2025-03-31-accounts

Together for Nature

Wild Oxfordshire

Trustees’ report and financial statements 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025

Company number 06828051 Charity number 1131540

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Contents

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|||| |---|---|---| |Legal and Administrative Information....................................................................................... 3| |Trustees/Company Directors|.............................................................................................. 3| |Secretary|............................................................................................................................... 3| |Wild Oxfordshire|................................................................................................................. 3| |Trustees’ Annual Report ............................................................................................................ 4| |Structure, Governance and Management ............................................................................... 4| |The Board of Trustees ............................................................................................................ 4| |Chairman’s Report 2024/25 ................................................................................................... 5| |Summary of Achievements .................................................................................................... 8| |Strategic Plans & Partnerships ........................................................................................... 8| |Community Ecology Programme ...................................................................................... 9| |Curlew Recovery Partnership .......................................................................................... 12| |Yellow Wagtail Partnership ............................................................................................. 14| |Farmer Clusters ................................................................................................................ 14| |Evenlode Catchment Partnership ..................................................................................... 16| |Treasurer’s Report 2024-25 ................................................................................................. 19| |Financial Review of the year ended 31st March 2025 ..................................................... 19| |Comparative position ....................................................................................................... 19| |Investment Policy............................................................................................................. 20| |Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities ................................................................................... 22| |Independent Examiner ..................................................................................................... 22| |Independent Examiner’s Report .............................................................................................. 23| |Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner....................................................... 23| |Basis of Independent examiner’s report .......................................................................... 23| |Independent examiner’s statement ................................................................................... 23| |Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31|[st]|March 2025 .............................. 24| |Balance Sheet as at 31|[st]|March 2025 ................................................................................... 25| |Notes to the Financial Statements|.................................................................................... 26|

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Legal and Administrative Information

Trustees/Company Directors

Victoria Robinson (re-elected 4th December 2024) Fiona Danks (re-elected 4th December 2024) Nick Rowe (re-elected 4th December 2024) David Knight (elected 15th February 2021) Mike Russell (Treasurer) (elected 10th December 2020) Ebony Holland (elected 7th June 2023)

Frances Brindle (elected 25th September 2024)

Nicola Hindle (elected 25th September 2024)

Sarah Leatherbarrow (elected 25th September 2024)

Ian Curtis (resigned 25 October 2024) Pete Cranston (resigned 5 March 2025) Fiona Racher (resigned 7 November 2024) Tim Lowth (elected 4 June 2025) Jane Ibrahim (elected 4 June 2025)

Secretary

Laura Murphy (appointed 7 June 2023)

Wild Oxfordshire

Charity number 1131540 (registered 9[th] September 2009) Company number 06828051 (registered 24[th] February 2009) Registered Office: Bull Pen, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Abingdon OX14 4RA Independent Examiner: Certax Accounting, Little Sturt, Oxford Rd, Burford, Oxon, OX14 4ET Bank: CAF Bank Ltd., PO Box 289, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA

Investment Manager: CCLA Investment Management Ltd, 85 Victoria St, London EC4V 4ET Contact: Laura Murphy, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RA Number of employees: 11

Web Site: www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Trustees’ Annual Report

Structure, Governance and Management

Wild Oxfordshire is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and governed by Memorandum and Articles.

The Trustees are elected by the members of the charity at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) each year with one third standing down each year but eligible for re-election indefinitely. The Chair of Trustees is appointed by the Board from time to time.

The Board of Trustees

Wild Oxfordshire’s Board of Trustees has an upper limit of 12 to enable the broad partnership that is the core of the charity’s purpose to be fully represented. Development of the Board is seen as an ongoing process, with review of representation and skills carried out in response to vacancies as they arise, and a more structured skills audit carried out periodically. New Trustees are given an induction into the work and policies of the Charity.

The trustees retain authority and decision-making powers in respect of the key areas of Wild Oxfordshire's activities. The day-to-day overall executive leadership of activities are delegated to the Chief Executive, who started in June 2020.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Chairman’s Report 2024/25

Wild Oxfordshire exists to help create a more natural, resilient and biodiverse County for the benefit of all. So how do we achieve this?

We focus on the change-makers that can make this happen - the owners and managers of land from gardens to estates, and those with responsibility for the quality of our streams and rivers. We also focus on those who can influence the change-makers such as community members, politicians, and policy-makers.

Many of Oxfordshire's landowners and managers are doing the right thing for nature and then our role is to thank them, amplifying their stories to help inspire others.

