2020-07-31-accounts - Elmswild

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Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date 01 08 2019 31 07 2020

From

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) Charity's principal address	ElmsWild	ElmsWild


	1152850
	Rose Cottage, School Road
	Elmswell
	Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
	Postcode	IP30 9EA

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any)
	Robert Victor Boardman	Treasurer
	MaryJo Feeney	Chair
	Keith Harvey
	John Ibbetson	Vice-Chair
	Maria Sol Indurain
	Lisa Jane Pratt

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

TAR

March 2012

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Constitution (Foundation Model) Type of governing document Adopted 8 April 2013 (eg. trust deed, constitution)

Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted

(eg. trust, association, company)

Appointed by existing Trustees Trustee selection methods

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

ElmsWild has a Health & Safety policy and a Safeguarding policy, copies of which are given to all existing and new Trustees. Site risk assessments for the sites for which we are responsible and activity risk assessments are maintained. All are reviewed annually and circulated to all Trustees. Safety advice is given to all volunteers. Safeguarding training is undertaken by all Trustees.

ElmsWild is affiliated to the Green Light Trust.

ElmsWild is a member of The Conservation Volunteers and Community Action Suffolk.
ElmsWild receives advice and support from Orchards East on matters relating to the community orchard.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and received no remuneration or other benefits.

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

(1) To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in the parish of Elmswell, Suffolk, by the development of native species woodland, orchards and wildlife areas.
(2) To advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment.

TAR

March 2012

Trustees planned and carried out the year’s activities having due regard for the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, which was discussed at trustee meetings.

Our activities included:

Events open to the whole community (general work parties, wildflower meadow creation, Community Apple Day, Wassail, fruit tree planting). This benefits people by providing opportunities to learn new skills, and to enhance their local environment.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

Activities with people of all ages, including children from our local nursery and uniform groups (learning about wildlife, craft activities). This benefits people by providing facilities for learning outside the classroom, learning about nature, and encouraging people’s positive interaction with the natural environment.
Development and maintenance of the community woodland and orchard at Lukeswood and wildlife area at Kiln Meadow (keeping paths and rides open, maintaining trees and hedges, maintaining wildflower areas). This benefits people by providing natural areas where they can walk, take healthy exercise, be close to nature, and share these experiences with children, families, and other community members.
Creating and improving wildlife habitats (hedgerows, wildflower areas, woodpiles, ponds) and surveying local wildlife. This benefits people by providing opportunities to explore nature on their doorstep and contribute to its conservation.
Maintaining and improving other local natural areas (e.g. public garden), establishing mini wildflower meadows and a scattered orchard. This benefits people by providing pleasant open/green spaces for recreation and enjoyment.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

The Trustees are very grateful for the contribution of volunteers who help out at our wildlife and woodland sites and who also help with community events and educational activities. In particular the Trustees would like to acknowledge:

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grantmaking;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.
Help received from teams of volunteers from BT and Anglian Water, who have assisted with conservation work at both Lukeswood and Kiln Meadow.
The help and cooperation received from staff, governors and parents of Elmswell Primary School.
The contribution made by the Trefoil Guild towards joint fund-raising activities.
The help and support received from the staff of Street Farm Nursery.
Continuing advice and assistance given by members of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service, and Suffolk Butterfly Conservation.

