This meeting will be ZOOM ONLY due to the weather forecast.

Join us as we make plans for the last quarter of 2025 and start thinking about 2026!

Our next General Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, October 12, 2025. Please ensure you add this meeting date to your calendar (it’s as easy as clicking the Add to Calendar button below!). We will NOT be meeting at RISD due to incoming Nor’Easter storm, we will be meeting on Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed to all current members a few days before the meeting; it will not be posted on the website to avoid any potential Zoom bombing issues.

Parking

There is on-street parking near the Nature Lab. Alternatively, there is a paid parking lot a short walk from the Nature Lab at the corner of North Main Street and Steeple Street (across the street from Cafe Choklad).

Nature Lab Building Access

Please note that the Nature Lab does not open until noon. The front doors to the building should be unlocked at that time, but if not, a cell phone number will be provided on the meeting reminder email for you to contact if you are locked out.

Meeting Agenda:

If there is something you want to include in the meeting agenda, please contact Wendy Chadbourne.

• Introductions – Brief introductions if there are any new members present.
• Minutes – Provided by Jonathan Cook – Review the May 4th, 2025 minutes, and vote to accept if no changes.
• Treasurer’s Report – Provided by Carol Schwartz
• Membership Report – Provided by Wendy Chadbourne – (2025 numbers) 28 members / 18 National members. Four new members after the GNSI National conference! Would anyone like to volunteer to reach out to other National GNSI members? Please see Wendy.
• Old Business
  • The Chapter sponsorship of the dessert table at the National GNSI Annual Members’ Art Exhibit at the Lakeville Public Library was a success. Final costs will be discussed.
• New Business
  • 2026 Membership Drive – Would anyone like to volunteer to reach out to other national GNSI members located in New England and see if they would like to join our Chapter? A member list can be provided from the 2025 National GNSI meeting – See Wendy.
  • Tax ID # – Our Chapter was originally set up under the National GNSI tax ID, and we need to obtain our own number. Wendy will get this taken care of by the end of 2025.
  • 501(c)3 Organization for Chapter will be addressed after the Chapter Rep Meeting at the National GNSI Conference. Melissa Guillet has volunteered to help, it may require more than one person to resolve. If you want to pitch in, please contact Melissa or Wendy. There is more information coming from National GNSI about this and we may not even need to do it.
• Activities – 
  • Activities Committee update – Joan Pierce, Mary Shapiro, Jonathan Cook. If anyone else wants to join please let us know! This Committee needs to work independently of the Chapter Chairs.
  • Potential location for 2026 sketching or some other type of workshop proposed by Nancy Minnigerode – The Barnstable Land Trust’s Fuller Farm property would be a great location for us to organize a sketch day or workshop. She is happy to work with her contact there and help set something up for next year.
  • November –
  • December –
  • January – General Meeting and Holiday Potluck Party and Yankee Swap.
  • Spring of 2026 – Field trip to Yale Peabody Museum?
• Announcements
  • Haley Grunloh will be sharing her recent experience as an Artist in Residence at Hog Island Audubon Camp (https://hogisland.audubon.org/programs/art) with our Chapter. If you are interested in this kind of program, this may be the catalyst that gets you motivated!
  • The Penikese Island Plein Air Art Retreat Weekend, held on September 13-14 2025, was attended by several Chapter members and several other science-inspired artists. We have a new member, Justen Foster, who just joined our Chapter after attending the retreat weekend. This program was a trial run and will hopefully be offered again next year.
• Schedule our next General Meeting in January: ____________________