
机构概况与历史沿革
英国 有机花园(Garden Organic,前身为 Henry Doubleday Research Association,简称 HDRA)是英国最具代表性的有机园艺慈善机构,1958 年由热衷有机种植的 Lawrence Hills 在英格兰 Essex 郡 Bocking 村一片紫草(comfrey)试验田的基础上成立,以纪念 19 世纪将紫草引入英国的贵格派小农 Henry Doubleday;协会 1975 年创立 Heritage Seed Library(传统种子图书馆),1985 年将总部迁至英格兰中部沃里克郡 Coventry 附近的 Ryton Gardens,目前在英国与苏格兰双注册为慈善机构(英格兰和威尔士注册号 298104、苏格兰 SC046767),并由 His Majesty King Charles III 自 1989 年起担任 Patron(庇护人)。
组织架构与治理
协会按英国慈善法标准治理结构运行:全体会员年度大会(Annual General Meeting)选举产生理事会(Board of Trustees),理事会负责战略与财务监督;执行团队按职能划分为 Heritage Seed Library、有机园艺、知识转移、社区运营、科学研究、传播、会员服务等核心岗位,常驻 Ryton Gardens 总部。Heritage Seed Library 自 1975 年起作为协会长期旗舰项目,由国家收集并向会员分发,目前保留约 800 个 heritage 蔬菜品种。现任理事会成员、年度审计报告与组织章程可通过协会官方网站的 “Who we are” 与 “Charity information” 公开页面查阅。
核心业务:Ryton Organic Gardens 与 Heritage Seed Library
协会的实体基地是位于 Coventry 附近 Wolston Lane 的 Ryton Organic Gardens,内含约 10 英亩的有机示范花园、Heritage Seed Library 干燥室与种子清洁设施;Heritage Seed Library(HSL)面向会员维护国家传统蔬菜活体收藏,通过 Members’ Experiments(会员实验)、Citizen Science(公民科学)与 Ryton 的示范花园,联合英国各地 Master Composters 与 Master Gardeners 志愿者网络推广有机堆肥、无挖掘(no-dig)、绿肥(green manures)、无毒害虫防治等四大主题;在 Highgrove 等王室庄园,协会与 King Charles III 的有机园艺项目保持长期协作。
会员服务、出版与公众教育
协会拥有约 20,000 名付费会员,影响逾 300 万园艺爱好者,出版季刊《The Organic Way》与不定期专题报告,开通 Organic Matters 月度电子通讯;会员可获 Heritage Seed Library 年度种子目录分发权、Ryton 示范花园免费参观、专家课程与讲座折扣、参与种子守护者(Seed Guardians)、英国及海外志愿项目;公众教育方面,协会运营有机园艺在线证书课程(Introduction to Organic Growing),并通过社区项目支持学校、议会与志愿者团体在英国各地建立可食地景与社区花园。
政策倡导与国际合作
协会长期以”有机种植对健康、可持续未来至关重要”为使命,发起”Growers Against Glyphosate”(种植者反对草甘膦)运动推动英国禁用草甘膦,并将 1990 年以来英国农业草甘膦使用量增长 1,000% 作为关键政策证据;协会承诺 2050 年前实现机构自身净零排放(Net Zero by 2050),并维持 Climate-Conscious Website 认证。国际协作上,协会与欧洲、北美、大洋洲的有机园艺研究网络保持联络,参与 IFOAM Organics International 体系下关于种子主权、土壤健康与生物多样性的全球对话;2026 年 10 月 22 日将在线举办第 39 届年度会员大会(AGM),并与英国皇家园艺学会(RHS)、英国土壤协会(Soil Association)及苏格兰皇家植物园(RBGE)等同行开展定期交流。
Organisation Profile and History
Garden Organic (formerly the Henry Doubleday Research Association, HDRA) is the United Kingdom’s leading organic-gardening charity. It was founded in 1958 by Lawrence Hills on the strength of his comfrey (Symphytum) trials in Bocking, Essex, in tribute to the nineteenth-century Quaker smallholder Henry Doubleday, who first brought Russian comfrey to Britain. The charity set up its Heritage Seed Library in 1975, relocated its headquarters to Ryton Gardens near Coventry in 1985, and is now dual-registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (no. 298104) and OSCR for Scotland (SC046767). His Majesty King Charles III has been Patron since 1989.
Governance and Management
The charity follows the standard UK charity governance model. The Annual General Meeting of members elects the Board of Trustees, which oversees strategy, finance and risk; the executive team is organised by function across the Heritage Seed Library, organic horticulture, knowledge transfer, community engagement, science, communications and membership, and is based at Ryton Gardens. The Heritage Seed Library has conserved roughly 800 heritage vegetable varieties since 1975. Current trustees, audited annual accounts and the memorandum of articles are published on the charity’s website under “Who we are” and “Charity information”.
Core Activity: Ryton Organic Gardens and the Heritage Seed Library
The charity’s home site is Ryton Organic Gardens on Wolston Lane near Coventry, Warwickshire, comprising an organic demonstration garden, the Heritage Seed Library seed-drying and cleaning facilities, and a working organic vegetable plot. Through Members’ Experiments, Citizen Science and a UK-wide volunteer network of Master Composters and Master Gardeners, the charity promotes four core practices — composting, no-dig cultivation, green manures and pesticide-free pest control — and partners with Royal Patron sites such as Highgrove on organic horticultural research. The Heritage Seed Library maintains the National Collection of Heritage Vegetables.
Member Services, Publications and Public Education
The charity counts some 20,000 paying members and reaches more than three million gardeners worldwide. It publishes the quarterly magazine The Organic Way and the monthly e-newsletter Organic Matters, while members receive annual Heritage Seed Library seed catalogues, free access to the Ryton demonstration garden, discounted expert courses, and invitations to join Seed Guardians and overseas volunteer programmes. Public education is delivered through the Introduction to Organic Growing online certificate, alongside school, council and community-garden projects across the UK.
Policy Advocacy and International Collaboration
Under its mission — that organic growing is essential for a healthy and sustainable world — the charity leads the Growers Against Glyphosate campaign, citing the 1,000% rise in UK agricultural glyphosate use since 1990 as evidence for a domestic ban. The organisation has committed to Net Zero by 2050 across its own operations and holds Certified Climate-Conscious Website status. Internationally, the charity engages with the IFOAM Organics International network on seed sovereignty, soil health and biodiversity, and cooperates with the Royal Horticultural Society, the Soil Association and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; its 39th Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 22 October 2026.








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