Where needed, we help remove blockers, and foster the right conditions to trigger changes in land management practices which favour nature recovery alongside other considerations such as the need to produce food, to remain financially sustainable, and to enable people to connect with nature.

The UK Government is seeking to reverse the decline in biodiversity by the year 2030. Many recent reports show that they are currently off-target and must do so much better to stop and reverse that decline. However, we do have some policy tools that can help us change hearts and minds.

Perhaps most obvious are financial incentives and these are now coming in stream, whether they are the imperfect environmental land management scheme (ELMS) to promote naturefriendly farming or Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements for new development, generating money that can be either spent on making the development more biodiverse or on the biodiversity hotspots around the County identified in our Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Also coming on stream are the first natural capital projects in the County, putting a financial value on ecosystem services such as carbon capture and natural flood management.

In many cases those who can directly impact land management practices have their hearts and minds in the right place and what we can add is the inspiration, advice, guidance and knowledge on how to do the right thing. This is especially true of community groups who have patches of land and want to manage them in the best way to benefit wild species and allow local people to enjoy the space they have and in turn inspire them to introduce wildlife friendly ideas into their own spaces, whether that's a hole in a fence for a hedgehog highway or bug hotel nestling alongside the tall grasses of a no-mow may lawn.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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When seeking to reverse biodiversity declines at a whole landscape level the patchwork quilt of land management responsibilities must be sewn together in trusted partnerships of groups, businesses, and organisations working together for change. Structures such as river catchment partnerships, farmer clusters, conservation target areas, and urban wildlife initiatives can create the right condition to bring people together from across the private, public, and NGO sector. Maintaining such partnerships requires diligence, empathy, determination and much unsung activity behind the scenes in meetings, joint grant applications, and conversations which provide the glue that keeps people together.

As a charity Wild Oxfordshire has no nature reserves and manages no land, but we connect with many, many people and organisations that do. We also know that working to do the right thing for Oxfordshire's wildlife is hard work. Working together, to share challenges, inspire each other and foster the human connections that will protect the natural connections of a healthy ecosystem is what we do. It's in our lifeblood and it wouldn't happen without our dedicated staff, trustees, volunteers, supporters, funders, partners, friends and colleagues.

Thank you to everyone who is helping with Nature’s Recovery across Oxfordshire.

David Knight, Chair of Trustees

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Summary of Achievements

Strategic Plans & Partnerships

We are lucky in Oxfordshire to have a wonderful group of hardworking, passionate and knowledgeable individuals, whether employed by a variety of organisations, volunteering in their community, or working independently. We help effective working across these groups through knowledge-exchange and networking, achieved by a variety of formal and informal groups, and partnerships which we host. We also share inspiring stories via our monthly email bulletin, social media platforms, films, and website.

We worked very closely with Oxfordshire County Council on developing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Oxfordshire – the big plan for nature which sets out what we need to do, and where to achieve nature recovery.

This year we:

• Were Vice-Chair of the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership as well as focusing on funding for delivery of the LNRS with the Local Nature Partnership Nature Finance Group.

• Chaired the Engagement & Comms working group for the Local Nature Recovery Strategy. We have been championing an inclusive and collaborative approach to the creation of the LNRS, resulting in Oxfordshire County Council receiving 2,130 responses to the public consultation on the draft LNRS in October 2024. This high volume of responses included suggestions for additional biodiversity priorities and actions, and more locations to include. We worked with the LNRS team on several working groups to enable the publication of the final version in Autumn 2025.

• Hosted several meetings, workshops, and site visits for each of the Biodiversity Advisory Group, Conservation Target Area Managers, Communities Round Table, and Oxfordshire Environment Board.

• Held a Nature Positive Business event on “Sowing the Seeds of Change for Nature” looking at how we can seed and accelerate positive approaches to nature recovery in your organisation. It was so inspiring to hear all about those who have already started their journey, and those who are keen to begin!

• Held our Annual Lecture on the topic of “Nature-Based Solutions for Systemic Change”, with the brilliant Professor Nathalie Seddon, University of Oxford, with many thanks to Professor David Macdonald for hosting the event at WildCRU’s offices.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Community Ecology Programme

Wild Oxfordshire has committed more than 25 years to supporting parish councils and volunteer-led nature groups to enhance nature on their patch. We provide highly valued resources on our website, alongside a reliable ‘in person’ service from our Community Ecologist. We have excellent relationships with stakeholders and those working and volunteering in the environmental sector. With growing pressure from development and the biodiversity and climate emergencies, it is crucial that local communities are given the skills and resources to influence their changing countryside.

