PlantNetwork are committed to handling the information you entrust to us in a secure and responsible manner. This Policy explains when and why we collect basic personal information from you via our website, social media and events. It also covers any data collected via email, over the phone, via post, or in person.
We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to office@plantnetwork.org.
PlantNetwork is the Data Controller of any personal information you provide to us. We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. The information you supply will be used to process your application for membership, training event bookings and newsletter subscription, advertising or sponsorship. We will not collect any personal data from you we do not need in order to provide and oversee this service to you.
What information do we collect and how? We collect:
- Information you provide to us. For example this might be via the membership application/renewal process or through the booking of a training event. We also collect data provided via the PlantNetwork website, emails, telephone conversations, face to face discussion, questionnaires or postal correspondence;
- Information on what you view or access on our website, social media accounts or emails. We also collect data on devices/technology used to access our website and IP addresses;
- Information from your social media account but only where you have given us explicit permission to use it. For example, images submitted via social media.
Information we do NOT collect
- If you make a donation online or make a purchase from the PlantNetwork website, your card information is not held by us.
How do we use your information? We use the information we collect for the following:
- To provide you with the services included as part of your membership;
- To provide you with services related to training event registrations;
- To reply to any questions, complaints, or queries, and to process refunds;
- To update you on our work and keep you informed including Annual General Meeting dates and Trustee elections (members only)
- To personalise our communications with you. This may include using the data we hold to create a profile for you to provide you with more tailored information e.g. highlighting training events;
- To keep you up to date with PlantNetwork activities;
- To reach out to you on third party websites and social media;
- To remember your preferences when you use our website;
- To allow us to better understand our members and customers;
- To gather statistics about our customers, members and their opinions so we can improve our services;
- To allow us to maintain our statutory records to fulfil our legal and regulatory obligations;
- To plan day to day activities e.g. managing events;
- To help us learn more about individuals working in botanic gardens, arboreta and other documented plant collections so we can adapt our work to best support their needs.
Who do we share data with? We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. Occasionally PlantNetwork may provide limited data to third parties that support membership or training events. These may include:
- Event organisers, venues, Health and Safety staff and medical staff if you are participating in an event;
- Payment services, such as PayPal.
- Email campaign providers, printers and mailing houses;
- The Police, local authorities or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the courts or any other government body if lawfully requested and where legally obliged to do so;
- Social media – any social media posts you send to us will be shared under the terms of the platform used and could be made public. We do not control these platforms and cannot accept responsibility for your submissions being shared more widely.
Legal basis for processing
The legal basis for the processing of your data relates to the information provided and the context in which it was collected. We will only use your information where:
- We have your consent to do so
- Need the personal information to perform a contract to you, e.g. membership and training event registrations
Managing communications
You can stop all email newsletters and updates by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails, or by informing us of your preferences via email, post or telephone.
You will still receive communications where we are contractually obliged, such as membership and training event registrations. You may opt out of these by informing us of your preferences via email or post, but it will result in cancellation of your membership or training event bookings.
Managing your information
You can access, correct, update or request deletion of your personal information at any time, by contacting us via email or post.
Deletion of data will be carried out on the understanding that removal of some information (e.g. addresses) during an active membership or event term will result in cancellation of membership subscription or training event bookings.
Please note we cannot delete some information, such as Gift Aid and financial information which must be held for 7 years for tax purposes.
You can request via email or post that we restrict processing of your personal information, object to processing of your information or request a copy of your personal information.
We will comply with your request where your rights have been exercised in accordance with applicable laws.
If you have any worries or complaints about the way we use your information, please get in touch with us. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
How long will we keep your information?
We only hold on to your personal information for as long as we need it for the purposes for which we collected it. We are however required under UK tax law to keep your basic personal data (name, address, contact details) for a minimum of 6 years even if you have cancelled your membership.
So that we can support your future interaction with us, some data might be retained for a short period after your last interaction with us. After that we will either delete it or anonymise it.
We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis.
Where data is held
Wherever possible we will seek to store your personal information within the UK or EU. However, in some instances the information we hold may be on systems hosted outside of the EU.
Where services we use store data outside of the EU, we ensure that their policies and procedures meet the same standards as those in the EU.
Security of your information
We regularly review and update our data handling procedures and ensure that appropriate technical security measures are in place to safeguard your information.
Use of ‘cookies’
Like many other websites, the PlantNetwork website uses cookies to make this website easy, useful and reliable, and help us to improve our website and service to you.
‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual.
You can manage cookies yourself and learn more about them through “Internet browser cookies – what they are and how to manage them”. You can turn the cookies off, although doing so may negatively effect your experience on this site.
Links to other websites
Our website contains links to other websites owned and operated by third parties. If you use these links, you leave the PlantNetwork website. These links are provided for your information and convenience only and are not an endorsement.
This privacy policy applies only to our PlantNetwork website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
Updates to this policy
We may need to update this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to office@plantnetwork.org.
Review of this Policy
We keep this Policy under regular review. This Policy was last updated in May 2018.