Please accept my thanks to all ES2k members for your own personal contribution, however large or small, towards raising the profile of Earth Science in Ireland. You have realized that we are engaged together in a worthwhile task. Considering that ES2k is a voluntary organization, in a subject area that was (and to a large degree still is) little known by the general public, I take pride in reporting to you that our efforts together are being rewarded with increasing success. This is entirely due to the work and skill of our members, including a few of your committee members who have made particularly important personal contributions. Among many possible topics to report, I would like to mention the following in particular.

As the Membership Report shows, ES2k membership has risen by 37% this year alone. At 239 members, we are by far the largest Earth Science group in Northern Ireland and one of the largest in Ireland as a whole. Marie Cowan has been a very conscientious and efficient Secretary and I am glad to report that she is willing to stay on in post.

The ES2k magazine has probably been the largest single contributor to the rise in membership. As a high quality magazine with something for everyone, the magazine has received a great deal of praise from all over Ireland and UK. It is one of the success stories of recent Earth Science progress anywhere in Ireland. Judge for yourself. To Tony Bazley, our hardworking Editor, we owe a considerable debt of gratitude.

The ES2k website has steadily grown in importance for our objectives. Communication via a website is essential for any organization aspiring to influence the modern generation and, judging by the visitor numbers and other feedback, it has been very successful. With Jasper Knight now working in England and bowing out as Website Editor, we must pay tribute to him for establishing the ES2k website last year and overseeing it through to its present stage of development. The website is now hosted by the National Museums Northern Ireland and managed by Peter Crowther. Bernard Picton managed the technical aspects of the transfer to MAGNI. We are grateful to MAGNI and to Bernard and Peter for their continuing work in this essential task.

Our finances are healthy, although more money is always needed so that we can achieve more. Karen Parkes, our Treasurer, has worked hard at the unglamorous but essential job of raising funds and keeping our finances in order. She has done a great deal more besides and to her is due the credit for much of this year's progress in ES2k.

Sponsorship is the lifeblood of an organization such as ours. Grateful thanks are due to our sponsors (in no particular order):

The Committee is supported by co-opted members representing supporting organisations: Ian Enlander (EHS), Peter Crowther (MAGNI), Patrick McKeever (GSNI) and Alistair Ruffell (Queen's University Belfast). We are grateful for their work in support of ES2k.

About one-third of our members are teachers. To them is entrusted the development of young people who are the future of Earth Science in Ireland. Pupils taught by ES2k members, William Lynn (Foyle College), Karen Parkes (Methodist College) and Christine Loney (Regent House) achieved the highest A Level and GCSE grades in Northern Ireland. Your Committee is unanimous in seeing support for Earth Science teaching in schools and universities as underpinning the whole mission of ES2k. We have made some progress in finding out how ES2k can best deliver the skills of its members to encouraging teachers and their students, including attendance at the Interboard Forum, organizing a field trip and discussion meetings for teachers.

As the current year closes I can report that ES2k is approaching a quantum leap forward. Largely because others have noticed our progress, we have been approached by the Steering Committee of the Irish Geodiversity Forum to take forward the task of raising awareness of Earth Science for the whole of Ireland, and not just the northern twelve counties as at present. This is a very challenging prospect, but one that could bring us greatly increased sponsorship and membership, thereby increasing the range and depth of ES2k's influence and our capacity to raise awareness of Earth Science.

I would like to offer sincere personal thanks to all our Committee Members for their work during the year. To achieve the aim of raising awareness of Earth Science, we need everyone's help. Much has been achieved but there is much more to do. Please give whatever time and support you can manage.