Wildlife presentation at Asthall Leigh, Rachel Crookes

Botanical survey at Swyncombe Downs, Rachel Crookes

This year we have:

• Provided on-site advice for 12 community groups resulting in the improved management of grasslands, churchyards and green spaces and the planting of a pollinator patch.

• Worked directly with 24 parish councils, providing advice on identifying, protecting and then improving their land through hedgerow planting, meadow creation and enhancement, road verge management and pollinator planting.

• Developed the new Wild Didcot project, which plans to work to the same model as our Wild Kidlington project but on a bigger scale.

• Attended 16 events promoting engagement with nature, including talks, walks, and attendance at local nature fairs.

• Secured new funding from a local business to survey their green spaces and deliver a series of events to tenants in their local area.

• Run two in-person workshops on training local community groups on bat and reptile surveying.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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• Worked with West Oxfordshire District Council to refresh outdated biodiversity guidance and create a new Community Town and Parish Guide to Nature Recovery, with funded case studies to demonstrate action local communities can take in Asthall Leigh, Filkins and Eynsham.

• Updated habitat guidance on our website to improve our set of collated resources for local community groups to use.

• Held our Local Environment Groups conference themed around ‘Nature’s Recovery: Local to Landscape’, which included 5 speakers, and a panel discussion -attended by 65 people from around the county.

Networking at the Local Environment Groups Conference 2024, Rhiannon Young

• Delivered the 2024/5 Hedgerow Heroes Project: working with 10 local groups and parishes across Oxfordshire to plant 3,480m of new hedge this planting season and supporting management of 273 m of existing hedgerows through gapping up, coppicing and hedgelaying.

• Run 16 hedgerow planting days spread across twelve locations in Oxfordshire, engaging with around 200 volunteers. For two of these days we had volunteers from FarmAbility, a local charity that runs farming and outdoor projects for adults with learning disabilities.

• Run five hedgelaying courses this autumn in collaboration with CPRE Oxfordshire, Wychwood Forest Trust and Nigel Adams Countryside Management. These courses upskilled 30 people in the traditional craft of hedgelaying and resulted in laying around 45m of hedge.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

• Continued to work with hedgerow expert Nigel Adams to provide management advice to landowners and create two hedgerow management plans for Oxfordshire landowners.

• Run two hedgerow Walk and Talk sessions, educating farmers and landowners on the benefits of managing hedgerows in a sustainable manner.

• Run three Engaging Community Nature Recovery Action meetings with conservation professionals to share knowledge and build partnership working.

• Hosted two Conservation Target Area Leads meetings to gather professionals taking nature recovery action in key areas of the county to knowledge share and collaborate.

• Delivered 24 nature-based events for residents of Kidlington, partnering with local schools, nursing homes, scouts, the local growing spaces group and the library.

• Run a successful Open Wildlife Gardens event, with over 100 people signed up to be inspired by 12 gardens big and small that were managed for wildlife in mind.

• Enhanced green spaces by tree and hedgerow planting with local volunteers.

• Created an interpretation panel for a local nature reserve St Marys Fields, for users to learn more about the site’s local wildlife.

• Created a new video celebrating the success of the project’s last three years of activities, aimed at inspiring other communities to do similar projects.

• Developed a new partnership with Sustainable Didcot to launch next year – this will involve delivering the same model as the Wild Kidlington but on a bigger scale.

Hedgerow planting session at Oddington, Lorraine Ray CPRE

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Curlew Recovery Partnership

Wild Oxfordshire is collaborating with the Curlew Recovery Partnership on what is called the ‘Curlew Solutions Trial’ (CST). This initiative aims to improve our understanding of curlew breeding in grasslands and to provide evidence of the effectiveness of conservation efforts to policy makers. Spread across 5 sites in England –Yorkshire Dales, Shropshire Hills, Breckland, Severn and Avon Vales and the Upper Thames - the project includes consultation with stakeholders through workshops, a review of the potential impact of conservation efforts on Curlew populations and novel research to assess what influences breeding success across project landscapes.

We also support the Upper Thames Wader Group; this partnership currently comprises RSPB, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Environment Agency, River Thame Conservation Trust, Freshwater Habitats Trust, British Trust for Ornithology and Banbury Ornithological Society. Partners meet on a regular basis to co-ordinate work, develop new initiatives, and share best practice.

‘It has been extremely useful to be able to share information and between fieldworkers and benefit from the experience gained by partner organisations each year. We have also been able to help each other out by sharing fencing equipment’. Jan Gilbride, Banbury Ornithological Society.

