Meetup Ratings and Featured Comments
Number: 140 recent ratings
Average:
"The people we met at our very first meeting made us feel as if we were family. Everyone was very welcoming, and interested in everything we had to say. We never made friends so quickly before. The club leaders' outgoing personalities seem to encourage outgoing people to join the club. Kudos."
"We had no idea we'd learn so much about pond care at our very first meeting. But it wasn't all work and no play. We socialized with all the other members, and heard lots of jokes to tell to friends back home. This group knows how to laugh!"
"The club's leader is so knowledgeable about designing and constructing ponds! At each meeting he gives precise answers to every question asked, in terms even beginners can clearly understand. We're glad we joined the club."
"We've never met a friendlier group of people. Even at the first meeting we attended, three families offered to give us fish and plants for our pond after it's built. We found we have lots in common besides our love of water gardening, so the conversations never stop. We're really glad we joined the club."
"Everyone in this club seems to go out of their way to help others, including newcomers like us. They offer us good advice from their experiences, and fish and plants from their ponds--all for free. This is the friendliest club we've ever joined."
"We were complete novices at our first pond club event, but by the end of that meeting, we came away with tons of ideas for designing and constructing a pond in our garden. Most of the technical information came from Peter, but many other club members offered good advice based on their own experience. We expect to attend many more meetings to help us finalize our landscaping and 'aquascaping' plans."
"The members of this club all seem to be personable, intelligent, and genuinely friendly. We're really glad we joined."
"Some members are interested in raising aquatic plants; others are more interested in breeding goldfish, as I am. I did meet two others who are cross-breeeding shebunkins to establish particular colors and patterns, which is my special interest. (We've arranged to exchange breeding stock to improve our strains.) But I realize that Suzanne and Peter's ponds are so beautiful because of the wide variety of aquatic plants blooming there. I decided to add many to my own ponds, and Peter gave me all I want for free. I love how much they now enhance my water garden."
"Special-interest groups formed naturally during the get-together, and we wandered into and out of groups discussing aquatic plants, breeding fish, pond construction, fish foods, etc. It was much more enjoyable than a formal meeting."
"Club members that we met ranged in age from their 20s to their 80s, but all seem to have a youthful attitude, eager both to learn and to pass on information about this fascinating hobby."
"I like the mix of members in this club. Some are real experts and seem to know everything about designing and maintaining ponds. Others are obvious beginners who are very eager to learn. Even members without any pond experience ask pertinent questions and give us lots to think about, making all of these meetings enjoyable social events."
"This club seems to have as members the friendliest and funniest people we've ever met, so we expect to attend these meetings for years to come."
"Members range from novices planning their first pond to very knowledgeable experts, making a nice mix. All seem friendly, and welcome newcomers enthusiastically."
"Delighted to have met this group!"
"Everyone, newcomer or not, could raise questions and gets personalised answers. Exchanges were lively and friendly, young and older, newcomers or not, alone or as a family, from many nationalities."
"It is a little bit early in the season, but the frogs are out and we had a sunny afternoon around the pond discovering deep interest in classical music, not just the frogs quacking!"
"All those attending the latest meeting were openly friendly, and strangers became friends in short order. Groups of various sizes formed naturally when discussing specific points about water gardening, and regrouped in other combinations as more members joined in and new subjects came up. Although our get-togethers are scheduled to last from 3 to 6 p.m., we've had times when the conversations didn't end until 11 p.m. We hope those attending tell their friends about our group, its web site, and the free membership and twice-monthly meetings, so that the club will continue to grow."
"May be a good idea to try and bring to a meeting from time to time, 'an expert' from outside to add a little flavour especially for the older members."
"many people worth knowing"
"We are very pleased to have found this Group; being basic amateur gardeners we find we glean useful hints from others' experiences, and Peter is a very useful 'walking encyclopedia'. Having so many new members joining adds to the quantity of brains to be picked!"
"Fantastic people. Well done. Will try to continue to attend, whenever I am around these parts..."
"I think this was an excellent idea of Suzanne and Peter since no other club of this sort exists in the Geneva and environs."
"The wonderful people I've met through this club are so friendly that we frequently visit one another's homes to socialize between meetings. Who knew that water gardeners could be so knowledgeable about so many other subjects? I never would have made so many new friends if I hadn't joined the club."
"A positive group of people, nice informal meetings, great know-how and a very enjoyable atmosphere."
