NWDG NEW MEMBERS’ PRIZE

As an initiative to welcome and encourage participation by our newer members, the NWDG is pleased to announce the NWDG New Members Prize.  NWDG will offer one prize each year, for the best contribution to the newsletter by a new member.  The prize is to have the fee element paid by NWDG for one NWDG event, such as excursion, workshop or history conference, valid for uptake for 2 years after the award.

 

We are seeking entries on any topic which in some way relate to the objectives of NWDG: that is to encourage interest in native woodlands, their ecology, management and history. This may be interpreted quite broadly, and subjects do not have to be British or scientific, though they may be.

 

A new member will normally be defined as someone who has joined NWDG within the last 3 years, although in its inaugural year, we are widening the period to 4 years to benefit those who would otherwise fall just outside the net. This for the inaugural prize, in 2010, those eligible to enter are those who joined NWDG in 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010. For the 2011 prize, eligibility is joiners from 2009, 2010 or 2011, and for 2012 it is joiners from 2010, 2011 or 2012. The New Members Prize scheme will run for an initial three years (2010, 2011 and 2012), and will then be reviewed by the NWDG committee to determine whether to continue.

 

Please note, if you joined NWDG in 2007 or 2008, this year is your only chance to enter so please do consider doing so.

 

The maximum word limit is 1500, with up to 6 photos or illustrations, though we welcome shorter contributions.

 

The deadline for entries for the 2010 prize is 5th November 2010, and the winner will be contacted in December 2010.

Entries should follow the usual Newsletter ‘Notes for Contributors’. They should be word-processed in MS Word or equivalent and submitted by email to Prize Co-ordinator, Coralie Mills at coraliem@hotmail.co.uk  before the closing date. Entrants are deemed to have accepted the full terms and conditions which appear below.

The winning entry will be published in the NWDG Spring Newsletter; thus the winning entry for 2010 will appear in the Spring 2011 newsletter. The decision of the judges shall be final.  Some runner-up articles may also be published, with the permission of the author, and space permitting.  So if you have joined NWDG in recent years, and would like to inform the membership of your interests and have the chance to win having your fees paid for an NWDG event, then please consider submitting an article for the New Members Prize competition.



NWDG NEW MEMBERS PRIZE SCHEME: TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Coralie Mills, Prize Co-ordinator, June 2010.

 

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

Any entrants are automatically considered to have accepted these terms and conditions.

 

Concept

As announced at the NWDG AGM in April 2010, NWDG will offer one prize each year, for the best contribution to the newsletter by a ‘new member’ (as defined below). The Prize is seen as a mechanism for encouraging more contributions to the newsletter and more participation by new members, giving them the opportunity to inform the membership of their interests. Perhaps in time the Prize will be an additional encouragement for people to join NWDG. We shall initially trial the scheme for 3 years, 2010, 2011 and 2012, at which point NWDG committee will decide whether to continue.

 

Eligibility

A new member will normally be defined as someone who has joined NWDG within the last 3 years, though in the Prize’s inaugural year (2010), we are widening the period to 4 years to benefit those who would otherwise fall just outside the net. Thus for the inaugural prize, in 2010, those eligible to enter joined NWDG in 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010. For the 2011 prize, eligibility is joiners from 2009, 2010 or 2011, and so on. Please note, if you joined NWDG in 2007 or 2008, then the 2010 competition is your only chance to enter.

 

Eligibility Prize 1, awarded late 2010: Those who have joined NWDG in 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010

 

Eligibility Prize 2, awarded late 2011: Those who have joined NWDG in 2009, 2010 or 2011

 

Eligibility Prize 3, awarded late 2012; Those who have joined NWDG in 2010, 2011 or 2012.

 

Only fully-paid up NWDG  members who meet the other eligibility criteria will be eligible to have their entries considered for the prize. Lapsed ‘new members’ who are not fully paid up, or who have since left NWDG, will not be eligible.

 

Anyone who transferred membership from SWHDG will be considered as a new member from the date of starting their NWDG membership, irrespective of how long they were previously in SWHDG.

 

‘New Members Prize Judging Panel’ members and NWDG committee members will not be eligible to enter the competition.

