Where are the younger members

[Giles]

.....I could send you pages of suggestions if you wanted....

[Maggi Young]

Seriously, Giles, if you would take the time to send me any suggestions you have then I would be pleased to pass them to the SRGC Council and President who are more than open to advice from the Members. Thank you! 

[mark smyth]

digressing here sorry
I hear Gardener's World viewing numbers have nose dived since Toby et al took over. Are we surprised? Nah!

If they cant attract an audience how can a garden club?

[Ragged Robin]

If they cant attract an audience how can a garden club?

Content is what makes a good programme, Mark, but personalities have hijacked these gardening programmes which I find of little interest anymore - I agree with Giles there has to be a way to engage with young-er people and if they see that a site that is lively, like the SRGC Forum, and relevant to their lifestyle they will be drawn in.  Where else can they find such detailed information on growing all sorts of plants in all sorts of localities and have their own efforts encouraged and admired?  In addition a sense of humour will cheer them up after a hard days work and supply exciting challenges for the WE let alone open up their eyes to travel opportunities in all the amazing places revealed in these threads - no travel agent could do that!  

"We will, we will rock you" should be our Mantra  

[Giles]

It will be done Maggi.
Having progressed through various societies, and now in horticultural college I can see that there are alot of opportunities out there.

[mark smyth]

Every year our group invites students from the horticultural college to join for free. No-one ever comes.

I am the baby of our group

[Giles]

Mark, (and others, as it seems to be recurring theme)...
--it would be wrong to assume that all horticultural groups are necessarily geared to 'older' people, or have an ageing profile.
I recently attanded a meeting, at which, I (aged 45) was probably the oldest person there.

[mark smyth]

Very well done for that group. Was it an ordinary gardening group?

[David Nicholson]

........ In spite of  considerable efforts in these directions, however, there is never exactly an avalanche of applicants for the free places or the grants! 

Could well be poor publicity Maggi, or perhaps good publicity but in the wrong places?

I shall be interested in the points Giles has to make but in the meantime it seems to me that we shouldn't expect young people to come to us, we must go to them and meet them in their surroundings offering their comforts. If we wish to get a reaction from them we need to provide them with the stimulation to generate the reaction. Not new at all, that is how it has always been.

[Maggi Young]

........ In spite of  considerable efforts in these directions, however, there is never exactly an avalanche of applicants for the free places or the grants! 

Could well be poor publicity Maggi, or perhaps good publicity but in the wrong places?
 

Colleges offering horticultural course are informed, noted on websites advising about Grants...... not sure what else could be done. It would be too easy to spend the budget on advertising or admin, which is not desired.

[Sinchets]

I've been gardening in some way, shape, or form since I was a child. It was always a secret passion as gardening was for 'older' people and not something kids did. I regret this now, as I would have loved to have trained in Botany or worked at a Botanic garden. Instead I studied Biology, which was never plant-orientated enough for my liking.
I grew interested in alpines in my midteens, when I found some of Ingwerson's books in the local library, and sent off for catalogues from several now defunct Alpine Nurseries. I attended some Alpine Shows as a 'spectator'; but being a half, third or even one quarter of the average age isn't easy and I suppose the general assumption is that you are someone's child. I always found as a younger person at shows you are much more likely to be made to wait longer to buy something or be pushed out of the way. I was once slapped sharply on the bum by a much older lady, who should have known better, and told to move out of her way. I was brought up to respect my elders and do understand the phrase 'Excuse me' so I was left rather shocked. How would she have reacted if I had done this? How long before the Police were called?
I always feel that the measure of any society is how welcoming the regular members are to new faces. Thanks go out to the SRGC and SOC for making us both feel welcome at our first few meetings in Aberdeen.
It is also important to remember that age does not necessarily bestow wisdom. Some younger members may not just be 'newbies', they may have a lot of experience, and insights gained from this, they would like to share.
Gardening I feel has always suffered from reverse ageism. I realise that at 39 I am about to fall out of the younger gardner set and into the older gardner grouping. I will let you know if my thoughts on the matter change next summer. Though I would still like to know at what age it is acceptable to slap someone on the behind and tell them to move.  

[David Nicholson]

Maggi, no criticism intended just bouncing ideas around.