Young Curlew bathing, Cherwell Valley 2024. Photo © Mark Hunter

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

This year we have:

• Located 68 territorial pairs of Curlews across the project area, the most we have found in a single year so far, thanks to our partnership’s network of fieldworkers

• Monitored 29 Curlew nests in detail for the CST, out of a total of 146 across the five study landscapes in England.

• Fenced 27 nests, of which 15 hatched (56%). This was the lowest hatching success rate since the project began.

• Enabled twelve chicks to fledge - a poor year which is possibly linked to very wet weather early in the breeding season (many floodplain meadows flooded), and a cold wet spring. High generalist predator numbers remain a consistent issue.

• Three chicks fledged from a nest in the Cherwell Valley, where two also fledged last year – a very encouraging result.

• Held an annual autumn meeting which was well attended and included presentations by partners and the findings of the first year of the CST, presented by Harry Ewing (BTO).

The high loss of fenced nests to predators in 2024 has been partly addressed by increasing attention to some of the details of the fence construction, including adding extra strands of wire and adjusting the spacing to reduce the ability of badgers to push through the fence.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Yellow Wagtail Partnership

The Yellow Wagtail Partnership is a landscape scale conservation project which aims to restore four miles of wetland meadows and pastures along the River Thames. Working alongside our partners, Earth Trust, Church Farm Partnership and Lower Farm, we are holistically managing the riparian grasslands to create a place that can be enjoyed by people and allow farming businesses and wildlife to thrive.

This year we have:

• Had botanical surveys on two of our meadows to inform management

• Welcomed 13 Dexter Cattle onto Lower Farm which will play a key part in grassland management of the YWP area.

• Enabled at least three pairs of yellow wagtails to nest in the nearby arable crops last summer.

• Delivered 4 YWP talking to community and farming group, engaging with 67 people.

• Written one article for the West Berkshire Countryside Society about the Yellow Wagtail Partnership

Farmer Clusters

We now facilitate two farmer clusters, The Clumps Farmer Cluster, located between Nuneham Courtenay and Cholsey and the Ridgeway Cluster which is located along the Ridgeway South of Wantage. Farmer clusters are networks of local farmers who come together to learn about sustainable farming practices and deliver nature recovery at a landscape scale. They are also important social networks, allowing farmers to socialise and meet their neighbours and create dialogue that might not otherwise happen. The Clumps Farmer Cluster is still a fairly new cluster and we are working to identify group priorities and potential projects. The Ridgeway Cluster has been running for a few years but Wild Oxfordshire only started working with them a year and a half ago.

This year we have:

• Engaged with 22 farmers from the two clusters, and included more farmers on our mailing list who we hope may wish to get more involved in future.

• Secured Facilitation Funding for three years for the Clumps Cluster

• Secured FiPL funding for the Ridgeway Cluster to allow it to run for last financial year.

• Held 7 training events for the Clumps Cluster, and 4 training events for the Ridgeway Cluster. Topics covered included hedgerow management, Stewardship updates, Biodiversity net gain and deer management.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

• Worked with other clusters to deliver bigger and better events and create more opportunities for farmers to network and learn from each other and experts in their field.

Funding has been a challenge this year as DEFRA decided not to continue the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund which we were relying on to continue the Ridgeway Cluster. The Clumps will continue to be funded by this until June 2027 but after that, funds are uncertain.

Clumps Farmer Cluster, Weatherproof Farming event. Photo © Sophie Cunnington

Clumps Farmer Cluster Hedgerow event with Nigel Adams and Jessica Bouwer. Photo © Sophie Cunnington.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Evenlode Catchment Partnership

The Evenlode Catchment Partnership (ECP) is a dynamic collaboration of over 20 organizations and countless individuals, united by a shared commitment to return the River Evenlode and its tributaries to good ecological status. Since 2014, the ECP has been dedicated to improving water quality, enriching biodiversity, and managing flood risks while increasing climate resilience across the Evenlode catchment.

Supported by our partners, our work includes innovative approaches to river restoration, such as the creation of wetlands, ponds and fish passages, alongside natural flood management (NFM) efforts. These interventions not only restore natural habitats but also reduce flood risks, benefiting local communities. We have fostered greater community engagement with our rivers through our education and outreach programme, and our network of citizen scientists regularly monitor water quality in the catchment. By combining local knowledge, scientific expertise, and on-the-ground action, we work to deliver effective, long-lasting improvements that benefit both people and nature.

Due to the serious harm from sewage pollution to our rivers and wider catchment, and Thames Water’s failure to commit to much needed upgrades to sewage treatment works, the ECP has made the moral decision not to accept any more funding from Thames Water beyond March 2025. In March 2025, the ECP was awarded £780k over the next two years from the Water Restoration Fund – a DEFRA-backed project administered by the RPA using fines paid by Thames Water.

