Transition Bath
Trustees’ Report 2022/2023
Transition Bath is an environmental charity focussing on running local projects aimed at the reduction of carbon emissions and/or the restoration of nature.
Eco Together. In December 2022, £3000 was secured from the Bath & West Community Energy fund for a coordinator for Eco Together to work one day a week for a year. A Masters student from the University of Bath was recruited, in order to build on connections with the University Climate Action Team and with a view to rolling Eco Together out for students, staff or both. Relationship building took place over the course of the year, with the University and also Bath & North East Somerset Council. Alongside this, two new Eco Together groups started in Bath at Bath Quakers, and two groups of Bath residents continued to progress through the programme. In Birmingham, the Eco Together coordinator prepared a pilot of using Eco Together as a ten week course, for a social housing community Whitton Lakes.
The Food Group continued management of the Nuttery, our nut orchard on National Trust land. After some spring clearance work, we engaged in more extensive learning about tree management from the Agroforestry Research Trust, both on site in Dartington and through an online course. Unfortunately we lost a key volunteer, and did not carry through intended work in 2022-23. The responsible trustee prepared a funding bid (successful in the following year) which will see more activity.
The Food Group has for some years supported community gardening all across the city by enabling networking of community gardens and creating shared resources. After a lull in activity during the pandemic, this work picked up, though most benefit falls after the period currently reported. We also maintain strong links with the local council’s initiatives around food poverty, and continue to represent food growing
on the relevant public health consultative panels, creating links where possible between surplus crops and the Affordable Food Network.
Bath Green Homes. Preparation for Bath Green Open Homes which we last ran 10 years ago started in this year. This time the weekend will be managed and organised by BWCE as we don’t have the internal capacity to run such an event. We will however be supporting the project by writing case studies, providing volunteers and some funding held over from 10 years ago.
Thermal Imaging. We offer training courses to help people make best use of our Thermal Imaging camera during the winter. The programme was severally interrupted by COVID but revived in 2022 when we restarted training courses. We had significant unsatiated demand as a result of homeowners trying to reduce their costs during the Energy Crisis. The limiting factor on the project is our one camera and how many homes it can be used for over the winter season.
Ride to Work loans electric bikes for 6 weeks at a time to commuters to persuade them to switch from commuting by car to electric bike. Launched in September 2019 into the face of a COVID epidemic; despite the switch to working from home we have managed to keep the bike permanently loaned to commuters since focussing during COVID lockdowns on schools but have recently seen some revival of businesses coming back to work in the office.
Carbon Reductiion Strategy. This was a new project for 2022, with Energy Sparks our school-focussed project having flown the nest and become a standalone charity, we have been looking for other projects which will have a large impact on carbon emissions. We are actively researching a heat pump project to help home-owners install heat pumps which reduce heating and hot water carbon emissions by 80%.
Ecooperation . We organized a meeting in June 2022 of some 35 environmental organizations in Bath to discuss cooperation. It was decided at the meeting to create a WhatsApp group to keep each
other informed, to devise a directory of Bath environmental groups and to collaborate in the recruitment of volunteers. The first of these has been enacted and a further meeting of 45 groups to include groups in the area surrounding Bath is planned for early in 2024.
CHARITY COMMISSION FIXI ETrK)LAND AND WALES Indèpendent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent EXaMir,5 Report Report to the tn13teezl mefflb¢r3 of Transltion Bath rnrted On accounts for the year , 31 March 2022 ended Chafity no , 1139853 {if any) | S•t out on pages I report to the Iru5tee3 on my examinatson of the accounts of the above chanty ('the Trust'l for the year ended 3110312022. Responsibilitios and b4•ir ol rgport As the chantys tntslees you are responsible fof the preparation of the aGGounts in acGordance Yrth the requirements of ihe Charilies AGI 2011 -t Act.) I report in respect of my examination ot the TnJ8t"s accounts carried ¢xrt uThJer sec*on 145 ofthe 2011 Act aThJ in Carrying oul my examination. I have followed all the applicabbe ChrectKJns given by the Charty Commiision utKler 5eth¢)n 145(5)(b) ol the Aci. Indopondent l am qualrfied to undertake the examinatson by being a qualified momb¢f of •xamiMfg Statement The Chartered Instrtute of Managemént AcCn18n15 I have compleled my eXaMinatn I confifm that rbo matenal matters have corne lo rny attentbon in connects.on vthh the examinabon whiGh gives me cause to believe that in, any matwal respea.. the accountin9 records were kept In accordance sethon 130 of ihe Chafrties Act. or the account5 not accord with It accountiry records." or the accDunts dKI not cornply th applicabbe requirements concernin9 the fomi and conteni of accounts 6el ¢yJt In the Chanbes {A¢¢ountg and Rèpottsl Regulations 2008 other than any requirémént that the accounts gNe a 'lrue and fair view lch is nol a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no CDncem5 and have corne acTO8S no other matters in conn¢clion wrth the examination to which attention should be drawn In this report in order to enable a proFer undefslanding of the accounls to be reached. ' Please delete ttje w11. in the brackets rf tIFey do not apply Sign•d: /7-//- £7 Name: R¢lev•nt professional qualificationl$) or body {if any): IER Oct 2018
Addrus: JO Section B Disclosure I::.,l.:-h-. rr.aie.-i Jl TriJlltt."s =1 LL,,'- (see CC32. IndepeThJent examinabon ol chanty accounts: direclK)ns and guidance tor examiner5). Glv• h•r• bri•f d•tall$ of ', any items Ihat the examlner wishes to disclo IER Oct 2018