13-05-2020

NPSNZ – Covid-19 Update

At a committee meeting earlier this week, held over the Zoom network, the NPSNZ committee reviewed the Government’s current Covid-19 lockdown situation.  New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2 on Thursday 14 May and we discussed how this will continue to affect our members.
Based on the latest Government requirements, updated Monday 11 May, Level 2 has some areas of concern for NPSNZ.

  • Physical distancing of 1-2 metres outside the home.
  • Sport and recreational activities are allowed if conditions on gatherings are met, physical distancing is followed and contact tracing requirements are met.

These requirements impact on our ability to safely hold meetings i.e. monthly club nights and also field trips where physical distancing could become an issue.

Taking this latest information into account and given the demographic of the majority of our active members, the NPSNZ committee has decided to continue with the cancellation of all physical NPSNZ events.
While this affects all physical events, we have put in place several ‘virtual’ events for you to stay engaged.  See below for virtual events you may like to participate in.

NPSNZ Monthly Club Nights:  Meetings at Rock & Mineral Club Rooms cancelled until further notice.

Virtual Club Night:  We trialled this successfully in April when 30 members logged on.  We will run another this month on 18th May.  See next newsletter on how you can join in.

Field Trips:  All field trips cancelled until further notice.

Virtual Field Trips:  We trialled a virtual field trip recently with some success and a lot of fun.  Kath Varcoe is working on another.

Media:  Newsletters and all social media sites will continue as normal.

Lockdown Newsletters:  Going out weekly with photography tips and challenges you can do around home.  These are going out to approx 40 members who have requested them.  See next monthly newsletter on how to join in.

Committee Meetings:  Business to be conducted via email and Zoom etc.

All events will be reviewed as required.

For everything you need to know about COVID-19 in New Zealand, see the Unite Against COVID-19 website at https://covid19.govt.nz/

These recent events have taught us all to view everything differently and we appreciate your support at this time.

Peter Hockley
President
NPSNZ