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Membership form

The Adirondack Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society is open to anyone who is interested in rock garden plants and rock gardening.  Benefits of chapter membership include:

• Meetings and workshops designed to broaden members' knowledge of plants, from seed germination to garden construction.
  
  
• 10 Issues/year of our Chapter newsletter The Green Dragon. 
  
  
• Plant sales, both public and private.
  
  
• Garden tours.
  
  
• Community projects.
  

To join, please complete the membership form. 

Membership FAQ:

How much does it cost to join? Membership levels:

• Individual: $15
• Household: $20
• Business: $30
• Individual Lifetime Membership: $150
• Household Lifetime Membership: $225
• Surcharge for receiving the Green Dragon (our newsletter) as a paper copy: $10

When I join, do I get the newsletter mailed to me? Note that in 2007, any member who requests to receive a hard copy of the newsletter through the mail will pay an additional $10 per year to cover printing and postage costs. Otherwise, you will receive the newsletter via email attachment. Please consider saving a tree and receive the newsletter via email!

How long is a membership good for? Memberships follow the calendar year from January 1 through December 31. The membership cost remains the same regardless of when during the calendar you pay your dues. We generally begin our membership renewal drive in November.

What are the benefits of membership? While our meetings have always been “open to the public” at no cost, there are member-only benefits. Among them: receiving the Green Dragon newsletter electronically or by mail, a 25% discount on plant purchases at our May sale, purchasing plants at our August members-only plant sale, and eligibility for annual appreciation gifts, grants, and awards.

What is the difference between AC-NARGS and NARGS National? The Adirondack Chapter is one of 36 Chapters affiliated with NARGS-National, the parent organization.

What is the relationship between the Chapter and National? The Chapter receives certain benefits from the affiliation in return for a few expectations. National provides its Chapters with speakers of national and international repute that we otherwise would not be able to afford on our own. When a new chapter is proposed – as was the case with the Genesee Valley Chapter recently – National must grant approval. Otherwise, we operate fairly autonomously with our own board, budget, and program each year. The Chapter does not pay anything for this affiliation.

Why should I join NARGS National? Your membership connects you to thousands of gardeners worldwide who have similar interests and collectively represent a wealth of rock gardening and more general gardening knowledge. Your membership also supports the mission of NARGS, which is to promote knowledge and appreciation of rock gardening. Besides these reasons there are some fabulous benefits, among them eligibility to participate in the annual seed exchange (with over 5,000 species, many of which are not commercially available), subscriptions to the Rock Garden Quarterly (beautifully and intelligently executed) and Bulletin, invitations to the NARGS Annual Conference and two study weekends, discounts on books through Timber Press, and more. Visit their website at www.nargs.org to learn more about them.

How do I join NARGS National? For those who have joined, you are automatically sent annual renewal notices. For first-time members, our Chapter membership form now allows you to join National as well. It’s as easy as checking the box indicating that you wish to join and enclosing the additional membership cost of $30. We’ll forward this to the national organization. Their membership, unlike ours, runs a full 12-month cycle. In other words, if you join in November, you will need to renew in November. Once a member, they automatically send you renewal notices.

To join, please complete the membership form.

Ways You Can Contribute to the Chapter

As a member, we hope that you will not only enjoy these benefits, but that you will become an active participant in keeping the Chapter functioning and viable. Besides your attendance at meetings and workshops, here are some ways in which you can contribute to the Chapter:

• Invite friends and fellow gardeners to attend and join; tell others about the Chapter.
  
  
• Contribute plants to Chapter plant sales, and purchase plants at them too.
  
  
• Become a board member or volunteer to help (we always welcome more volunteers)
  
  
• Host a speaker or be a speaker.
  
  
• Write an article for the newsletter.
  
  
• Provide ideas for topics for monthly meetings, workshops, or news articles.
  
  
• Host the annual picnic.
  
  
• Open your garden for a garden tour.
  
  
• Share your feedback on events, meetings and activities.

If you want to join, please fill out and return a membership form.