
anyone interested in plants to meet socially.
With increasing membership, the new database now enables these events
to be booked online.
Two editions of BSS News now professionally designed and in colour
have been produced. This continues to attract articles from members and
non-members, acts as platform for students to publish their first ‘paper’
and showcases the Society’s work more widely. In addition, three issues
of our peer reviewed scientific journal Plant Ecology and Diversity were
published online.
More than 300 species have now been the subject of the weekly plant
blog on social media reaching an audience of over 2000 on Facebook.
An online species index in now available.
Funding assistance towards field work and training was made available
for undergraduate students studying plant sciences. Seven awards
totalling £3757 were made, an increase on previous years, and a prize
awarded for the best undergraduate thesis (£200). Project reports were
published in BSS News and promoted via social media.
The scientific papers from the Urban Flora of Scotland project have been
published, the complete ‘clean’ dataset will be made publicly available
through the UK/CEH Environmental Information Data Centre, a WildID
Guide published with the Field Studies Council will help people in
Scotland and the north of England become more familiar with the more
common urban plants and the project is on schedule to publish a full
colour book_The Urban Flora of Scotland_in 2027.| |---|---| **Financial review** |**Brief statement of the charity’s policy**
**on reserves**
**Details of any deficit**
**Donated facilities and services (if any)**|The Trustees’ reserves policy is to maintain free reserves at a level that
equates to one year’s normal unrestricted expenditure, i.e. around
£20,000, plus anticipated exceptional expenditure. Current free reserves,
which exceed that figure, should provide sufficient funds to cover all
anticipated expenditure and meet any future professional fees for
services currently provided by members such as bookkeeping and
accounts.| |---|---| ||The society has not incurred a deficit during this financial year.| ||RBGE provides technical assistance and use of their lecture theatre for
talks and the Scottish Botanists’ Conference. All Council meetings were
held online through Zoom or Teams. The 2026 AGM was held in person
on 21 May 2026 and recorded.| ## **APPENDIX 1** ## **Other optional information** 1. The accounts have been published on the Society’s website in the About area. **3** ## **Declaration** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** |**Signature(s)**
**_OSCR will accept_**
**_digital or typed_**
**_signatures_**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (e.g. Chair)**
**Date**|Rich Wilson|Rachel Thomas| |---|---|---| ||Richard L. Wilson Jr.|Rachel Catherine Thomas| ||President|General Secretary| ||9thJuly 2026|**9th July 2026**| **4**