With the year well underway, and Autumn upon us, I have found that the summer newsletter escaped, due to lots of field days and grant reporting. Any assistance with compiling the newsletter or any articles/stories would be Much Appreciated, and help ensure that each edition is published on time.

Summer seed collecting with members around the state, including Bridport, Hawley and Margate has resulted in copious amounts of paperbags, in the seedbank awaiting sorting and cleaning. Added to these, are seeds sent in by members - giving us a really good range of species from an increasing number of sites. I'm sure there are still lots of overfull shoeboxes of seeds in people's cupboards - I will be seeking these out in winter, when we will have time to take stock and have some seed sorting sessions.

Our new Autumn Growers Scheme is about to get underway, this will be focused on growing seeds that germinate best over Autumn and Winter. This is a trial, to see if plants germinate and grow quickly enough to go in the ground before it dries out and temperatures rise. There is certainly plenty of interest from members in registering for this growing scheme.

I hope that those growing in the last Spring round have had success, and your plants have been gratefully received by the landowner.

I'd like to farewell our vice president Helen Morgan from the committee. Helen was one of the key people in refunding and revitalising the Understorey Network, and her contribution has been much appreciated. Welcome to Neve Alice, born to committee member Liz in March, Congratulations to Liz and family!