High in garden & allotment club membership
30 July 2010
Increasing numbers of people are joining their local garden and allotment clubs, says the Royal Horticultural Society in the lead up to its annual Dig Together Day.
The gardening ‘renaissance’ was revealed by a recent survey of 100 of the Society's affiliated gardening clubs - 73% of clubs saw their membership increase or stabilise over the last year. Some clubs were full to capacity and have had to create waiting lists for people to join.
Stephanie Eynon, RHS Community Horticulture Manager, said: “Our survey reveals people have been joining or even forming their own gardening and allotment clubs for a variety of reasons." These include:
- Wanting to grow their own food and plants
- Saving cash due to the credit crunch
- Wanting expert gardening knowledge and swap tips
"But by far the biggest benefit for joining up is the social aspect – which is great,” said Stephanie.
The positive findings are a complete turnaround from a couple of years ago when low membership threatened the future of many clubs.
RHS survey findings
Below are some comments made by people who took part in the survey of the benefits of joining a garden/allotment club:
- “People join our club to swap ideas and plants, especially in vegetable growing. They enjoy friendly competition and good social activities such as outings, talks and shows.”
- “Getting to know people in the village”
- “It’s a good social life where we have BBQs and provide advice to all the newcomers.”
- “It brings the community spirit back and you get to know friends you never knew you had.”
- “We get involved with one of the local infant schools and have planted potatoes with five and six year-olds, apparently it was their favourite outing of the year.”
RHS Dig Together Day, held over September 4-5, is a garden club open day which brings together thousands of gardening clubs across the UK, to celebrate the knowledge they hold and to inspire new generations to keep the traditions of gardening alive.
Stephanie Eynon, RHS Community Horticulture Manager, added: “It’s important clubs host a Dig Together Day over September 4-5 to attract new members and inspire new generations to keep the traditions of gardening alive.”
The Dig Together Day website will list events in your area from early August.
More on Dig Together Day