Our speaker on September 21st was a Trustee and highly experienced member of the Brownsea Open Air Theatre (BOAT). She gave us a very interesting talk on the history of BOAT which formed in 1964. Denise has directed 5 productions on Brownsea Island and 2 at Canford as well as acting in plays and being involved with the costumes. She brought a selection of amazing costumes and hats, all made by local volunteers, which were joyfully modelled by members, as our photos show! If you are interested in this and would like to come along to a Soroptimist International Bournemouth meeting to find out more, please email us at sigbibournemouth@hotmail.co.uk.

SIB was delighted to welcome Jenny Budden as our newest member at the meeting on September 21st. Alison Davis introduced her to the club and Acting President Lisa Maw presented her with her badge, induction pack and a very warm welcome. Jenny shared some of her past and it was clear that her experience has prepared her to be an excellent Soroptimist. We look forward to achieving things together. If you are interested in this and would like to come along to a Soroptimist International Bournemouth meeting to find out more, please email us at sigbibournemouth@hotmail.co.uk

Having had a talk in the club about the work of a local nursery with a difference, nine members of SIB went for a visit on September 7, 2026. Cherry Tree Nursery in Bournemouth is a mental health charity and plant nursery that uses therapeutic horticulture to help adults with life-impacting mental health conditions recover their well-being and gain a sense of purpose. The Community Liaison Officer for Plants and Minds, the charity that runs both Cherry Tree and Chestnut Nursery in Poole, was on hand to show us around. Unusually, virtually all the plants on sale are grown on site; cuttings are taken from mature plants to start new ones and these are nurtured to produce high-quality plants familiar with the climactic environment, so they do very well once planted in the area. It provides work experience for approximately 80 service users who benefit considerably

Following the club’s participation in the Citizens’ Panel, which aimed to enhance Bournemouth town centre, two members of the club took the lead on an initiative called ‘Greening Bournemouth’. The first phase was a Community Day of Action on July 30th to replant the 8 planters in Beale Place, after an extensive exercise linking in with many individuals and organisations. Twenty-five volunteers arrived to help plant the lovely healthy plants produced at Cherry Tree Nursery and paid for by Bournemouth University. We had gardening advice from Stephen at Garden Buddies and Anona at DWT; refreshments were provided by Tesco. Maintenance of the planters will be undertaken by 8 local businesses using ‘kits’ SIB donated with watering cans, gloves, trowels and thank you/ instruction leaflets. Jessica Toale MP, coordinator of the Citizens’ Panel and helper on the day, said “What a fabulous feat you have pulled

Every July, SIB holds our monthly meeting as a social event inviting partners, friends, ex members and interested parties. We have fish and chips, games, and seek voluntary donations that we can gift aid now that we are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. There were three games organised by the Planet Group this year- a crossword puzzle to do with conservation (judged as too tricky by most!), a flower anagram puzzle that certainly made everyone think and a ‘choose the lucky flowerpot’ with small prizes to be won. The money raised this year went to the Planet Group to support their projects as well as to the club account; we raised a total of £340! Thank you to our host member, Angie, for sharing her lovely home and to our friends, family, and alumnae for fully getting stuck in on the evening to have fun and

His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Dorset invited the secretary of our club along with a member of what was SI Poole, Purbeck and District to meet with the Queen during a royal visit to Blandford Forum on July 16th. Michael Dooley LVO organised the event to showcase successful charities in Dorset that contribute to his ‘Creating Health and Harmony in the Community’ initiative. He has been struck by the important work local Soroptimist clubs do around violence against women and girls, having attended our Art Exhibition for the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence as well as providing a preface for the SIPPD Fresh Thoughts booklet. With approximately 3.8 million people experiencing domestic abuse each year in the UK, any initiative that reduces prevalence and impact can only help to build harmony. The visit was very successful; the Queen expressed interest in our work

Our final visit to St James CofE Primary Academy, to see how our ‘bee friendly’ plants were doing, took place on July 7th. We were delighted to see the plants in full bloom and, although the pots were in the shade so we didn’t see any bee activity, the teacher reassured us that it has been a hive of activity! The focus for this term for the Eco Club has been all things to do with bees and the children have really enjoyed it. We were presented with six lovely thank you cards saying ‘Thank you, for bee-ing amazing’. A very successful project and we will go back in September to start planning for the next school year. If you are interested in this and would like to come along to a Soroptimist International Bournemouth meeting to find out more, please email us at sigbibournemouth@hotmail.co.uk.

As part of Refugee Week 2026, SIB supported the International Care Network in Bournemouth by running a tombola stall at the Community Fun Day on June 20th. The stall was very popular with an array of goodies for both children and adults donated by club members. Five Soroptimists were on hand to help spin the wheel and hand out prizes alongside talking to people who wanted to know more about our organisation. We raised £128 for club funds and were pleased to contribute to the fun had by all attending the event. If you are interested in this and would like to come along to a Soroptimist International Bournemouth meeting to find out more, please email us at sigbibournemouth@hotmail.co.uk.

On June 10th 2026 SIB members attended the fifth ‘Creating Health and Harmony in the Community’ conference at Bournemouth University (BU) with the theme of education. The guests were welcomed by the Bombay Dance Group presenting a lively and colourful medley of traditional Indian dances.  His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Michael Dooley, led the day with support from Professor Alison Honour, Vice Chancellor of BU offering a warm welcome. Participants were treated to a taster of the recent documentary ‘Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision’ and encouraged to watch it in full on Amazon Prime. Notable speakers included Dr Alex Blower talking about how education can fail working class boys and an inspirational presentation by Padmasini Dayananda about girls moving from the classroom to the boardroom. The members who attended, enjoyed the diverse sessions and participated in the exhibition to spread the news about the club.

Men in our culture have been conditioned to believe that showing emotion is a sign of weakness therefore many feel pressure to suppress feelings and put on a façade of toughness. Our latest project aims to encourage emotional expression positively to help young men at a formative stage improve their ability to share their feelings. We held our inaugural event with students from Ferndown Upper School and Bourne Academy on May 21st. Nine boys had written pieces about immigration, asylum seekers and refugees; they then read out the work and were questioned by a panel of judges. Every piece had merit and the judges found it difficult to decide who the top three were, in fact they choose four with a joint third place. We were well supported in this endeavour: Aref, an asylum seeker who now has refugee status, spoke to us and added