The Trustees and Council of Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust are thrilled that Claire de Carle, the Chair, who was nominated by them for The Gardens Trust Annual Volunteer Award, has been awarded by the judging panel a new award the Exceptional Achievement Award. The judging panel was so impressed by her activities that they decided to create a new award for her “immense contribution to the historic designed landscape sector.” This will become a new, annual award, celebrating outstanding and sustained volunteer contributions over time. Congratulations, on being the first recipient of this new award. It is richly deserved!
What did we say?
Volunteer of the Year Award – The Gardens Trust – Claire de Carle
Category 3: Works for a County Gardens Trust or the Gardens Trust to reach new audiences to encourage interest and/or involvement in garden history
Description of the activity that the nominee has contributed in relation to the criteria
Everything Claire does contributes to reaching new audiences and encouraging interest and involvement in garden history. Her most innovative and far-reaching initiative is leading Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust (Bucks GT) in setting up the Buckinghamshire Gardeners’ Network, bringing together gardeners, including head gardeners, who often work on their own, to meet on a regular basis. The participating gardens take turns in hosting the meetings where there are formal presentations or specialist demonstrations followed by site tours. The gardeners thus have the opportunity to share professional experience and garden history knowledge, discuss the gardens and landscapes that they manage, and learn about the changing conditions that they have to work in. It has proved very popular and effective. A head gardeners’ WhatsApp support and communications group has also been set up on Claire’s initiative, encouraging and enabling a more outward-looking attitude by gardens that historically may have been somewhat isolated.
The gardeners all work in gardens that are either Registered or have been investigated by the Bucks GT’s Research and Recording project. Begun in 2014, Claire led this with great energy and expertise, as well as helping other County GTs to set up their own. The project has proved to be of enormous help in identifying sites proposed for the new Buckinghamshire Local Heritage List. Claire sits on the adjudication panel, ensuring parks and gardens are not overlooked on the Local List and introducing them to a new audience.
As Chair, Claire will be leading the Bucks GT into the next five years under the banner of ‘The Mission Statement Project’:
- Encouraging a greater awareness of the history of Buckinghamshire’s gardens by offering a programme of visits, talks and other events with an emphasis on education
- Increasing membership through audience engagement
- Learning about garden heritage through study days, training and education.
Impact that the nominee and their activity has had on the County Gardens Trust or National Gardens Trust and its aims
The popularity of the Gardeners’ Network is shown by its increase in membership from 15 to 35 (50% of them women) over the last year. Many gardens have thereby become available for Bucks GT members’ visits, and this also helps to attract new members. Our membership has been at its highest ever over the last two years.
These gardens moreover provide venues at which Bucks GT has been able to trial a series of outreach events at open days, plant fairs, etc. Claire has encouraged volunteers to attend such events across the county in order to recruit new members, and inform the wider public about our work to protect parks and gardens. Some head gardeners have said that their interest in garden history has been stimulated! The Gardeners’ Network visits are also an opportunity to publicise various gardens’ participation in Heritage Open Days and to arrange for Bucks GT to take part.
Participants have said:
“The trust is doing brilliant work and I enjoyed the last Gardeners’ Network meeting at Lord Carrington’s place.”
“It has been great to get to know all the other local Head Gardeners and an invaluable source of knowledge to tap into.”
“We loved seeing everyone, it’s such a great network. Enormous thanks to BGT.”
Beyond the Gardeners’ Network, in the next few months Claire’s outreach efforts mean she will be attending events and giving presentations to members of other heritage organisations. She will be judging ‘Aylesbury in Bloom’ with entries from schools and private gardens which will enable her to engage with teachers and gardening initiatives in schools. Bucks GT has also established a link with the Chiltern Young Archaeologists Club and will be hosting a workshop for their members later in the year.
