About Us - History
History - the start - 1939 to 1954
The Association was formed in 1939 on the outbreak of the Second World War when the Government was urging everyone to "Dig for Victory", more usually called "Dig for Britain". This was in the face of the likely threat of raids on cargo ships heading for British ports and carrying food. To fight the threat to food suppliers, the Government urged all those with land
to turn it over to growing food. Many home owners and public bodies
dug up lawns and flower beds and planted potatoes, carrots, peas etc. instead.
To help with this, Nottinghamshire County Council set up the
Nottinghamshire Schools Rural Studies Panel. Initially there were just 5
Members on the Panel, all drawn from schools. Through the war years
the Panel published leaflets, or Bulletins, which dealt with a wide variety
of subjects related to practical Rural Studies, from how to grow
potatoes to how to sex chickens! These Bulletins were published and
distributed around Nottinghamshire schools.
On 8 January 1940 the rationing of supplies of butter bacon
and sugar was introduced in Britain, with most other foods
following soon afterwards. The "Dig for Victory" Campaign
helped to alleviate some of the effects of the rationing.
History - post war - 1954 to 2022
Rationing remained in place until 4 July 1954, 14 years
after it's introduction and 9 years after the end of the War!
With a steadily increasing supply of food volumes and
variety beginning to take place, the Rural Studies Panel decided to change the emphasis of its work. It became regional, organising into four Branches - North, South, East and West. These groupings were within the renamed Nottinghamshire Rural Studies Association. Each Branch operated independently but there was an Annual Meeting to which Members of each Branch were invited. The original Panel Bulletin became a larger and more widely circulated Journal for the Association.
The Second issue of the Journal depicted a design for the 'tree of activities' which represented astructure of Rural Studies Education. A similar tree design became the logo of the newly
formed Association. A Constitution was adopted..
In the 1960s the Association joined the National Association for Environmental Education
and subsequently amended its name to the Nottinghamshire Association for Environmental Education. This name was retained until 2022, although more usually know in later years without the word 'Education' as the membership make-up had drastically changed. In the early years
membership was designed for those involved in
Rural Studies teaching in schools. Some
schools established small farm units, especially
Dukeries Comprehensive School in Ollerton in the
north of the county. This was under the watchful
eye of Jim Swindin who, later in life, became Chairman of the North
Branch.
Education never stands still and, gradually, the emphasis on Rural
Studies teaching highlighted by World War 2 faded, the number of teachers of the subject dwindling as a consequence. Membership of the Branches, mostly around 30 per branch, changed as well, with fewer teachers and more members of the general public joining each Branches. By the end of the 20th Century the South and West Branches had ceased to exist due to dwindling membership. Following the Covid outbreak in 2020, and the restrictions imposed on meetings, the Eastern Branch also failed.
The Branch structure had lasted for 81 years! Milestones were marked - such as the Silver & Golden Jubilees of the Association as well as the 80th Anniversary.
(Thanks are due to Janice Culley-Oliver for much of the information above.)
About Us - History
2022 to the Present Day
Through the years into the new millennium, the four groups continued to operate in the different regions of Nottinghamshire. The emphasis gradually changed from food production through more general horticulture. There were several name changes to reflect this change of emphasis. School teacher membership was also
gradually diminishing and the four areas recruited members from the general
public. By the beginning of the 2,000s the membership was comprised mostly of
the general public but total membership was rapidly declining. When the 80th
anniversary was celebrated in 2019 there remained only the Northern Branch, centred around Retford, and the Eastern Branch, centred around Newark, still operating
. Following the Covid Pandemic of 2020-2022 and the forced suspension of the activity of groups such as ours, the Eastern Branch decided to close permanently.
That left the Northern Branch as the sole remaining representative of the original 4 branches. A new title for the Branch - Nottinghamshire Environmental Association - was decided upon, dropping the words 'Northern Branch'.
The Northern Branch Association now represented the whole original tree!
A new more modern logo, which still incorporates an image of a tree to represent the original ethos of there Association, was designed and the original constitution was re-written to better represent the new situation and more modern times. These changes were debated and adopted in 2022 at the first Meeting , a picnic, following Covid..
The Association continues to modernise with the adoption of email and texting as the major methods of communication, with some 95% of Members now contacted ion this way. We also now accept payment of Fees and for Visits online and are looking towards internet banking, with this website being another example of forward thinking . We continue to 'move with the times'!
