<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" class=""><div dir="auto" class="">Dear Eric and group members, <div dir="ltr" class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Here’s my perspective, as someone relatively new to the AEG and growing Arisaema. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">1. The group resources were a great help when I first began five or six years ago. Firstly the seed exchange, but also the online articles and pictures. I have read the mailing list but, as Eric points out, without someone actively running this it will decline. So far there have been 10 responses to Eric’s appeal for help for the AEG: such a limited response to an existential crisis suggests to me that very few of the AEG members are reading the mailing list. </div><div class="">2. There’s a lot that I don’t like about Facebook, but it is easy to use, the ‘Arisaema Enthusiasts’ Facebook group has 3800 members and a regular stream of contributions. Many of the contributions (including most of mine) are ‘here’s a picture of my Arisaema …’, but there is also some more in-depth botanical discussion. </div><div class="">3. Combining the above two points, in my opinion, the ‘Arisaema Enthusiasts’ Facebook group has become the <i class="">de facto</i> discussion group for Arisaema. Perhaps it is time to encourage AEG members to use the Facebook group for discussion. </div><div class="">4. The AEG seed exchange is a very worthwhile, and unique, activity. I would go further and suggest that there is a need for an Arisaema tuber exchange (I’ve just finished repotting my Arisaema and I have more A. fargesii offsets than I know what to do with). However, appeals for seed from Eric seem to have gone largely unheeded this year, and I fear that this is because of the low readership of the mailing list. In the past I have used the Facebook group to encourage people to contribute seeds to the AEG seedex, and suggested it as a source for seeds, but this has been in response to people asking questions so has limited visibility. The next stage would be to liaise with the Facebook group owners so that the AEG seedex can be publicised on Facebook in a more direct way (there is no/very little selling/swapping of seeds and tubers on the Facebook group, in fact I think it is discouraged, so the AEG seedex wouldn't be in competition with anyone). </div><div class="">5. That leaves the picture gallery, the articles and the other resources on the AEG website. Again, they are very worthwhile but I fear they are little used. I am afraid that I am at a loss for ideas about how to make these better known.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">In summary, I think that the future efforts of the group should be focussed on the website resources and the seed exchange.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">best regards</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Keith</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></body></html>