“ I am really impressed with the innovative approaches for river restoration and natural flood management .” - Professor Sir Dieter Helm

Regarding the Cornwell wetlands, Landowner Alex Ward says:

“ I’ve been amazed by the birdlife which the new wetland has attracted. Heron and Egret arrived within days, and you could see Mallard feathers after a few weeks. Within six months this wetland has turned unquestionably the least attractive part of the farm into a paradise for ducklings, Ringed Plover, Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail and Wheatear. I am looking forward to seeing what it will look like in two, let alone five years’ time.”

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

This year we:

• Proved that earlier Natural Flood Management measures worked. In 2018, NFM measures, including temporary water storage bunds, were installed on a farm above Milton-under-Wychwood to reduce flood risk in the village below. Storm Bert put these to the test in November 2024. On this occasion, the houses along the Littlestock Brook in Milton-under-Wychwood did not flood.

The first photo shows a group of people The second photo shows the same field standing in the bottom of a field bund on 24[th] bund in action on 25[th] November 2024, October 2024. following Storm Bert. The water is around 2m deep at its maximum and the bund is holding back around 1700m[3] flood water. ~~i~~

People in a field bund. Photo © SpongeScapes

Field bund filled with water. @Ann Berkeley

• Won an award for our film ‘Beneath the Surface’. A film commissioned by Wild Oxfordshire and directed by Nicola Schafer won a prestigious Award of Merit from The Best Shorts Competition . The award was given for the documentary ‘Beneath the Surface’, which highlights the vital work of the Evenlode Catchment Partnership in helping improve water quality in the Evenlode and associated biodiversity. ‘Beneath the Surface’ seamlessly weaves the stories of the farmers, landowners, community groups and environmental organisations involved into a compelling narrative, showing the innovative action being taken – and what still needs to be done to save the river.

• Delivered an NFM scheme at Fairspear Hill Farm. We delivered a scheme worth £34k at Fairspear Hill Farm creating areas where surface water flows can be stored to reduce flood risk and to settle out sediments.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

• Constructed the Cornwell fish passage . The return channel from Cornwell’s lower wetland runs fast over a clay bed. This is where the Chipping Norton Brook joins back into the Swail. The Environment Agency suggested we construct a fish spawning bed with gravel, boulders and tree trunks to create slower flowing refuges in steps to allow fish places to rest when swimming against the flow. The gravel bed is the favoured substrate for fish spawning and the faster flowing water keeps the gravel free of sediment. Trout have been seen upstream of this bed now that the water quality has improved. Project cost: £22,500.

Fish spawning bed at Cornwell. @Ann Berkeley

• Delivered a series of river restoration, wetland creation, NFM and weir removal projects at Rynehill Farm. The river restoration permanently re-set the course of a small brook to follow the original valley bottom in a project worth £32k.

This photo shows the brook in flood after storm Bert Nov 2024. @Clare Ambler

We had a very wet winter which jeopardised the completion of some of our construction projects at Cornwell and Rynehill. However, the weather turned in our favour just in time to complete these projects.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Treasurer’s Report 2024-25

Financial Review of the year ended 31st March 2025

Because of the level of turnover during the period 2024/25, the company is entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The directors nevertheless acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of accounts. So, these accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to The Small Companies regime.

Comparative position

Incoming resources of £680,397 in 24/25 was a decrease of £46,201 on the previous year (£726,418) with £601,358 (£651,362 23/24) related to Restricted projects as per the table below.

The remaining charitable income of an unrestricted £79,039 (22/23 £75,056) was higher by £3,983

In addition, a surplus of £58,282 surplus was achieved on the sale of an investment (23/24 nil), together with an unrealised loss of £1,709 (23/24 £12,305 surplus) on investments.

	2024/25 2023/24	2023/24	Increase/
			(Decrease)
	£	£	£
Evenlode Catchment Project	383,576	444,486	(60,910)
Hedgerow	46,688	45,867	821
Wild Kidlington	21,269	17,495	3,774
Curlew Recovery	29927	22,524	7,403
Clumps Farmer Cluster	8,195	794	7,401
Ridgeway Farmer Cluster	1,758	390	1,368
Environmental Strategic Work	6,000	8,750	(2,750)
Community Ecology	79,458	76,890	2,568
Landscape Ecology	4,935	-	4,935
Local Nature Recovery	200	-	200
Yellow Wagtail	19,352	34,166	(14,814)
Total Restricted Income	601,358	651,362	(50,005)
Unrestricted Income	79,039	75,056	3,983
Total incoming Resources	680,397	726,418	(46,021)
Realised Gain on Investment Sale	58,282	-	58,282
Unrealised Gains/(Losses) on Investments	(1,709)	12,305	(14,014)
Total Income and Gains	736,970	738,723	(1,753)