Notifications to Colleges, if you are lucky, get stuck on an already crowded notice board and in an inferior place to the notice advertising the Fresher's pub crawl, and if you are unlucky they get chucked in a waste paper bin. Been there, done that!! Only the committed will a) be aware of the Web Site, and b) take a look at it, so we need a bit of lateral thinking of the mountains and Mohammed variety.

If, for example and as a start, each Horticultural College in Scotland were to be allocated a SRGC contact and the individual contact was able to make it possible to have a table in the SU Bar near to the beginning of term with all the publicity about membership and particularly about grants and free subscriptions then that might just work. If this could be added to with a prize ( free beer for a fortnight) for the best planted alpine trough or container then that might work too.

Ok, I know, it's labour intensive; it's another job for volunteers; etc. The question is is it for a worth while cause?

[Maggi Young]

Only the committed will a) be aware of the Web Site, and b) take a look at it,

Really ?!!  when I was thinking about student Grants, I would have searched high and low around the interent ( if it had existed then!!)  to find Grant giving bodies ...... it seems the relevant web site, which I cannot remember now, is search area numero uno for money hungry students... it's a central type thing which lists Grant opportunities for practically anything!

[Michael]

Perhaps some of our younger members could reply?

I am sorry, i just stumbled across this thread today. I have been busy these last days and only had time to read diagonally most of the posts. I really wish i had more time, but right now I am preparing all the requirements and also filling the application forms aiming to enter the school of horticulture at Kew (Kew diploma or in second though it could be the Traineeship course as well).  Meanwhile I'm also having a lot of work structuring my own garden before I leave... so this mean that from now on all climbers, bushes and trees will be planted on the ground, thus sparing my poor mother on having to water those during my absence.

Anyway, I totally agree with the fact that many people only start to get interested in plants and gardening after their mid thirties, or sometimes later. I wish I could find out which factors do trigger their interest in the plant kingdom. I have a few friends that suddenly got interested in gardening and I always ask them why this sudden interest. They fail to give me an overall satisfactory answer... So it is still a mystery why people's interest in horticulture rampantly increase all of the sudden and out from nothing.

Regarding the youngsters, I agree they do have a busy life. But for whatever reasons that keep them busy, they often fail to realise how life is in reality, and due to their minor responsibilities, lack of experience and sometimes immaturity, I guess they start to plan the ideal life they would like to have, and they firmly stick to that metal schedule believing that things will be like that. And I guess plants don't play a major role on that sketch (unless it is a Cannabis sativa or Erythroxylum coca lol). It seems that only Carnivorous plants can be "interesting enough" to capture their attention as i have been on a lot of Forums dedicated to these plants, and they have a lot of younger people.

Sadly I sometimes find this a bit snobbish... Insectivorous plants are plants first and then, only then, they are carnivorous. So if they are like a Daphne or a Fritillaria, they were supposed to be as interesting. If things were like this, I bet that there would be a lot more younger people participating on forums about other kinds of plants.

Now speaking about myself, I always wanted to have a job related to Botany, and I made up my mind very early regarding this issue. When I finished my secondary graduation, I suffered a lot of pressure from family, friends and some acquaintances, as they advised me to follow other career and only grow plants as a mere hobbie, because in their minds the kind of job I wanted to pursue seemed uninteresting and not very promising on it's potential income. My mother for instance, she wanted me to do Pharmacy, Biochemestry or Medicine. But I always found the strength and resisted to all these persuasions. I have thought a lot about my future career in the past and I must confess sometimes one feels tempted to pick up an option that seems to be safer in terms of available vacancies at the work market and aiming for a promising wage as well. But just the idea of sitting on a chair and being on the office all day long hearing people complaining about their health problems and having to deal with that is frightening. So, yes, I had chosen botany/horticulture because it is what i like to do and what makes my life pleasurable and joyfull. Having said that, I guess I do not need anything else, do I? So far, I don't know how my future will be, but whatever path it decides to take I know I will not regret the decision i had made.

Sometimes i joke with my mother and I say to her that even in the case I fail and have no option other than living in a house like this:


...I surely will make the garden of the neighbouring palace look shameful!!

[Maggi Young]

Ok, I know, it's labour intensive; it's another job for volunteers; etc. The question is is it for a worth while cause?

Well that is the 64 thousand dollar question for every Club and every task, isn't it? :-\There is a list of vacant positions or positions about to be vacant, in the Club.....not too many names coming forward for those jobs and that's the problem, isn't it?  



Michael, well said! And you know. I hope,  that all of us here applaud your choice and wish you every success!