Greenfingers frustrations....

Hi,

As you will be aware I have been using the RSPB forum for several years now, during which time I have attempted to try and help get other members interested in gardening for wildlife in particular.

On the old website we used to get some really interesting subjects being debated and certainly enjoyed many more visitors to the gardening section of the site. When we changed to the new website (which was needed) we seem to have somehow struggled to get the same interest, with in my experience just a handful of regular contributers.

I have a theory that this is partly due to the fact that the Greenfingers section isn't obvious to new visitors and is difficult to find if you don't know where it is situated on the site.

To clarify this, when I first came back on the new site I couldn't find the section at all and had to ask someone where it was! After being shown I made a short cut as I couldn't find it again. Recently being concerned with the lack of input on this section I set myself the task of pretending to be brand new on here and finding this section. My experiment actually worked much better than planned as I couldn't find it and had to resort to my shortcut again!! LOL :-) I then tasked a couple of friends who had never used the site before to log on and find the gardening section, which they both failed to do being unable to find it!

With the current emphisis on getting more people to garden for wildlife is there a way that this section could be easier to find for new comers? Maybe something very basic like a "Wldlife Gardening" link on the home page and/or other well used areas of the site?

It would be interested to know what others think and why it's not getting the use that it deserves?

I submit this for your consideration and action if deemed necessary?

Best

Higgy