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

In 24/25 Wild Oxfordshire’s total expenditure decreased by £17,078 to £695,355 down from £712,433 in 23/24. The larger share of this spend was on restricted projects totalling £663,340 (23/24 £687,815) with a deficit of £36,243 on Environmental Strategy project and £25,695 on Landscape Ecology strategic projects together with a small (£44) deficit of the Clumps Farmer Cluster Project. All of which were offset by a transfer from unrestricted funds.

Just over 58% (23/24 64%) of restricted expenditure related to the Evenlode Catchment Partnership projects and the remainder on other restricted projects.

Spending on our core charitable activities in the year totalled £31,995 (23/24 £24,618) an increase of £7,377 mainly resulting from a change in the allocation basis and overall increase of staff costs.

Overall, after the net investments gains of £56,573 (23/24 £12,305) we made a surplus in the year of £41,635 (23/24 £23,290).

Cash/Bank/Investments

Total held in our bank accounts and investments at the year-end was £1,183,547 (23/24 £598,858) of this £774,610 (23/24 £413,062) is advance income held for expenditure on projects in future years.

Therefore, balance of available funds is £408,937 (23/24 £185,795) and with other net current liabilities of £25,789 (23/24 Other Net current assets £155,053), Net free reserves at the end of this financial year stood at £383,148 (23/24 £340,858). With fixed assets at £2,180 (£2,844 23/24) total funds on 31 March 2025 were £385,327 (£343,692 23/24).

Investment Policy

Trustees held the assets of the charity in accordance with their powers during the year. The trustees have absolute discretion to invest the funds of the charity. Our policy for the selection of investments for the charity has been to place at minimum 75% of surplus funds in fixed fund units with COIF via CCLA, and a COIF investment fund (listed equities).

Our expenditure for 24/25 was on average around £58,000 per month but for 24/25 is expected to increase to c. £83,000 per month, so we would argue we need 5/6 months liquid funds so perhaps £500,000, meaning that of our year end £1,183,547 cash (including investments) some £680,000 is currently surplus of which policy dictates 75% or c. £510,000 could be invested short to medium term.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

At the end of the financial year some £327,539 of our banking funds are held in interest bearing accounts and our investments held amounted to £114,822, so in total we have funds invested of £472,361, a little less, but not significantly so, than our policy requirement.

Reserves Policy

Our policy has been to maintain unrestricted reserves available at a minimum of £175,000. As Wild Oxfordshire’s capacity grows, so does its costs albeit modestly, but it would be prudent to keep the reserves policy under review.

In a nutshell, as shown in note 14 Funds, Wild Oxfordshire’s 23/24 Financial position was:

	£
Balance at start of year - all unrestricted	343,692
Incoming resources	680,397
Resources expended	(695,355)
Net gains on investments	56,573
Funds carried forward to 2025/26 - all unrestricted	385,327

Our resulting strong financial position means that Wild Oxfordshire remains comfortably above its agreed £175,000 minimum reserves threshold.

This position has allowed us to continue to invest in increasing our structural capacity and our work for the future and has been achieved because of our fundraising achievements against a relatively modest base spend.

My thanks to all staff and to Trustees for yet another great fundraising effort which remains a priority for us, and the resultant generosity of donors in their financial support for the work of Wild Oxfordshire in 24/25 (recognised elsewhere in this report).

Mike Russell, Treasurer 2024-25

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

Charity law requires trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the year end and of its incoming resources and resources expended during the year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2006. They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Independent Examiner

The Trustees have appointed CerTax Accounting to carry out the examination of these accounts, which exceed the threshold that requires independent examination under Charity Commission accounting rules. The trustees recommend that Certax Accounting remain in office until further notice.

This report was approved by the trustees on 24[th] September 2025 and signed on their behalf by

David Knight Chair of Wild Oxfordshire 2024-25

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Independent Examiner’s Report

to the trustees on the unaudited financial statements of Wild Oxfordshire.

We report on the financial statements of Wild Oxfordshire for the year ended 31st March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet and related notes. Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts, you consider that the audit requirements of section 43(2) of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) does not apply. It is our responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the general Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 43(7)9b of the Act, whether particular matters have come to our attention.

