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2023-03-31-accounts

Botanic Gardens Education Network Annual Report 2023

This Annual Report summarises Bgen activity from 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2023

Botanic Gardens Education Network c/o Botanic Gardens Conservation International 199 Kew Road Richmond TW9 3BW

info@Bgen.org.uk www.Bgen.org.uk Bgen is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation no: 1103482

BGEN

Who we are

Bgen (the Botanic Gardens Education Network) was founded in 1990 by a group of botanic garden educators, to share expertise and develop best practice in environmental and biodiversity education.

Our network supports and builds capacity in educators across the UK in areas such as the natural and plant sciences, biodiversity and sustainability, visitor engagement, audience development and impact, as well as funding, training, and job opportunities.

The network is run by a voluntary Board of Trustees, supported by a part-time Coordinator to help administrate and organise training and networking activities for its members.

Our Mission

To be a knowledgeable and strong network of organisations and professionals delivering inspiring, innovative, and relevant public engagement through plants and nature.

Our Vision

To inspire, innovate and influence how people engage with plants and the environment by empowering a strong network of organisations and building capacity in our membership.

Our Objectives

  1. Serve our members and strengthen the network

  2. Position bgen as experts in the field with regards to learning and engagement with plants and the environment.

  3. Become a resilient organisation, through strong relevant governance and financial stability.

Our Values

Innovate: We welcome new ideas and find creative solutions to educate and engage the public in plant based and nature conservation.

Pursue excellence : We aspire to excellence in everything we do, by delivering high quality services to our members and always keep on improving.

Collaborate : We believe that by working together with our members and partners through reflective practice and sharing resources and ideas, we can provide better services and solutions.

Be inclusive : We value ideas, views, and strengths of everyone we work with and support. We treat everyone with kindness and respect.

Act with integrity : We promote an open and honest environment that gives credit and acknowledges mistakes. We ensure charity resources are managed responsibly, with ethical values and sustainable working practices.

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Trustee Declaration

The trustees have paid due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission, and in deciding what activities Bgen should undertake.

In memory of Gail Bromley MBE FLS (19th November 1950 – 7th May 2023)

Co-founder of Botanic Gardens Education Network, and former Chair, Treasurer and Fundraising and Sponsorship Lead.

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1. Bgen Membership

As of 31st December 2023, Bgen has 350 members, this includes members from 41 Organisations and 21 individual members.

Compared to the previous year, organisational membership grew by 4 organisations. The total membership has reduced by 30 and this due in part to more effective updating of organisational contacts and to not attracting quite so many individual members.

Membership fees: the Board reviewed membership fees in 2022 after lockdown and these price increases reflect the diversity and size of organisations and individuals.

----- Start of picture text -----
Membership type Price
Individual £40
Student £18
Organisation 1-4 staff £135
Organisation 5-10 staff £170
Organisation over 10 staff £210
----- End of picture text -----

Bgen provides:

Reciprocal members include:

BGCI

Botanic Gardens Conservation International - BGCI’s work aims to promote and develop a more efficient, cost effective and rational approach to plant conservation in botanic gardens.

Black Environment Network

Black Environment Network is working towards a vision of full multicultural environmental participation, local and global.

Thrive

We use gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged, or vulnerable.

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LEEF

London Environmental Educators forum. LEEF is a membership organisation for London's most passionate green educators. We meet to share skills and knowledge to improve the quality and quantity of environmental education delivered across the capital.

BIAZA

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) is the professional body representing the best zoos and aquariums in the UK and Ireland.

PlantNetwork

PlantNetwork is a charity and membership organisation that provides training and network support to gardens and gardeners throughout Britain and Ireland.

2. Training and Events

Since the pandemic, Bgen has delivered all training and activity for members and nonmembers online. This has allowed BGEN to increase its reach and be more inclusive and accessible to participants who otherwise would not be able to join activities in person, due to travel costs, time constraints and health conditions. In total, this past year Bgen has engaged in bgen 214 delegates in our activities, of which 185 were Bgen members and 28 were non-members.

