THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND - Edinburgh Zoo

4
President's statement
RZSS celebrated its centenary year in 2009
and the Society delivered a programme
truly worthy of the anniversary. It is
so easy for those who only see the
Society through Edinburgh Zoo to think
of the organisation as making steady
yet unspectacular progress. The truth is
that we are proving to be creative and
dynamic across all our goals of research,
conservation and education.
ANNUAL REVIEW • 2009 • THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND
For me, one of the highlights of the year was the Centenary Day and Civic
Reception in March, when thousands flocked to Edinburgh Zoo and I was
fortunate to meet a regular octogenarian visitor who could remember our
founder. Soon after we were able to announce that HRH The Princess
Royal was to be our Royal Patron and we are already benefiting from her
commitment, expertise and interest.
As part of our celebrations, we launched the Wild Bus to enable
community participation in education across Scotland. Our research
benefited from the deepening links with St Andrews University. And
internationally, we continued our conservation work in Uganda and Brazil
and built on our plans for engagement with China.
Alongside all these visible achievements, enormous energy and
expertise were devoted to ensuring the success of the Society in the
future. This involved building relationships, maximising influence and
developing physical and political strategies. Our Board and Executive Team
led from the front.
A year worthy of the centenary indeed. I have been privileged to
be your President, to participate in numerous events, to represent the
Society, and to understand just how much it means to so many people.
I congratulate our Chief Executive, David Windmill, and his Executive
Team along with every staff member and volunteer on what they achieved
in 2009.
John Spence OBE
President
Opposite page: media interest in the centenary celebrations;
research in the Pantanal and Fiona Hyslop at the launch of
the Wild Bus