The Open University Geological Society Mainland Europe Branch

The Mainland Europe Branch of the Open University Geological Society is one of eighteen branches serving some 3 000 members in the UK, Ireland and abroad. Its members are recruited mainly from the European Mainland, but there are no geographical restrictions. Present and past students of the Open University are eligible for full membership, associate membership is open to all. Founded in 2000 as the smallest branch by membership but the largest by area, numbers have continued to grow since its foundation and it now counts some 50 active members. As a new branch and with widely distributed members (ca. 14 countries) it had the opportunity to base its organisation on modern electronic communication, producing in its first few months of activity a branch website and an electronic newsletter which appears quarterly. The majority of members are graduates or post graduate students.

OUGSME’s main activities to date have been the organisation of geological field trips which have included sites in France, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Italy and Greenland; an annual three-day meeting is held in January in one of the countries represented by members, to date: Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany; a further four-day invitation event is held in Switzerland each summer.

The newsletter provides geological information and reports. The website provides information on past and future trips and selected articles from the newsletter. It also offers active help and information to students and scientists alike and is used as reference by various authors.

As a student organisation, with charitable status, it receives a modest grant per capita membership annually from its parent organisation for the branch administration and further funds are generated by field trips and activities. Resources include PCs and a variety of up-to-date software, GPS, a fully-equipped office, library facilities including field notes and CD-ROMs, and limited equipment for field trips.

As a relatively new organisation but with worldwide professional contacts, we are jointly extending activities to cover areas where we can offer assistance and resources.The headquarters are in Bern, Switzerland. The branch manager is Annette Kimmich (Bern):
Address: Moosstrasse 25, CH-3113 Rubigen, Switzerland;
E-mail: mainland.europe@ougs.org; geology.group@bluewin.ch
Website: http://www.ougseurope.org/main/

Year 2000:

January: Survey conducted within Europe to find potential members
March: invitation to the UK to present case for a European branch
Result: one year given to found European branch

June 2000:

OUGS Mainland Europe website goes on-line
First edition electronic newsletter distributed

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July 2000:

National newspaper ‘Independent’ publishes article on new branch
October 2000: five months ahead of time, inaugural meeting in Basel, Switzerland and field trip to the Kaiserstuhl carbonatite volcano, Germany

Membership 2004:

ca. 50 full and family members in 13 countries

Activities to date:

May 2001: field trip to Etna, Sicily
January 2002: 3-day meeting in Brussels
July 2002: field trip to French Jura
October 2002: post-exam week Santorini
January 2003: 3-day meeting Luxembourg
May 2003: 4-day trip Switzerland
July 2003: field trips to Greenland and Auvergne
October 2003: post-exam week Etna
January 2004: 3-day meeting in Vienna
May 2004: 4-day trip Switzerland - gold prospecting and glacial landscapes
July 2004: field trip to Eifel volcanic complex
October 2004: post-exam trip to Cappadocia, Turkey
January 2005: 3-day meeting Munich with trip to Noerdlinger impact crater
May 2005: 4-day trip Switzerland, Lake Oeschinen and Jura fossil hunt
January 2006: 3-day event, Lake Geneva, Switzerland
May 2006: 4-day trip Switzerland, visit to Kaiserstuhl carbonatite volcano and the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen
October 2006: Bavarian geology, including the Riess crater, various museums and the Munich Mineral Fair.

Highlights

Collection of articles from first Etna trip published in OUGS Journal
Website honoured by provider as one of best four volcano sites
Website information cited in Oxford publication
Various requests for book reviews
BBC asks for help to find sites in France for documentary on ‘the formation of Europe’
EU project accepted

2005: start of EU project ‘COMSHELFRISKS’

Planned 2006: Kaiserstuhl carbonatite volcanic complex, Germany, Rhine Falls in Schafhausen, Switzerland, Bavarian geology week