Club members and visitors starting to gather around a pond before a typical meeting
The Geneva Area Pond Club was founded in 2004 by Suzanne and Peter, expatriate New Yorkers now living in Switzerland. The club's free get-togethers are held from 3 to 6 p.m. (15:00-18:00) on the first Sunday of every month in winter, and on both the first and the third Sundays of every month the rest of the year. These informal meetings take place in the homes and gardens of club members in the towns around Geneva, Vaud, and nearby France. The casual discussions about ponds are typically conducted in English or French, and are fortified with prodigious volumes of snacks and drinks. Visitors are always welcome, whether their pond is large, small, or not yet designed.
Many club members volunteer to offer the use of their homes and gardens so that they can each host one of the meetings. This gives all attendees the opportunity to examine and admire many different kinds of ponds. Some ponds look so natural that they seem untouched by human hands; others are very formal and geometric, decorated with urns and statues. Seeing the wide variety of ponds with different plants, fish, streams, waterfalls, cascades, fountains, islands, bridges, lights and other features inspires club members to incorporate desirable features in their own ponds.
In warm weather, the monthly meetings occasionally take place beside the ponds in the club leaders' attractive garden in Nyon, about 15 minutes northeast of Geneva. It features two large ponds totaling 29,000 liters (over 7,000 gallons), connected by a sparkling cascade of recirculating water. Water lilies, lotus, cattails and over 100 other varieties of aquatic and bog plants produce a lush tropical effect, with something blooming all the time. Hundreds of goldfish and a few golden orfes and bitterlings can be seen swimming in the crystal-clear water.
Also seen swimming in the ponds are Suzanne and Peter's many turtles, and their many tortoises stroll through the entirely fenced-in garden. Peter is a serious herpetologist, so he designed this Turtle and Tortoise Sanctuary there as an ideal environment for these interesting animals. The Sanctuary adopts turtles and tortoises when the pets' original owners can no longer give them the care they need. Anyone interested in these ancient reptiles might want to learn about the other free organization the couple founded, the Geneva Area Turtle and Tortoise Society.
But this web site is about the Geneva Area Pond Club, which had an interesting beginning. When Peter finished constructing the ponds in their garden, they added just a dozen goldfish. Apparently the fish fell in love and decided to start a family. The couple soon had hundreds more goldfish than they needed. Their "plant parenthood" was also more successful than expected, so they had more than enough aquatic plants in their ponds. It seems the protected micro-climate in their garden encourages every living thing to breed prolifically there. The real reason Suzanne and Peter founded the Geneva Area Pond Club was to find other local pond owners to whom they could give their surplus fish and plants. An unexpected and very welcome bonus was the warm friendships made with the dozens of water gardening families who soon joined the club. Suzanne and Peter still give other pond owners all the goldfish and aquatic plants their ponds can hold, and other club members share their surplus plants, fish, and pond equipment as well. You can read about how the club was founded in the Water Garden International Journal's illustrated article, How to Create a Water Garden Club in the Mountains of Switzerland.
If you're interested in ponds, you're welcome to attend a free club meeting to enjoy some snacks, drinks, and good conversation in French or English with like-minded pond hobbyists. You can ask or give advice on breeding goldfish, koi, turtles and other pond inhabitants. Learn which aquatic plants are ideal for our local environment. Ask the experts which is the best liner, pump, filter, and other equipment for your own pond. Socialize with other friendly people who share our love of water gardens. For further details about this club or about water gardening, write to Suzanne and Peter at PeterSuzanne2@hotmail.com, or call them in Nyon at 0041 22 362 03 60.
Visitors to this web site are welcome to join the Geneva Area Pond Club for free by clicking on the red link marked Sign up. It won't take long, did it? Registering gives you membership instantly, and then you can get all the benefits of membership. You can also browse through the rest of the web site to see all it has to offer. Clicking on the blue underlined links on the left side of the screen on every page will lead you to some interesting sections:
The Welcome section lists very brief descriptions of the latest additions to this site. It highlights the pond club's next meeting, and lists below it the next few meetings, plus club members' reviews of the last few meetings. Clicking on each meeting's title will produce full details of the event. The Welcome section also lists the latest members to join the club, the latest discussions or articles in our Messages section, the latest pictures in our Photos section, the latest items in our Files section, etc. To get the full details of each new item, just click on its title.
The Calendar section describes all of the club's free monthly get-togethers. There you can click on the calendar view link to see calendars of past, current, or future events two months at a time, or click the list view link to see a much clearer chronological list of all the upcoming meetings. In either view, clicking on a meeting's title will reveal full details of the event, including its location, the main topic of discussion, a growing list of members who have already submitted an RSVP for that meeting, how many guests they're bringing along, and their comments. (Members and visitors should submit their own RSVP on that page to indicate whether or not they plan to attend, so that the meeting's hosts will know how many people to expect. --And mark the date on your calendar to assure you won't miss a good meeting.) The meeting's location is visible only to registered Geneva Area Pond Club members, and only members can download and print our road maps and driving directions to the venue.