Basis of Independent examiner’s report

Our examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners and in accordance with the provisions in part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently we do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent examiner’s statement

In our opinion the financial statements:

Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31st March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the statement of Recommended Practice for charities.

Simon Oakland, CerTax Accounting

Independent Scrutineer

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2025

		2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		Funds	Funds
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Incoming resources
Voluntary income	2	72,021	600,589	672,610	719,300
Investment income	3	7,019	768	7,787	7,118
Total incoming resources		79,039	601,358	680,397	726,418
Resources expended
Fundraising		2,012	-	2,012	1,380
Charitable activities	4	29,085	663,340	692,425	710,146
Governance costs	5	897	-	897	907
Total resources expended		31,995	663,340	695,335	712,433
Net incoming/(outgoing)
resources before transfers		47,045	(61,982)	14,938	13,985
Transfers between funds		(61,982)	61,982	-	-
Net incoming/(outgoing)
resources before other
recognised gains and losses		(14,938)	-	(14,938)	13,985
Net gains on investments	8	56,573	-	56,573	12,305
Net movement in funds		41,635	-	41,635	26,290
Total funds brought forward
from 2023/24		343,692	-	343,692	317,402
Total funds carried forward	13	385,327	-	385,327	343,692

The notes on pages 26 to 32 form an integral part of these financial statements.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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Balance Sheet as at 31[st] March 2025

	Notes	2025	2024
		£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	9	2,180	2,844
Investments	10	114,822	118,211
Total fixed assets		117,001	121,054
Current assets
Debtors	11	23,860	222,191
Cash at bank and in hand		1,068,725	480,647
Total current assets		1,092,585	702,838
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	12	(824,260)	(480,201)
Net current assets		268,325	222,637
Net assets		385,327	343,692
Funds	13	385,327	343,692

The notes on pages 26 to 32 form an integral part of these financial statements.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on xx September 2025. and signed on its behalf by:

Mike Russell

(Hon. Treasurer)

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Notes to the Financial Statements

Accounting convention

The accounts are prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments, and in compliance with applicable accounting standards. In preparing the accounts the company has followed best practice as laid down in the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (SORP 2015 Second Edition, effective 1[st] January 2019) and applicable accounting standards (FRS102).

The charity has taken advantage of the exemption in FRS1 from the requirement to produce a cashflow statement because it is a small charity.

Incoming resources

Incoming resources are generally recognised on a receivable basis and are reported gross of related expenditure, where the amounts are reasonably certain and when there is adequate certainty of receipt related to restricted expenditure incurred.

The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

• Voluntary income received by way of grants, donations and legacies is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Gift Aid recoverable is accounted for in the same period as the related donation.

• Unrestricted funds can be spent on any of the organisation's charitable activities. Restricted funds must be spent on activities specified by the funder

• Legacies are recognised as income only when the charity becomes entitled to the income, receipt is certain, and the amount concerned is measurable.

• Grants (including grants for the purchase of fixed assets), where entitlement is not conditional on delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.

• Investment income is accounted for when receivable.

• Donated assets are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified, and a third party is bearing the cost. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold.

• The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

Resources expended

Resources expended are accounted for on an accruals basis and gross of any related income. They are classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. They are split according to restricted and unrestricted funds to enable us to report back to funders who have requested their donation be spent on specific activities. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

Costs of charitable activities comprise direct expenditure including direct staff costs attributable to activities. Where costs cannot be directly attributed, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Governance costs include those costs, such as statutory audit and legal and professional fees, associated with constitutional and statutory requirement.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation less residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Fixtures, fittings and computer and office equipment – 33.3% reducing balance

Investments

Where there is a readily ascertainable market value, investments are shown at market value as at the year-end. In the absence of a readily ascertainable market value, investments are valued at cost. Movements in value are shown in the income and expenditure account.

Pensions

The pension costs charged in the financial statements represent the contribution payable by the charity during the year.

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

2. Voluntary income

2. Voluntary income
	2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds
	£	£	£	£
Donations	26,001	11,494	37,495	40,650
Grants	795	589,096	589,891	657,167
Subscriptions	608	-	608	683
Other	44,617	-	44,817	20,800
Total	72,021	600,589	672,610	719,300

Gifts and services in kind

The trustees recognise that gifts and services in kind were an important contributor to the overall financial well-being of Wild Oxfordshire. The total value of help in kind including invaluable support of volunteers is conservatively estimated at £50,000.

