we all moan and complain about whichever government we have... but very few of us are willing to put our heads above the parapet and offer to do the job ourselves ... The same is true of clubs and societies.
The best thing to do is to appoint sub-committees of a few energetic folk, with firm parameters, and that way you can cut down on the need for interminable fill committee meetings.
My point was, that young people don't seem to want to be part of commitees or sub-committees, or AGMs or trusts. It's a hard sell, so perhaps new are approaches are needed.
When I was a volunteer Room and Garden steward with the NT some 20 years ago, it was already of some concern that younger people were not being attracted to the idea of volunteering. Pretty much the same scenario as a volunteer advisor with the CAB. Obviously enough, younger folk were working and couldn't spare the time needed but I don't think that was the sole reason for their lack of interest/input. I can understand their reluctance in some instances but the assistance and opinions of the younger generation are vital to keep many local communities as well as national projects growing and surviving. The old and the very young are willing and keen - it seems to be the "middle" bits which are often missing.
Yes. There is an unwillingness to put up with tedium in the name of creating the good bits. I was talking with a young neighbour who was saying how close the community is here and how she wouldn't want to live anywhere else and how odd it is that this neighbourhood of London is so lovely. I said that we stand on the shoulder of giants and there have been community builders here for decades, running res assocs, street parties, clean ups, bulb planting, school volunteers, neighbourhood watches (some of this at least back to the 1950s). It doesn't happen by magic and we can't just wait for other people to start stuff. She looked at me blankly. "It all sounds like an awful lot of work" she said. Yes, I said, but that's why it works so well.
I have been in clubs over the years, some very good ones where most people were actively involved. You will always get some who don't want to do anything themselves but then moan when they don't like what is happening. I have also been to clubs where it is the vociferous few, and they are generally older members but not exclusively, who want to be in charge and are very difficult to shift. Their cliques are often big enough to control the results of elections so even those wanting to get involved can't.
The Gardening club that I belong to would do anything to attract new committee members. I am the only founder committee member who is still on this planet.
Lots of the members are now of an age when it is almost impossible to ask for their help due to their health. When someone leaves the committee the worry is that it will fold as has happened recently. Less committee means less events so less revenue for the club.
I have also been accused of being part of a garden club clique, that hurts when you try your best. The Chairman of the club at the time was a good friend who I knew long before the club was even formed and she still is a good friend.I can remember being awake at night knowing I had to speak the next day to 200 members at a meeting. At first I would physically shake but became use to it over time.
I also ran a sub committee with 30 members may of these people went on to be full committee members.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
The Gardening club that I belong to would do anything to attract new committee members.
One of our local res groups is like that. I think people are weary of petty politics in groups. Choirs face this problem a lot. This forum gets accused often of having cliques and an inner sanctum. When people have been in a group a long time, it can become a lifelife - for the subject they are passionate about, for their social life, their every day contact - and then people start to try to fix the group and keep it fixed.
One of res groups has has excatly the same five trustees for 35 years and they snarl at outsiders. It's part of those people identities and they would rather the group die than change. It's sad to see. As ever, all this stuff is about belongining, safety, identity, power sharing and managing change.
Going back to Wong's article - where this strand of discussion started - this is why I think he is trying to open up the traditional sense and scene of "gardening". Lots of people are excited about growing - in 'non-traditional ways' and that's ok. We don't need to sneer and feel defensive or threatened.
Thankyou all for your comments on my original post “Garden has become a millstone”
I wasn’t aware/can hardly believe, that all the recipients of garden tv shows pay for all the work done. I watched a programme last night where the experts had planted up at least 6 tree ferns, 6 semi mature birch trees and installed a tree house. Very lovely but these things themselves must have amounted to thousands of pounds. If the owners of that garden had such disposable income then why hadn’t they paid for work to be done before?
I’ve applied to all these shows in the past but ‘somehow’ I don’t qualify for any help.
The only thing I can say with pride that at one time my garden was really beautiful and every single wall, archway, pergola, patio and path…and every plant was built or planted by myself and my loving, dedicated husband. That’s probably why it seems so hard to see it gradually decaying.
PS I charge £20 an hour for Painting and Decorating. That includes third party and personal insurance, expensive equipment, upkeep of my van and travelling costs…and over 40 years experience. You can imagine my reluctance to be charged more for a ‘gardener’ who expects to use all my kit and then spends the day dead-heading or ripping out plants he believes are weeds!
PPS I spent the last two days re-doing a front garden that hadn’t been touched for over 5 years and I couldn’t get more than £100 for my hard work. No wonder the rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer?!
I think it depends what programme it is. On the one that used to have Charlie Dimmock and the Rich brothers (Garden Rescue?) the garden owners pay for the plants and materials (having specified the budget, usually in 4 figures if I remember rightly). I think on one of Alan Titchmarsh's they didn't but they were usually people who were, for want of a better word, deserving in some way and nominated by friends or family. For any of them, they probably have a lot more people applying than they can possibly use.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Posts
My point was, that young people don't seem to want to be part of commitees or sub-committees, or AGMs or trusts. It's a hard sell, so perhaps new are approaches are needed.
Obviously enough, younger folk were working and couldn't spare the time needed but I don't think that was the sole reason for their lack of interest/input. I can understand their reluctance in some instances but the assistance and opinions of the younger generation are vital to keep many local communities as well as national projects growing and surviving.
The old and the very young are willing and keen - it seems to be the "middle" bits which are often missing.
Lots of the members are now of an age when it is almost impossible to ask for their help due to their health. When someone leaves the committee the worry is that it will fold as has happened recently. Less committee means less events so less revenue for the club.
I have also been accused of being part of a garden club clique, that hurts when you try your best. The Chairman of the club at the time was a good friend who I knew long before the club was even formed and she still is a good friend.I can remember being awake at night knowing I had to speak the next day to 200 members at a meeting. At first I would physically shake but became use to it over time.
I also ran a sub committee with 30 members may of these people went on to be full committee members.