TAR

March 2012

Section D Achievements and performance

Educational activities Summary of the main Members of ElmsWild have continued to carry out educational activities achievements of the charity with local groups and organisations, including local Guides and Beavers during the year who all visited Lukeswood to carry out a range of activities. Children and staff from Street Farm Nursery have continued to use Lukeswood as the base for their popular and successful Forest School activities. At our Apple Day our fruit ID and information service was again very popular with residents from Elmswell and surrounding villages. Community activities and events Our Apple Day was again held in September and was well attended and enjoyed by the public. This event featured games and children’s activities, local craft stalls, and refreshments provided by the Trefoil Guild. The ElmsWild Stall featured nestboxes and craft items made from materials from the woodland, e.g. willow. In January we held a Wassail celebration at Lukeswood for families who had attended a workparty to extend some of our mini wildflower meadows, including a campfire and a bring-and-share lunch. ElmsWild had stalls at two community events in the village – Elmsfest and the St John’s Church Christmas Fair – with crafts and decorations made from natural materials from our wildlife sites. Wildlife/conservation activities Weekly work parties continued until March with conservation work carried out at both sites. At Lukeswood a regular regime of mowing has kept open rides and paths, while the annual cut and rake at Kiln Meadow was again carried out with the assistance of volunteers from Anglian Water. A group of volunteers from BT helped with raking at Lukeswood and also worked on various habitat improvement projects. New nestboxes were installed at Kiln Meadow. In December 50 saplings were planted at Lukeswood, mainly to improve hedgerows. Our ElmsWild Flowers project has proved very popular with local residents and we extended all of the mini meadows. We sowed Yellow Rattle seed in the orchard at Lukeswood to encourage more wildflowers to emerge. We started a Scattered Orchard project in the village, planting two areas with five fruit trees each. This was carried out with the assistance of a Locality Budget grant from Mid Suffolk District Council. Minor tree work and repairs to fencing were required after one of the Black Poplars fell down. The tree may regenerate from the horizontal. Other achievements Members of ElmsWild, along with other volunteers, have continued to maintain the Elmswell Memorial Garden and to keep it open for the local community to enjoy.

TAR

March 2012

Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

We hold £3061 at this year end and aim to hold at least £1000 to meet running costs and any unforeseen expenditure.

Details of any funds materially Not applicable in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

Our main sources of income this year have been donations from local organisations and parish council, along with a Locality Budget grant from Mid Suffolk Council.

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);

The funds raised have gone towards:

Basic running costs which allow us to keep our sites open for everyone to enjoy.
Maintaining/developing the woodland, orchard and wildspace, including the tools and equipment required to do this.
Establishment of mini wildflower meadows and a Scattered Orchard in the village.
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
investment policy and  Holding community events and activities objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

The Coronavirus pandemic and the national lockdown have meant that this has been a difficult year for us. Workparties were suspended from March until June and formal Board meetings could not be held in April, May and June. Some planned community events also had to be cancelled. However, essential maintenance work continued, with volunteers working individually. This has meant that all of our sites could remain open for local people to enjoy much-needed fresh air and access to open space. Trustees remained in regular contact through email and phone calls; Board meetings resumed in July and were held outside at Lukeswood.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)

Full name(s) Mary Jo Feeney Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Chair etc)

Date 24/05/2021

TAR

March 2012

				ents accounts	ents accounts	ents accounts
&	*
		Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds		Totalfunds		Lastyear
		to the nearest €	to the nearestf	to the nearestE		to the nearestI	to	the nearestt
						1.665		2.138
						500
								100
Subtotal (Gross	income					2,165		2,234
A2Asset andinvestmentsales,
rotat receip"E::::=E]			I--1	I-1	l--_?jETl		l-------7-,r?i,l
						218		z',t8
								38
						35		105
						1,170		848
						1,423		1,209
A4Asset andinvestment
nurchases.{seetable)
Tools&equioment Trees&shrubs	Subtotal	372 533 905	r---=Fjl--i'hHi
rotatpayme"t'E]]]]@l			I-1	f=_l	f-r,34		I-fiT'4
Netofreceipts/(payments)I=-EII			l-1	l-1	l--EIl		l-
A5Transfersbetween	funds
A6Cashfundslastyearend	3,2241 cashrundsthisyear"roE:l			1 l-1	-lI l-1	ll I	3,zz4ll 3p6ill-

			Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowment
			funds	funds	funds
			tonearestf	tonearest f,	tonearestf
81Cashfunds	Current account & cash
	Total cashfunds
	(agree balanceswithreceipts	and payments
		account(s))
			Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowment
			funds	funds	funds
			to hearestt	to flearestf	to nearestf
82 Other monetary assets
			Fund towhich	Cost (optional)
83lnvestment assets
			Fund towhich	Cost{optionali	Current value
84 Assets retainedforthe	Land(6.6acres at Lukeswood)
charitfsown use	Treesplanted
	Tools, equipmerrt & storage
			Fund towhich	Amount due
85 Liabilities
Signedbyoneor twotrusteeson behalfof all thetrustees			Print	Name
			MARY	FEENEY