3. Investment Income

3. Investment Income
	2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds
	£	£	£	£
Deposit Interest	5,939	768	6,707	6,118
Dividends	1,080	-	1,080	1,000
Total	7,019	768	7,787	7,118

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

4. Costs of charitable activities

4. Costs of charitable activities
	2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds
	£	£	£	£
Staff Costs	65,929	266,397	332,325	278,425
Admin & Comms	41,349	-	41,349	36,255
Core Overhead allocated to projects	(78,192)	-	(78,192)	(33,348)
Total other Core Overheads	(36,842)	-	(36,842)	2,907
Projects (excluding staff costs)
Evenlode Catchment Project	-	269,510	269,510	325,316
Hedgerow	-	39,454	39,454	32,625
Wild Kidlington	-	6,423	6,423	3,230
Curlew Recovery	-	29,927	29,927	17,524
Clumps Farmer Cluster	-	5,452	5,452	8
Ridgeway Farmer Cluster	-	711	711	10
Environmental Strategy Work	-	384	384	5,422
Community Ecologists Projects	-	16,361	16,361	21,434
Landscape Ecology	-	15,911	15,911	14
Local Nature partnership	-	200	200	-
Yellow Wagtail	-	12,611	12,611	23,232
Total Projects	-	396,943	396,943	428,815
Total	29,085	663,340	692,425	710,146
5. Governance costs
	2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds
	£	£	£	£
Independent Examination Costs	720	-	720	720
AGM & Trustee Meetings	177	-	177	187
Total	897	-	897	907

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

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6. Operating gain

Operating gain is after charging:			2024/25	2023/24
			£	£
Depreciation and other amounts written off tangible assets			714	1,421
7. Employees
Number of employees			2024/25	2023/24
			No	No
Average monthly number of employees during the year			11	9
Employment costs	2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds
	£	£	£	£
Wages and salaries	65,929	266,397	332,335	278,425

7. Employees

Pension costs

The company pays pension contributions to employees' personal pension schemes. The pension charge represents contributions due from the company and amounted to £24,437 (2024 - £20,387).

Trustee remuneration

No trustee received any remuneration or expenses during the year 2024/25 - £Nil, (2023/24 - £Nil)

8. Net Investment Gains

8. Net Investment Gains
	2024/25	2024/25	2024/25	2023/24
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
	Funds	Funds
	£	£	£	£
Realised gain on sale of investments	58,282	-	58,282	-
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments	(1,709)	-	(1,709)	12,305
Total	56,573	-	56,573	12,305

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

9. Tangible fixed assets

9. Tangible fixed assets
	Computer	Fixtures &
	Equipment	Fittings	Total
	£	£	£
Cost
At 1stApril 2024	11,813	1,880	13,693
Additions	-	50	50
At 31stMarch 2025	11,813	1,930	13,743
Accumulated depreciation
At 1stApril 2024	9,640	1,209	10,849
Charge for the year	474	240	714
At 31stMarch 2025	10,114	1,449	11,563
Net book values
At 31stMarch 2025	1,699	481	2,180
At 31stMarch 2024	2,173	671	2,844
10. Investments
Net book value		£
At 1stApril 2024		118,211
Disposals		(1,680)
Revaluations		(1,709)
At 31stMarch 2025		114,822

Included in fixed asset investments are the following individual investments, which represent more than 5% of the total investment portfolio:

	2025	2024
	£	£
COIF Charities – Fixed Fund Units	8,205	9,433
COIF Charities – Investment Fund Units	106,617	108,788
Total	114,822	118,211

Continued....

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540

Together for Nature

10. Investments (continued)

Investments at market value comprise	2025	2024
	£	£
UK listed equities	106,617	108,788
UK unlisted equities	-	1,680
UK securities	8,205	7,753
Total	114,822	118,211

The historical cost of investments at 31 March 2025 was £41,907 (2024 £43,587).

11. Debtors

11. Debtors
	2025	2024
	£	£
Trade debtors	17,435	31,875
Accrued income	6,425	190,317
Total	23,860	222,191

12. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

	2025	2024
	£	£
Trade creditors	35,512	53,460
Income in advance	774,610	413,062
Other creditors	6,605	6,804
Accruals	7,532	6,875
Total	824,260	480,201

13. Funds

13. Funds
	1 April	Incoming	Resources	Gains /		31 March
	2024	Resource	Expended	(Losses)	Transfers	2025
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted Funds	343,692	79,039	(31,995)	56,573	(61,982)	385,327
Restricted Funds	-	601,358	(663,340)	-	61,982	-
All Funds	343,692	680,397	(695,335)	56,573	-	385,327

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Wild Oxfordshire, Manor House, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4RA www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk Charity number: 1131540