An overview of training and events activity is below:

Soil Secrets: The Hidden World - 8th February 2023

A two-part training session exploring Fungi and Earthworms and the essential roles they play in soil health with Lee Davies, Fungarium Collections Manager at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Keiron Brown, Recording Officer at the Earthworm Society of Britain. Members: 17. Non-Members: 7.

Bgen Virtual Coffee Morning: Tree with Golden Apples - 30th March 2023

Ian Edwards, a freelance ecologist, ethnobotanist, and forager introduced a new book on which he was a contributor, Tree With Golden Apples, by Susan Strauss. Tree With Golden Apples is a collection of twelve evocative stories drawn from world myths that reveal both the beauty and truth offered to humans by the plant kingdom.

Members: 11. Non-Members: 1.

Youth Panel Training - 29th June 2023

A comprehensive, half day's training on the process of setting up, recruiting, running, and evaluating a youth panel in a visitor attraction.

Charlotte Smith, Director of Conservation Education at Chester Zoo focused on young governance. Claire Howard, Youth Programme Coordinator at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew discussed the importance of reflective practice. Shivani Patel, Learning and Engagement

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Officer & Katie Weston, Volunteer Development Manager from Chelsea Physic Garden focused on the recruitment process and setting up the panel.

Members: 17. Non-Members: 9

The Bgen Get Together 2023! - 11th August 2023

An informal but informative networking event hosted by Bgen and the fabulous team at Oxford Botanic Gardens.

A couple of hours networking with peers, a full garden tour and two interesting talks from the Oxford team.

Members: 5. Non-Members: 1

Bgen Virtual Coffee Morning: Michael Holland - 3rd October 2023

Freelance nature educator Michael Holland gave a glimpse into his varied work since leaving the world of botanical gardens and shared some factoids from his most recent book about indoor gardening - proving once and for all that there really is no such thing as a houseplant!

Members: 13. Non-Members: 1

Planting Seeds: The Art of Storytelling for Science Communication and Education - 11th October 2023

Alette Willis, PhD, a professional storyteller, author and academic ran a hands-on, half-day course exploring the art of storytelling in the context of science communication and education.

Members: 14. Non-Members: 4

Bgen Virtual Coffee Morning: From the Roots Up Part 2 - 23rd November 2023

Ben Oliver, Learning and Participation Manager at Westonbirt: The National Arboretum shared the findings of their yearlong insights project: Re-Imagining our National Tree Collections for Young People.

Members: 21. Non-Members: 0

3. Bgen Annual Conference

Botanical Garden Education: Past, Present, Future - 11[th] & 12[th] January 2023

Our Annual Conference is an important strand of Bgen’s offer providing the opportunity to reflect on key issues and trends across the sector and offering participants to connect and share learning and ideas for future work.

This was the first in-person conference after the pandemic, and after delivering the November 2021 online to an international audience. The date of the conference was moved from November 2022 to January 2023 to utilise the fantastic venue and kind generosity of RHS Wisley. This was one of the first events hosted by Wisley after completing their

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National Lottery Heritage Fund capital project. The conference was held at their fabulous Hilltop Centre, the first UK dedicated horticultural scientific centre of excellence.

We had 125 participants across the two days with ten people receiving the ticket bursary kindly provided by the Finnis Scott Foundation.

The title and theme of the conference was: Botanic Garden Education, Past, Present and Future. It explored the topics of;

Over the two days we had 14 speakers from gardens and sites across the UK, this included talks from Sam Kendall, Head of Schools, The Eden Project, Professor Louise Archer, Karl Mannheim Chair of Sociology of Education at UCL, Clare Matterson CBE, Director General Royal Horticultural Society, and Julia Willison, Head of Learning and Participation, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

There were also ten workshops across the two days from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, National Botanical Garden, Wales, Chelsea Physic Garden and various RHS Garden Teams.

