Page 8 - ALG Issue 1 2022

How does your association membership work?
The National Allotment Society has over 2,000 allotment association members. Those associations have over 112,000 affiliate members who need to know about how they can benefit from membership of the Society. Some of the benefits are for the Association as
a whole, but there are many that are a bonus for the individual affiliate:
• 1 paper magazine every quarter per 10 NAS affiliates
• Affiliate subscription to the paper magazine available for £10 per annum
• Access to members area of the website for all affiliates
• A digital copy of the magazine in the members’ area of the website
• Quarterly e-newsletter with competitions and topical news
• Associations can also enrol their members on to the free individual Allotmenteers’ Liability Insurance (ALI)
• Retail offers
• Individual horticultural advice from Aaron Hickman, our Garden Doctor
• Kings Seeds Scheme, which
offers further discounts for bulk orders from the already discounted catalogue; facility to order online
We rely on association secretaries to
let their members know about these benefits, to share the website log-in and distribute the e-newsletter and paper magazine. To access the free Allotments Liability Insurance, associations need to enrol their members on to the scheme by sending a list of all plotholders that wish to be enrolled to natsoc@nsalg. org.uk. We will need the plotholders’ full names and addresses, and an email address if you have one. There is an Excel file in the members’ area of the website that you can use to do this.
The Society produces a series of information leaflets on subjects such as composting and planning a new plot that are helpful for new plotholders.
We rely on association secretaries to let their members know about these benefits, to share the website log-in and distribute the e-newsletter and paper magazine
New members receive a sample set of some of the leaflets and, for a small charge to cover costs, these can be ordered in bulk from Head Office for distribution to your new plotholders or to be handed out at Open Days.
We know that committee personnel changes from time to time and the information needed to administer the NAS membership may not be passed on to the new officers. It is important that associations inform us of changes and if you are a new secretary, please contact natsoc@nsalg.org.uk so that we can update you with current processes e.g., Log-in details for the members’ area of the website and more information about the ALI benefit.
Please help us to support your members and let them know about the benefits of membership!
Bugs, Bees and Broccoli!
Our National Allotments Week theme for 2022 is an acknowledgement of the importance of gardening with nature in mind. An allotment plot is a complex web of plants, micro-organisms, fungi, insects, and animals that not only produces food but also supports eco-system services such as pollination and offers a refuge for wildlife in urban areas.
Although allotment plots like pollinator ecologist Nadine Mitschunas’ beautiful wildlife allotment garden (winner of Gardeners’ World magazine, 2021 Garden of the Year award) are few and far between, there are thousands
of plot-holders endeavouring to reduce pesticide and herbicide use, encourage beneficial insects, small mammals and amphibians and tolerate losing some crops in order to achieve a balance eco-system on their plots.
We are presently working on a programme to celebrate our campaign week in 2022, but one activity we would like to carry out is some form of wildlife focused citizen science surveying allotments. If you would be interested in joining in email diane@
nsalg.org.uk – we would also like to hear any ideas that members may have to celebrate Bugs, Bees and Broccoli in 2022.
8 Allotment and Leisure Gardener