 

The Prize

The prize will be to have the fees  paid on any one NWDG event whether a NWDG workshop, the NWDG excursion or the NWDG history conference (all subject to availability and booking in the normal way). The prize is the re-imbursement by NWDG of the Fees only for one such event for the winner. The prize does not include other expenses such as travel, accommodation or subsistence.  The Prize must be taken up at an event within 2 years of the award, for example the 2010 prize winner will be informed in Dec 2010 and will be eligible to use their prize on one NWDG event in either 2011 or 2012 (subject to availability; the individual is responsible for making their booking in the usual way). Normally the NWDG treasurer will reimburse the winner for the Fees element of one qualifying NWDG event, after the winner has booked and paid for the chosen event in the normal way including the Fees element. This will require submission to the NWDG treasurer of (1) a receipt showing the Fees element and (2) the NWDG New Member’s Prize Token - which the winner will receive shortly after being notified of their win.

 

Nature of entries / How to enter

NWDG will offer one prize each year for the best contribution to the newsletter by a new member.  We are seeking entries on any topic which in some way relate to the objectives of NWDG: to encourage interest in native woodlands, their ecology, management and history. This may be interpreted quite broadly, and subjects do not have to be British or scientific, though they may be. The maximum word limit is 1500, with up to 6 photos or illustrations, though we welcome shorter contributions.

 

The annual deadline for entries is 5th November, and the winner will be contacted in December.

 

Entries should follow the usual Newsletter ‘Notes for Contributors’. They should be word-processed in MS Word or equivalent and submitted by email to the Prize Co-ordinator, Coralie Mills at coraliem@hotmail.co.uk  before the deadline. Late entries will not be considered. Entries from non-qualifying individuals will not be considered.

 

Working of scheme / NWDG New Members Prize Co-ordinator

One committee member, selected by the NWDG committee, runs the prize scheme on behalf of the NWDG committee and is identified as the NWDG New Members Prize Co-ordinator. This co-ordinator will initially serve for 3 years (2010-12), assuming on the committee for that period, at which point the continuation of the scheme and the allocation of the post of co-ordinator is for the committee to determine. The committee may select a replacement co-ordinator if this post-holder leaves the committee before the 3 year period is up. 

 

This co-ordinator (currently Coralie Mills) will manage the prize scheme, working closely with the other members of the judging panel (NWDG membership secretary and newsletter editor), and will keep the NWDG chair, secretary and treasurer and the committee generally informed. This person drafts the competition rules, terms and conditions, and revises them if the committee so directs.  This person co-ordinates the work of the judging panel.  This person arranges the advertising, is the submission point for entries, and circulates entries to the judging panel, informs the winner and administers the awarding of the prize.

 

Annual timetable for Prize

The Prize competition will be advertised in the Newsletter, supported by information on the NWDG website. The first announcement for the 2010 competition will be in early Autumn 2010 newsletter  for the 2010 competition, with a submission deadline of 5th Nov, the panel will judge entries by end Nov and inform the winner in December 2010. The winning entry (if any) will be published in the Spring Newsletter 2011.  The equivalent timetable will apply in 2011 and 2012.

 

Judging panel and process

The entries will be judged by a panel of three committee member’s comprising New Member’s Prize Co-ordinator (currently Coralie Mills), The Newsletter editor (currently Alison Averis) and the Membership Sec (currently Stephen Brown).  All panel members will review all entries. Each panel member casts 1 vote for which they regard as best entry, a majority vote wins the prize. In the event of the panel not reaching a majority decision on the first vote, the panel will discuss the outcome and seek to come to an agreed revised decision.  If the deadlock cannot be solved, the decision will be referred to the NWDG Chair who will make the final decision. However, the panel will seek to come to a decision and avoid deadlock if at all possible. 

 

Runners-up

The winning article will be published in the spring newsletter alongside a report on the competition which will usually include the name of the winner and the names of all other entrants. The newsletter editor may wish to publish some of the runners-up articles, space permitting, and if so she will contact entrants individually for permission to do so.  No prize will be given for runners-up.

 

Enquiries

Enquiries about the Prize scheme should be addressed to the Prize Co-ordinator, Coralie Mills, at coraliem@hotmail.co.uk



 
 
 
 
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