Page 8 - ALG Issue 4 2019

international head office End of year message
Dear allotment gardeners,
You have become members of our allotment garden movement because of your desire to get a garden plot
and thereby have some exercise, a healthy diet, a pastime in the fresh air, all while surrounded by friends. Your behaviour on the plot also enables you to contribute to a healthy environment, a better quality of life in the cities and to respond to climate change.
To put this vision into action, we have to maximise the impact of our actions. For this, our organisation, both nationally and internationally, needs both a good health and the right means to achieve its goals.
We are a member organisation. In some places, the number of members is stagnating. So, we must, first of all, deal with the problem of our membership, welcome new members, really include them and offer them services and help.
We have to attract young people, overcome the resistance of long-time members to change, challenge the alleged inadequacy of our sites and of our actions, react and become more attractive. We have to change our discretion, our frequent absence or
less than optimal appearance on social media, to emphasise the benefits of
our joined actions and our network, to organise projects and activities and offer training.
Not all our associations and federations are sufficiently motivated to make an
impact, know what other federations do, or know how they could participate in projects to become stronger while being united. They have, however, to position themselves in such a way that they can work effectively and become attractive in order to fit into the scheme of life of our members. They cannot compete with people’s priorities: work, family, leisure... On the contrary, they have to ‘market’ themselves in such a way that interested people feel attracted and
that they can integrate them in their life scheme, their priorities.
Different federations have already changed; other federations and the Office have begun to change their statutes, so as to become more effective, to take into account today’s necessities and to make our vision for the future known.
The irrevocable disappearance of plants and animals is well-known, and it is increasingly becoming a concern for citizens. We need to pick up this issue more and more at all levels and carry out projects to react. Allotments are refuges for animals and plants. We have to continue to make soil analysis and offer training concerning natural gardening.
So as to support all allotment gardeners, the Office is working on a brochure: “The soil is alive”. Thanks to the awarding of the Office diploma on natural gardening, we also have a database that can be a stimulus and example of good gardening practice for all.
Question your actions and give yourself the means to effectively put our allotment garden vision into practice in the coming year.
For 2020 I wish you good health as well as courage, ambition, perseverance and
success and consider what US writer Hal Borland (1900 – 1978) said: “Years’ end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us.”
Malou Weirich, Secretary General of the International Office du Coin de Terre et des Jardins Familiaux
“If you want to build a boat, don’t begin by collecting wood, cutting boards or assigning tasks, begin by awakening in the souls of your workers, a longing for the vast and boundless sea” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry).
Lantra / NAS training course update
We are very keen to
expand our training
offer; LANTRA is a
great resource and has
more than 600 courses
available e.g. Rabbit and Mole Control, Control of Invasive Species, Safe Use of Pesticides
and many more. All are applicable to those associations that manage and maintain their sites. The Control of Rodent course held recently in Leeds was very well attended and successful. The Society can organise any face-to-face training or course listed on their website: https:// www.lantra.co.uk/.
Have you got a rat problem on your site? To
book the ‘Responsible and Effective Control of Commensal Rodents’ eLearning course via the NAS account, visit: https://elearning.lantra.co.uk/ register/14/46.
Many thanks to those of you who have been in touch to offer venues and express interest in courses. This will help us to target where there is most need. Please email natsoc@nsalg.org. uk with any requests or expression of interest for forthcoming courses. Check out the website for updates: https://www.nsalg.org.uk/allotment- info/lantra-nas-training-courses/.
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Holmes Chapel Road, Over Peover, Knutsford, Cheshire. WA16 9RA
We offer over 420 varieties, the widest range in the UK, suitable for both exhibition and the garden or allotment, many new for 2020
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sales@chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk 0800 046 7443
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8 Allotment and Leisure Gardener