Sheffield Botanical Gardens Friends group searches for new chairman

Friends of the Botanical Gardens are looking for a new chair to run the group.

Do you have some free time in the week? Are you green fingered with a knack for organisation? You might be just what this Sheffield gardens group is looking for.

Friends of the Botanical Gardens, which helps to look after the city’s stunning Botanical Gardens and conducts outreach work, is searching for a new chairman to lead their group of 500 Friends.

Jill Thompson, who was the previous chairman, died last October after becoming ill with cancer and the Friends group are now looking for someone to take up her mantle.

Jill Sinclair, who was chairman of the group before Jill Thompson, said: “There are two things the chair does.

Jill Thompson, the last Chair of the group, with Adam Frost from Gardeners' World.

"One is keeping the organisation running so that people know what they are doing - keeping all the plates spinning.

“The other thing is outward facing, working with the council and charitable trust, being available for the public and the media.

"When I was chair I liked that it was a really thriving organisation, membership was growing and you could really do things.

"I agreed a series of projects with the council that we would work on jointly, such as replanting an area of the gardens. I have worked with some charities with so little money that you are scurrying around to do stuff.

Jill Sinclair was Chair before Jill Thompson and says that she enjoyed having the scope to do lots of things with the group.

“With this group the horizon is so big and there are lots of enthusiastic volunteers. “There is such a sense of things happening, even during Covid our membership was still going up.”

Friends of the Botanical Gardens work alongside Sheffield Council to support volunteers in the gardens, as well as organising lectures, fundraising, giving tours, and producing a magazine.

Jill added: “When I became chairman I had just arrived in Sheffield and I didn’t know anyone so I wanted to get involved.

"For me it was about a day and half of work a week but it is very variable. It is a voluntary so to some extent it is what you make of it.

Friends of the Botanical Gardens works to look after the gardens and conduct outreach.

“The last chairman Jill was very busy because as soon as she took over Covid hit, many of our members are elderly and she had to keep in touch with them online.”

The group has also just received a heritage lottery grant to recruit a full time Education and Engagement Coordinator - they will set up formal training courses for keen gardeners as well as school events and reach out to diverse communities around the city.