The Members section lists the dozens of families or individuals who are current members of the Geneva Area Pond Club; some have included their photos. Clicking on the members' names will bring up the written profiles they submitted, including descriptions of their water gardens and their ponds' inhabitants, plus the members' special interests. New members are encouraged to upload their own photographic portraits there, so that they'll be recognized when they attend meetings. Answering the few introductory questions on the member's personal Profile page will let others know of the new member's particular interests.
Members who have similar interests can write to each other by e-mail without revealing their e-mail addresses. We dislike spam as much as anyone does, so members' e-mail addresses are never displayed. But clicking on the little envelope symbol next to each member's name will permit a registered member to write to another member with neither e-mail address being revealed.
The Photos section includes over 500 captioned pictures in several albums. These photos can help you identify the many varieties of goldfish and koi, and the hundreds of species of plants available for your pond or bog. There are separate albums of photos taken at previous meetings, showing who attended and what went on at these events. You'll also find dozens of photos of the ponds of club leaders Suzanne and Peter, and the ponds of other members as well. The album titled Club members' ponds gives members the opportunity to upload photos of their own ponds for others to admire. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it, and clicking on an enlarged photo will enlarge it yet again.
The Messages section gives club members the opportunity to communicate with other members, including asking questions for others to answer, and offers of free pond fish, aquatic plants, or pond equipment. The section also includes dozens of informative and tutorial articles about ponds. They're on such topics as designing and constructing ponds, making them safe for children, creating trouble-free biological filters, preparing your pond for winter, healthful fish foods from your kitchen, protecting your fish from herons, how bitterlings hatch their fry within mussels, and other subjects for ponders to ponder. Most of the articles are excerpted from Peter's book on ponds, scheduled for publication next year.
The Polls section lets registered members vote on all club-management questions up for discussion at the time. The votes are calculated automatically, and the results are shown instantly as each member submits a vote. Only one vote per member gets counted, but members can always revise their votes if they later change their minds, and immediately see the change in totals.
The Files section features detailed road maps and written travel directions to each home where pond club meetings are held. They can be downloaded and printed (by registered club members only) for their drive to the next event. Non-members can instantly become members for free right on this web site by clicking on the big red link marked Sign up. They can then get the maps and directions, vote in our polls, post photos of their ponds on our web site, post notices on our message board, learn of all future free club events, and get the other benefits of membership. The Files section also includes some profusely illustrated articles from the Internet's largest web site about ponds, WaterGardenersInternational.org (WGI). The articles were written by Geneva Area Pond Club co-leader Peter Kacalanos, who last year was appointed the WGI Journal's editor for all articles from Europe.
The Share Meetup section lets you promote our pond club in many ways. You can add a pond club badge to your MySpace or blog site, print promotional materials to post on bulletin boards or distribute to friends, and easily send an e-mail message at once to all your non-member friends who should learn about the Geneva Area Pond Club. Just insert their e-mail addresses where indicated, add your personal message, and click Submit. None of the e-mail addresses will ever be stored, so again there's no chance of spammers getting any of them.
Look for the blue link marked Profile near the upper-right corner of the screen. (If you don't see that link, it means you're not yet a member of the Geneva Area Pond Club. Non-members see a red link marked Sign up instead, through which visitors can join the club for free.) Once you become a member and click on the Profile link, you'll see your own membership profile. Be sure to answer the few introductory questions there, letting us know about your pond and its inhabitants, and your particular interests. In that way, Suzanne and Peter will know which specific topics to discuss at the club's twice-monthly meetings, and which tutorial articles to add to our web site. Members who know a little about your interests will feel more comfortable in starting conversations with you at our events. While you're at your Profile, upload a portrait-type photo so that we'll recognize you when you attend the meetings.
Club leaders Suzanne and Peter are always eager to get feedback from members and visitors about the club and its web site, whether negative or positive. You can send the leaders questions and suggestions by clicking on the Contact me link under their photo, which is on every page of this web site. You can decide whether or not they should see your e-mail address before you click Send; you'll still get a reply. If you prefer, you can call them at home in Nyon at 0041 22 362 03 60. They look forward to hearing from everyone interested in water gardening and the Geneva Area Pond Club.Entire contents of this site copyrighted, 2004-2007, by Peter Kacalanos