A new programme is available of workshops taking place at Upper Grange, Stroud from January 2010. These workshops, initially aimed at beginners, will offer a basic practical knowledge of each subject while encouraging exploration of our understanding of nutrition. Download the programme (pdf document)

Courses such as:

• Introduction to Gardening
• Cookery
• Soap Making
• Woolcraft
• Leatherwork
• Chromas (a method of picture forming that opens a window onto nature where natural processes can be seen)

This summary covers the period beginning 1st April 2007 to 31st March 2008. Present at Warners Court 3rd October 2008 were 15 attendees. The main activities of the year were a focus on fundraising, school projects and the development of a no-dig garden at Capel manor.

Coordinator’s report by Matt Adams
This year, building on the success of working with a funding consultant, has been our most successful ever. Successful grants resulted in money being received for education (£10,500) and towards making the organisation sustainable (£9,000) but for research we only attracted £250. Therefore business plan priorities changed to develop Sowing the Seed before research. Appointment of a part- time education officer happened by the end of December 07. A good level of quality applicants resulted in Jane Renton being awarded the job.

A special thanks to our funders who have made this possible including you, ‘the members’ as well as The Ernest Cooke Trust, The Rufford Foundation, The Worshipful Company of Gardeners and The Oldham Foundation. Also thanks to Ink Print Management who now print the news journal (on recycled paper) without charge, saving us around £2,000 a year.

We must also thank the Hiram Trust and partners in our research project GREEN which is funded separately but adds another £15,000 that we would otherwise have to find. The initial four year project has now ended and whilst results are being collated a new project is already going ahead (on similar lines). Membership didn’t grow during this year due to a time lag in developing promotional material and adverts. To date however (Oct 08), it has increased by 60 bringing the total number of members to around 350.

I would like to thank those who have helped through the year - Jane Renton, Sadie Timmins (web site), Jim White (membership data base), Alison Ensor and Mike Mason for their contributions to the newsletters, Ramsay Shewell-Cooper for his new project at Capel manor, The Hiram Trust, Bio-dynamic Assc. and Waldorf College (partners in GREEN), members of the executive committee and Barbara Adams for general help and support.

Report on the Schools Project by Jane Renton
Working on this project is fun and enjoyable. I had a lot to learn and supported by Matt I have been very pleased with the way it developed. Running projects in two schools and visiting them on a weekly basis it had been hard to convince the children not to dig but I was delighted with their enthusiasm and willingness to take part. The final part of the experiment - the taste tasting was very exciting, especially when it included well known local chef, Rob Reece. He was very impressed with the results which in almost each case resulted in the ‘no-dig’ potatoes coming out best. An evaluation is now being done and a new 3 year project discussed with the aim of achieving 30 working schools / projects in 3 years.

Report on the Capel Manor project by Ramsay Shewell Cooper.
The 39’ x 17’ plot at the Horticultural College in North London has not been used for several years so ideal for a no-dig trial. The college provided the compost which was used to a depth of 3” into which seeds were planted directly between early April and June. He was extremely pleased with the results and knew that the college staff were impressed. He is being moved to a more prominent plot next year which at present is all grass. Support from the college, through which pass 3000 students and around 100,000 visitors annually, has been very good.

The following officers we re-elected.
Chairman: Ramsay Shewell-Cooper, Secretary: Matt Adams, Treasurer: Mike Powell.

Treasurer’s report by Mike Powell
The accounts, prepared by Willow Accountancy, were welcomed and approved. They showed a record income of £26,742 against an expenditure of £15,946. The major expenses were for wages and printing (printing will no longer be a cost, thanks to Ink Print). This is the healthiest financial position that GGA has been in for some considerable time. However, the GGA will not be complacent as this position has been achieved through the hard work involved with obtaining grant funding which needs to be sustained. Grant income invested in the development of our educational projects and research, should help make this process easier as we increase our profile and network of financial supporters.

A copy of the Trustees Report is available on request.

GM Food for nutrition – can it ever work?
At this years AGM our afternoon discussion considered the difference between the competing aims of the GM industry to grow food for nutrition and our own, which is the same! The intention was to create a policy statement that would help highlight how these two ideas differ. The following statement was produced:

Member's Questionnaire 2008

We are really interested in what our members think about the GGA and also to learn a little more about you and your garden, if you have one!

This is an electronic version of the Questionnaire sent out in the Autumn 2008 News Journal, for those who prefer to do things online. Please take a few minutes to download and complete the questionnaire (Word format). Check the appropriate boxes or write text where asked then email to office@goodgardeners.org.uk.

We shall publish a summary of the results in January 09.

Notice of AGM - Friday 3rd October 2008

As mentioned in the Summer 2008 News journal all members are cordially invited to attend the 2008 AGM on Friday 3rd October at Warners Court, Charfield, Gloucestershire.

Please confirm by mail, email or phone if you wish to attend.

Business is discussed in the morning with a round up of last year's progress and plans for the coming year. Officers are elected and accounts approved. This is followed by a garden walk and delicious vegetarian home cooked lunch using fresh local ingredients. The afternoon talk/discussion will focus on the topics of the GM community's claim to grow food for nutrition and the ideas proposed in the series of Sowing the Seed articles on the interconnectedness of Nutrition.

Keep your eyes and ears open this year and try to make a mental note of how many news articles and relevant stories you hear to do with nutrition, food quality, health and sustainability. They are all connected and are becoming hot topics rising to the top of many people’s thoughts and concerns. As of Jan 09 the new organic standards allowing 0.9% GM contamination is just one issue I am sure you will all hear about.