Since we last met at the 2002 AGM, the membership of ES2k has grown from 175 to 239, an increase of 64. This total is quadruple the number who participated in the meeting in February 2000 that led to the establishment of ES2k. The single most significant membership-signing event was The Geography Interboard Forum, when 44 new members joined on a single day! Just under half of the current members have provided an e-mail address for correspondence. This is becoming increasingly important to ease postage costs, especially with the proposed move to 'all-island status' and a projected increase in members with addresses in the Republic of Ireland. Of the 239 members, 180 have addresses in Northern Ireland, 42 in the Republic of Ireland, and the remaining 17 are on the UK mainland. In the league table of county membership, Antrim is top with 99 members, followed by Down with 38, and Dublin with 21. There is a notable deficit of membership west of the Bann and midland counties. In terms of membership affiliation, 30% of the members are or have been employed in schools and universities. Other key employment sectors include geological surveys, museums, private companies, government (EHS and DARDNI), and outdoor education centres. Just under one-third of the membership is currently undifferentiated.

Originally hosted for Jasper Knight by the University of Ulster at Coleraine, our site has moved smoothly across to join the suite of sites which makes up MAGNI's Habitas. This means that our host is now the National Museums Northern Ireland (which also hosts sites for the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club and the Irish Naturalists' Journal). ES2k is grateful for this support. Bernard Picton undertook the technical aspects of the move, while Peter Crowther now edits the content. Both Bernard and Peter work within the Ulster Museum's Sciences Division.

As far as we can tell, usage of the site is currently pretty stable at around a thousand visits a month. Accurate statistics have been difficult to obtain in recent months because of a major change in software by MAGNI's ISP and complications resulting from the development by MAGNI of its own corporate website (within which ES2k nests). Usage was boosted to its present level early this year when Mike Simms and Alistair Ruffle used our pages to disseminate information about the annual Geological Research Meeting (held at the Ulster Museum in February). Jasper's original site design has been retained unaltered following the transfer of ES2k to Habitas. With the proposed expansion of ES2k's remit to cover the whole island, now might be a good time to consider a 'new look'.

Two editions (Issues 6 and 7) of the ES2k magazine were produced, as scheduled. The first was a twelve-page edition with Seamus Heaney on the front cover and a print run of 2000 copies. The second ran to 20 pages and had the same print run. It featured a map of Ireland on the cover. Both editions carried advertising that helped with the cost, although not yet covering it.

The magazine (it has become that) is well supported by various authors. That has demanded an increase in size and Issue 7 carried a couple of substantial articles. It also had more for the schools audience, which I consider important. 'Raising issues' is something that will increase although it was not forgotten. Hence, the Causeway Coast has been well aired - and led to ES2k's views, as put forward so well by Philip Doughty, being given very serious consideration by government. Indeed, we believe that ES2k 'made a difference'. Planning issues have also been featured.

It is flattering that the GSI have produced a postcard of the front cover of our last issue and that the schools material, including Website addresses, was circulated (with our permission) to schools in Wales.

I thank our advertising sponsors and ask members to consider whether they have any contact with a company that might like to advertise in the magazine - if you do, please let me know. Marketing the magazine to advertisers must be a feature of the work in the next few months.

Distribution of the magazine is always difficult. Thanks to Marie and Karen for their sterling work in enveloping, stamping and posting so many. Others go out in bulk, for instance through EHS (thank you), the schools, to the GSI in Dublin etc. The Ulster Museum is another great helper here. If anyone can assist please let me know. For instance, if you are going elsewhere in Ireland on business or holiday and wouldn't mind dropping a batch of magazines off at the local museum, heritage centre or college, please let me know. It saves us considerable sums in postage.

The next issue will be ready in mid-October. It will grow in size to 24 pages. It again carries substantial articles; I single out the articles on diamonds and ground radar. Also I think readers will like the reporting style of our Honorary Secretary who clearly has a journalistic flair. My thanks go to authors - some of the larger articles really do represent quite a substantial input of someone's time. Those that give me smaller items are equally valued, from sending newspaper cuttings and news about 'people' to supplying the schools material. Thanks go to Patrick Gaffikin, Karen, Marie and others. Not least I thank Bernard Anderson and Alistair Ruffell for taking on assistant editorial roles. There are others I have missed out, I know them and value their support just as much. Please keep the information coming - and let me know those things you don't like as well as anything you do! Feedback is important as the magazine develops.

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