Allotment Newsletter!

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Guys!

A few weeks ago at our allotment's AGM I was asked to join the committee (along with another 3 or 4 other newer folk), as a non executive member, as for years now they haven't been able to get the committee to acchieve what they wanted! So at the first meeting the other week we all sat down, and all the new committee members (4 of us that could make it) came up with a lot of good suggestions, only to have a few of the older committee members (or at least the 5 of the pre-existing committee that turned up) put the kybosh on them as they had already tried and failed, or would encourage the local thuggery to take more of an interest in the site through improvements in the external look of the site!

Well, after such a good start, a few there thought we may as well give up and disband the committee immediately, but some of us thought otherwise and want to move it forwards, so a new chairperson and secretary were agreed (2 of the newer committee members who are retired) and I agreed to help out as much as I am able, as did Mr D! The new secretary went on a council visit to some other plots recently, and came back with a lot of ideas and thoughts, the upshot of which is I've been asked to produce a quarterly 'Allotment Newsletter' for our site!

Now, I've never done anything like this before, so I'm looking for any info or ideas from anoyone out there, if you are involved in producing an allotment newsletter or currently receive one on your site, then what do you include, how do you phrase it, what do you find uselful, any things to avoid? etc!

If you dont currently have a newsletter, but were soon to be receiving an allotment newsletter on your plot, then what would you want it to contain, what info, what features etc!

I really want to do a good job with this and hopefully help to further the community spirit and engender some more enthusiasm for attempting to rejuvenate the site, so any advice, views, opinions, hints, tips or just encouragement would be very much appreciated!

[Snadger]

I think Nick the Grief does a newsletter for his Association? I seem to remember the members hadn't had a newsletter for years and complained when the second one was late!

Not much happens at our site so it's hardly worth while for me. If I did do a newsletter it would be on an 'as and when' basis and I would pin a copy on the noticeboard rather than waste paper sending to each individual member!

PS I wouldn't mind a copy of your newsletter when you've done it............ for inspiration purposes!

[yoanbob]

All good news letters have a joke section.
well in my opinion anyway!

[SarzWix]

Firstly, I think contact numbers for the main bods on the committee would be useful - Chair, Sec, Treasurer. I haven't a clue how to get hold of any of ours and it would be handy if you spot any problems when no-one is there.

A few "What to do in May" "What to do in June" etc bits would be handy for the newbies (not everyone joins The 'Vine!).

Top Tips section (ask the older members to contribute to that bit?)

Info about useful stuff like local companies who will donate cardboard, or where to get muck deliveries from, any wholesalers of pots or equipment locally.

News about anything like; maintenance to paths, or council coming to cut hedges, or mend fences, could people not park on the paths (or whatever!).

Wildlife sightings.

[Mrs Dobby]

Cool, some good suggestions there, keep em coming folks!

[Snadger]

Firstly, I think contact numbers for the main bods on the committee would be useful - Chair, Sec, Treasurer. I haven't a clue how to get hold of any of ours and it would be handy if you spot any problems when no-one is there.

A few "What to do in May" "What to do in June" etc bits would be handy for the newbies (not everyone joins The 'Vine!).

Top Tips section (ask the older members to contribute to that bit?)

Info about useful stuff like local companies who will donate cardboard, or where to get muck deliveries from, any wholesalers of pots or equipment locally.

News about anything like; maintenance to paths, or council coming to cut hedges, or mend fences, could people not park on the paths (or whatever!).

Wildlife sightings.

You've done this before Sarah haven't you?

[Alison]

All good news letters have a joke section.
well in my opinion anyway!

You see, this is why we're all different, I find a jokes section in something like that a bit embarrassing. They're never original and rarely funny so I'd always avoid them and stick to useful stuff, done in an amusing way if wanted but no attempt at straight stand up.

[Soomai]

Mrs. D. take a look at our allotment associations website that I setup when I took over the role of secretary this April. The quarterly newsletter that I produced is shown on there. I'll soon be starting next quarters.

It is difficult to get started but once the first paragraphs down the rest starts to come. I planned a welcome section, chairmans section, what to do section, then the rest just naturally developed.

Good luck with it all

www.greatlinford-allotments.co.uk

[Scubabe]

Does your lottie have a shop for buying fertiliser/weed killer/tools/seeds/rotovator hire etc? If so, then a price list in the newsletter would be fab, and contact details of who runs it or what days/times it is manned.

Oooooh - maybe a "meet your neighbour" kind of thing where you ask 5 standard questions of a different person each month - what has been your fave crop, what was your biggest mistake, how long have you been here, what do you grow every year without fail, etc.

I think it's a fab idea!

Ness

PS - Also, another idea - how about you see if you can get contact details for all your fellow allotmenteers and try to email a PDF copy of it to people where possible??

[di]

how about a swap section?or "wanted"section?often the thing you really need someones bound to have in their pile of "useful things",

[SarzWix]

You've done this before Sarah haven't you?

No... Maybe I should?

I think it's a really good idea - communication between the committee & the plot-holders is virtually non-existant on our site, apart from the once a year AGM and letters sent out to over-grown plots. Unless you make the effort to find one of them and ask! Actually, I only know who 3 of the committee are, and I am one of the ones who asks

[Snadger]

PS - Also, another idea - how about you see if you can get contact details for all your fellow allotmenteers and try to email a PDF copy of it to people where possible??

I have contact details for all 39 of our plot members and only one has an email address............me!

[Snadger]

Mrs. D. take a look at our allotment associations website that I setup when I took over the role of secretary this April. The quarterly newsletter that I produced is shown on there. I'll soon be starting next quarters.

It is difficult to get started but once the first paragraphs down the rest starts to come. I planned a welcome section, chairmans section, what to do section, then the rest just naturally developed.

Good luck with it all

www.greatlinford-allotments.co.uk

Well done Soomai........brilliant website!

[devon-surfer]

HI Suzanne

I'm lucky enough to have only just received an allotment after only 3 months on the list!!

We have a website which keeps people informed...when its upo to date....!! something I'm addressing at our next meeting.

homepage

[cathabercaseg]

Allotment newsletter

I am involved with producing an annual newsletter for our allotment group. We tend to include 'State of Play' ie. congratulate everyone on all their hard work and talk in broad terms about how many new people there are that year and how many plots are left available and who to contact if anyone hears of anyone else who wants a plot. Also do a list of plots numbers and names possibly.

Then you can talk about future plans, maybe plan a social event and do a bit of path maintainance and communal work and then cook a meal from produce grown on the site. EVeryone contributes something they have grown.

You can talk about current problems, pests, and how to deal with them, Hot Tips and Handy Hints from the Wisdom of the Established Growers. You might want to report on an experiment with sea weed, for example, or how to grow pumpkins successfully, or what to do about failing onions.

You can use the newsletter to encourage people to keep their plots tidy, or any other problem that the group may be having as a whole. Also a humurous article might be good. Someone did something about the stones breeding last year, which really seems to happen on our allotments.

Allotment groups rarely see themselves as a coherent group - everyone comes at different times of the day or week and each person might coincide with two or three other people, but rarely more than that. It's good to have a newsletter, even if only once a year and it's good to encourage people to come to a social event. Make it clear that family and kids are invited as well. We have yet to have a successful social - the same old faces come time and time again and we don't seem to be able to involve anyone new. But I think you have to keep trying. If you don't try nothing ever changes.