At the Society's AGM in Bath on Saturday 10 June, we gave our thanks to Karen Kenny who has worked hard as our President for the last 4 years and welcomed our new President, Phil Gomersall and his colourful braces to the role.
Phil, born and bred in Leeds, lives in Rawdon where he is a very active within the community. He already holds a number of posts in the allotment world in the Yorkshire Allotment Gardeners Federation, the Leeds and District Allotment Gardeners Federation, Victory Garden Allotments Association and also Rawdon in Bloom. He is a stalwart supporter of allotments and has been an allotment advisor for the Yorkshire Region for a good number of years with another allotment organisation. He has also taken a leading role in creating many award winning allotment show gardens both locally and nationally to promote allotment gardening.
He hopes to raise the profile of allotment gardening and enlighten more people to the many benefits that allotment gardening can offer. He says “allotment gardening is much more than just growing fruit and veg and can be extremely therapeutic”. He goes on to say “that allotments, if properly managed, are the only truly sustainable form of social gardening and can be run without funding and expense to the community and yet provide so many environmental and social benefits”.
He is also a firm believer that allotment plot-holders should be members of the National Allotment Society which can then provide a stronger voice in the protection, promotion and preservation of what is part of our heritage, and of great benefit to our environment and communities, our allotments.
Phil sporting his showman’s hat and chain of office
Phil at Victory Garden Allotments, Rawdon