We enjoyed tours around RHS Wisley and on Wednesday evening a team from the Irish National Botanic Gardens made us all botanical cocktails to wind down from the first day.

To view the full programme and the speaker slides you can visit our website; - https://bgen.org.uk/category/conference presentations/

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with 88% of respondents rating the programme content ‘excellent’ and 92% stating that they would be using what they had learnt at conference in the future.

From now on, Bgen will alternate its annual conference between face-to-face and live online events, to strike a balance between accessibility and inclusion, and international perspectives and UK focus.

We would like to extend our thanks to Rachel Godfrey who led the conference organisation and to RHS Wisley for their generous provision of a wonderful venue for our conference and to their events team for all their support.

4. Structure Governance and Management

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Bgen successfully converted from a Charitable Company to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 4th May 2021.

Changes to the Constitution:

In January 2022, the Board submitted a resolution to the Charity Commission to change the Trustee application and appointment process. This change allowed for up to 1/3 of the Board to be appointed from outside the membership to help recruit more effectively and help advance the charity’s objectives, bring new ideas and experience to strengthen the Board, and help grow equality, diversity, and inclusion.

5. Bgen Board

5.1 Bgen Board Meetings:

All Board meetings were held online to maximise Trustee participation:

The AGM for 2023 was confirmed for Monday 29[th] January 2024.

5.2 Bgen Board Workstreams:

Each Board member serves on one (or two) specialised workstream groups: Training, Conference, Fundraising, Communication & Membership and Governance.

Workstreams meet regularly in between Board Meetings, to plan in detail their areas of work and advance on actions across the year. The focus of activity for these workstreams have been:

5.3 Bgen Board Members:

After the last AGM in January 2023, the Bgen Board had the following changes:

Re-election: Felicity Gaffney, Gail Bromley, and Susie Kelpie sought re-election for another 3 years.

Resignations: Christine Meakin, from Forestry England (Westonbirt Arboretum); Ledy Leyssen, from The Royal Parks (London); Rose Froud from Ness Botanic Gardens, and Suzanne Hermiston from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Gail Bromley, Bgen’s co-founder and Treasurer, sadly passed away on 7[th] May 2023, after a short illness.

Role changes:

Election : In 2023 we welcomed new Board member Steve Nash, and two Invited Members joined us, Dr Lauren Baker and Sophie Kirk who will be up for election at the next AGM.

Bgen Board (pre - 29[th] January 2024 AGM):

----- Start of picture text -----
Trustee Name Workstream Appointed Status
Jill Baker, RHS Garden Hyde Hall Training 2007 Resigned Jan
2023
Gail Bromley, BGCI Treasurer, 2006 Passed Away
Fundraising and May 2023
Sponsorship Lead
Zoë Chapman, Ness Botanic Jan 2022 Active
Gardens, University of Liverpool
Rose Froud, Ness Botanic Gardens Communication and 2020 Resigned Dec
Membership Lead 2023
Felicity Gaffney, National Botanic Conference and 2015 Active
Garden Ireland Training
Sarah Garry, PCA Fundraising and Jan 2022 Active
Sponsorship
Rachel Godfrey, RHS Training and 2019 Resigned Feb
Conference Lead 2023
Suzanne Hermiston, Royal Botanic Training and Jan 2022 Resigned Dec
Garden Edinburgh Conference 2023
Susie Kelpie, Bgen Member Training and 2012 Active
Conference
Ledy Leyssen, The Royal Parks Governance Lead, 2017 Resigned Dec
Treasury group 2023
----- End of picture text -----

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----- Start of picture text -----
Chris Meakin, Forestry England, Governance 2017 Resigned Dec
Westonbirt Arboretum 2023
Steve Nash, Wild Planet Trust Communications 2023 Active
Helen Miller, BGCI Training, Treasury 2019 Active
(on
maternity
leave Oct
2023)
Frances Sampayo, Chelsea Physic Governance Jan 2022 Active
Garden
Sarah Webley, South London Training and Jan 2022 Active
Botanical Institute Conference
----- End of picture text -----

There are two invited members who have been active participants in the Communications and Fundraising & Sponsorship workstreams; Dr Lauren Baker and Sophie Kirk.

