I am an association secretary with links across two East London boroughs. The ARI mentor work was slow to start but the ARI London regional seminar in September 2005 linked more names and faces and the enquiries started to build up.
Visits to allotments often show me unexpected gems: on Rosendale Allotments, a large private site in Lambeth, about a dozen plotholders share their plans, hopes and disappointments on a Sunday morning walkabout touring each other's plots. Cost nil, benefits many - not least the exchange of information and the social cohesion set up. The flow of ideas and information has been two-way: the visit to Archfields in Hendon showed me a lot about what can be done.
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Pigeon lofts, leeks and allotment gardening have been part of the culture in North East England for as long as anyone can remember. However, communities change and it is not unusual to see a former allotment site in a very sorry state. Often there is the nucleus of a local group trying to keep sites going, or someone with a vision wants to create cultivation and re-birth out of decay. This is where ARI can and does help.
In September 2001 at our AGM a new and expanded committee took over from a single person who had been gallantly performing the duties of chairman, secretary and membership secretary on One Tree Hill, a large inner city site of 70 plots. 
I got involved with ARI through my work with the Leeds and District Gardeners Federation and Leeds Voice, a network of voluntary environmental groups. With all the contacts I already had it wasn't long before my mentoring services were in demand from allotment officers, community workers, associations, federations, community groups, disability groups and individual plotholders.
Compared to England and Wales, Scotland has very different challenges for anyone involved in regenerating allotments. There is no statutory requirement for local councils to provide allotments on demand, so unfortunately many allotments have been lost. Scotland, however, is buzzing with enthusiastic individuals and associations who are working together with the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society (SAGS) and ARI to secure a positive future for the country's allotments. ARI has two Mentors working together in Scotland: Peter Garioch in Aberdeen and Ian Welsh in Glasgow. Below, they report on their experience in their new roles so far.
Being appointed as an ARI mentor for the North West came at a time in my allotment life when my own society, Pilkingtons Allotments, St Helen's, was about to take on the challenges of self management. Like my fellow mentors, I deal with many and varied requests for help and assistance. I have given funding advice, provided sample documents for new associations and given talks about setting up school plots.