The Bgen Board is supported by Sophie Edwards (Bgen Coordinator), PushLogic (website) and Sandy Openshaw (bookkeeper).

6. Reference and administrative information

Charity name: Botanic Gardens Education Network (Bgen) Charity Registration Number: 1103482 Registered Office: c/o BGCI, Descanso House, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, TW9 3BW

Trustee Selection:

BGEN is managed by a Board of Trustees drawn from its members, and thanks to recent changes to the Constitution, BGEN can now recruit Trustees from outside the membership that can bring specialist skills and experience in support of BGEN’s objectives.

Our trustees bring a broad range of skills and sector knowledge to the Board, with no financial remuneration from the charity. Trustees are appointed based on their knowledge and experience. Every trustee is appointed for an initial three-year term by a resolution passed at annual AGM and can also be co-opted throughout the year before they are confirmed at annual general meetings. Trustees can be re-elected when their initial threeyear period.

BGEN trustees abide by Charity Commission guidelines on Trustees Responsibilities. BGEN’s Constitution and Trustee Handbook provide further guidance in this area.

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7. Financial Review and Accounts for financial year 2022/23

Reserves Policy

Reserves are that part of a charity’s unrestricted funds that is freely available to spend on any of the charity’s purposes. bgen maintains free unrestricted reserves:

The board of trustees will review the above criteria with reference to bgen’s strategy and Annual Plan and determine the target level of free reserves to meet these.

The Board of Trustees will at times designate funds from free reserves for significant project costs or replacement of major assets.

Operating Reserves are not intended to replace a permanent loss of funds or eliminate any ongoing budget gap. It is the intention for Operating Reserves to be used and replenished within a reasonably brief period. The Operating Reserve Policy will be implemented in concert with the other governance / polices of BGEN and is intended to support the goals and strategies contained in BGEN’s Finance Policy and strategic and operational plans.

Treasurer’s Report

Sadly, our Treasurer Gail Bromley passed away in May 2023. The Board agreed for Ledy Leyssen to act as interim Treasurer while a new recruitment was underway to appoint a new Treasurer for the organisation.

The 2022 – 23 financial year, saw a net profit of £4,593, a positive result compared to the previous year which saw a small loss, as bgen was recovering from the impact of lockdown, after the Covid 19 pandemic.

After the restrictions were lifted in February 2022, bgen focused on organising delivery of online workshops and free coffee mornings to reconnect with members. Income from training accounted for £3,146 for the financial year (£6,181 in the previous year).

Members’ feedback requesting a face-to-face conference became a reality and the bgen Board agreed for a conference at RHS Wisley in January 2023. The conference, hosted at the newly opened Hilltop Centre by the RHS Learning team and bgen Trustees, attracted 93

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participants from all over the UK, from early career practitioners to Heads of Education, consultants and freelancers representing the sector. Of the 93 people attending, fifteen participants received bursaries to help with conference costs, thanks to the Finnis Scott Foundation grant. Conference income reached £13,007 (with costs of £6,253, mainly coming from catering), which proved a welcomed boost to Bgen’s finances and showed how important the annual conference is for the future of the organisation.

Membership income increased significantly to £4,445 compared to £1,828 the previous year. This increase is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our Coordinator, who focused on chasing delayed payments from members and updated their contact details, as many people changed roles after the pandemic.

Advertising accounted for £2,130 in revenue, compared to £1,300 from the previous accounting year, and this continue to grow thanks to the efforts of our Coordinator and promotion through our social media channels as well as bgen’s dedicated email to members and subscribers. Although the Board agreed to keep prices at the pre pandemic levels to support members and their recruitment efforts, they agreed to review pricing later in 2023.

The financial year 2022-23 closed with £20,945. A summary of income and expenditure for this period is below:

Income: £22,976 (previous year £14,902) and Expenditure of £18,383 (previous year £15,704), providing a net profit of £4,593 for 2022-23 financial year (see Receipts and Payments form on next pages for detail).

Note bgen moved to a simplified ‘Receipts and Payments’ accounting system. This shows money moving in and out and does not take account of accruals - money that has been earned or spent but not yet paid. This might mean that occasionally there seems to be a mismatch between what monies Bgen has and the paperwork).

The accounts have been approved by the Board in January 2024. We now seek members’ adoption of the accounts at the AGM so that they can be filed with the Charity Commission before the end of January 2024.

Our thanks to the Board, the Treasury Group, our Bookkeeper and Coordinator for all their support over the past year.

Ledy Leyssen, Acting Bgen Treasurer

[See Bgen Receipts and Payments 2022-23 on next page]

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CHARITY COMMISSION Recei ts and ments accounts CC16a For Ihe period 01,￿20 31ffj&12D23 Section A Receipls and payments Unfestnctèd Restri¢itd nds Érbdowment htnth5 Tot31 fufith5 A1 Rece iu¢ 4445 11ty17 &181 IJ.W7 Sub totallGr&￿ fvr M>)2 ss A3Pa nts 774 s IpTè 1JJ pi Sub ￿tal 1&31J 1&7 A4 A55et arKI in￿StMent Sub total IU.J83 iuJJJ 15.704 4.59? 4.$93 A5 TraTrsfefS beÈn lun(15 A6 Cash frJnd5 last •nd 1¢.2S2 20.945 É2$ 16.975 21.5 z) 112 1ri•i.2024 13

Section B Statement of assets and liabililies at the enif of the period 3:eq.In￿5 luftds turmts fumds $45 Total eash fvnd6 623 tund5 nd5 fvn<15 Details DetAkls Det3,15 eof h¥trf¥ 1￿￿.24 CCXX R2 ISSI ioffjirA24 14

Special thanks to Sophie Edwards, Bgen Coordinator, for her dedication, determination and invaluable coordination of all network activities and support to the Board.

Thanks to our Board of Trustees for their work and commitment this past year, and to all our members for their continuing participation and support in so many ways, to help advance Bgen’s mission and objectives.

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Charity Name No (if any)
Botanic Garden Education Network 1103482
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
01/04/2022
Period start date
For the period
from		 31/03/2023
Period end date
To
Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
3,146
4,445
13,007
2,130
-
248
-
22,976
-
-
-
22,976
10,379
368
992
383
6,253
8
-
-
-
18,383
-
-
-
18,383
4,593
-
16,352
20,945		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
623
623		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
-
3,146
4,445
13,007
2,130
-
248
-
22,976
-
-
-
22,976
10,379
368
992
383
6,253
8
-
-
-
18,383
-
-
-
18,383

4,593		 Last year
to the nearest £
Sales Discounts -
TrainingDays 3,146 6,181
Membership 4,445 1,828
Conference 13,007 3,070
Adverts 2,130 1,300
Grants - 2,500
Miscellaneous 248 23
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)		 22,976 14,902
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
- -
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
14,902

Administrator		 10,379 8,774
Computer & Software 368 340
Bookkeeping 992 936
Bank charges & Interest 383 307
Conference Expenses 6,253 120
General expenses 8
Trainingday - 2,820
Marketing - 2,369
Consultancy& Professional - 38
**Sub total ** 18,383 15,704
A4 Asset and investment
purchases (see table)
, -
-
**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
15,704
4,593 - -
4,593		 - 802
- - - - -
16,352 623 - 16,975
20,945 623 - 21,568 - 802

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

10/01/2024

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets		 Signature
Creditors
Details
Bank
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Debtors
Details
Details
Details
Laptop		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
20,945
623
-
-
-
-
20,945
623
OK
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
1,620
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
595
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
1176
-
-
-
-
-
Print Name
LedyLeyssen		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of
approval
LedyLeyssen 10-Jan-24

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

10/01/2024

2