Annual report 2024125 StNic ThL Green HLarL of York ## Contents |Contents|| |---|---| |Message from the Chair of Trustees|3| |CEO’s report|4| |Our charity’s purpose|5| |Significant activities|5| |Key achievements in figures|8| |Key achievements|| |- Waste minimisation|10| |- Green Corridors York|12| |- Nature-based wellbeing|14| |- Education|16| |Fundraising and events|17| |Looking ahead|18| |Who we are|19| |Volunteers|20| |Governance and risk management|20| |Financial activities 2024/25|20| |Thank you to our key supporters|21| |Audited accounts 2024/25|22| ## Message from the Chair of Trustees As I write my final annual report as Chair of St Nicks, I want to reflect on what has been a really successful 2024–25 for us. St Nicks is a very special place, uniquely local with its foundations rooted in our thriving 24 acres of nature, but with a reputation for collaborative action and high-quality environmental service delivery that extends far, far further. This year we have seen St Nicks continue to thrive, despite long-standing sectoral challenges of rising costs and a shifting funding landscape. Our team and volunteers have once again shown ingenuity, resilience, and a deep commitment to our community. Among the year’s many achievements, several stand out. Our Green Corridors York programme continues to grow, with over 127 hectares of land worked for nature recovery and 5,000 tansy beetle food plants established to support one of York’s most iconic species. The sighting of water voles at four new sites was a wonderful indicator of the difference our habitat work is making. The Big Community Challenge, involving over 500 volunteers across 33 sites, culminated in the launch of a floating ecosystem on the River Ouse, and represents an inspiring symbol of community-powered conservation. Our Ecotherapy programme continues to transform lives. This year, participants recorded over 5,000 hours of engagement, and thanks to expanded capacity we were able to re-open to new referrals in January. With 95% of participants reporting that they feel more connected to others, it is clear that these nature-based interventions are making a profound difference to the wellbeing of our participants. In waste minimisation, our recycling team collected and hand-sorted nearly 600 tonnes of business and residential recycling. We're proud to report a 0% contamination rate which is a testament to the team's care and professionalism. The opening of our new recycling garage has improved efficiency, reduced our energy use by 43%, and given us the space to plan for future growth, including the development of our Precious Plastic York project. Our education work has also grown significantly. More than 330 children and young people engaged through Green Leaders activities, and 60% of our holiday club places were taken up by low-income families. These sessions are not only fun, but also positively build the knowledge, skills and confidence of the next generation, furthering their understanding of nature and the importance of caring for it. These achievements have all been made possible by our dedicated staff, our tireless volunteers, and the support of funders, partners, and members. Together, you have ensured that St Nicks remains at the heart of York’s innovative and inclusive environmental impact. We were delighted to welcome Vicky Blakey-Archer as our new CEO in September 2024. Looking ahead, the Board recognises that investment in the development of our Environment Centre must now be a priority. To truly meet demand and expand our reach, we need a building that acknowledges how we have evolved as a charity over the past 25 years and provides the sustainable, accessible space our community deserves. After seven rewarding years on the Board, I feel it is time to hand over the reins and have signalled my intention to step down at our next AGM in November 2025. With a 12-month lead in period to identify and welcome my successor, this should allow plenty of time for a smooth transition. It has been an honour to have had a shared sense of purpose with so many generous and committed people, and witness how our enthusiasm for why we do what we do at St Nicks helps shape such a positive and supportive culture across the organisation. I'm really proud of what we have achieved together, and grateful for being trusted to steer the organisation through a really exciting period in its history. Thank you all for your unwavering support, and for making York a place where people and nature can flourish together. Stuart Leslie Chair of Trustees ## CEO’s report I’m thrilled to be writing this as the new CEO of St Nicks. Having joined the organisation in September 2024, it has become apparent to me very quickly what a wonderful organisation St Nicks is. I’m fortunate to have taken on a charity with strong governance, clearly defined areas of % oe operation and a team brimming with knowledge, skill and enthusiasm for what they do. What really stood out for me when joining St Nicks is the sheer volume and diversity of work that the team do, and the impact that this has on both people and planet. From installing the first floating ecosystem on the river Foss to our award-winning kerbside recycling collections and connecting people with nature to make real life changes to their wellbeing; I have been amazed at the level of innovation, integrity and commitment from the whole team. I’m pleased to report another successful year for St Nicks. Despite another year of balancing inflated costs with challenging funding landscapes, we are reporting a further organisation growth. This growth is a reflection of the increase in demand for all of our areas of operation and has not been without challenge, requiring our teams to adapt, innovate and create to meet the need of our communities and habitats. The success of this is testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire St Nicks team of staff and volunteers. Securing further funding from the National Lottery Community Fund Climate Action Fund has allowed us to further develop our Green Corridors work, as well as our involvement in the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Innovation Partnership demonstrating our expertise in partnership working. Our building remains a constant challenge and the limitations on space is restricting further development for St Nicks. Looking forward to next year, this will form one of our key priorities, and we are keen to hear from potential partners who would be interested in supporting us with this. Vicky Blakey-Archer CEO ## Our charity’s purpose St Nicks aims to: - Preserve and conserve the area known as St Nicholas Fields, including the flora and fauna of the area, for the benefit and education of the public - Promote the public education of persons resident in York and surrounding areas in principles and benefits of environmental and conservation issues and of sustainability including but not limited to recycling and waste reduction - Promote the benefit of the public by providing facilities in the interests of social welfare and leisure time occupation with the object of improving their conditions of life We work to meet these aims in the following ways: ## Recycling and Waste Management Our City Centre Recycling service has continued to perform well with strong, positive feedback from residents and customers alike. We collect residential recycling in line with our contract with City of York Council and commercial recycling provides much needed unrestricted income to the charity. Both business and residential recycling have grown this year, with expansions to the number of residential properties and commercial customers we collect from. We are excited to see what opportunities the Simpler Recycling reforms will bring for our team next year. ## Nature-based Wellbeing Our Ecotherapy Programme is a small mental health programme connecting people to nature to improve their well-being. Participants who join our programme have moderate to severe enduring mental ill health. However, when they join our community, they are a person first. That person has hopes, dreams, interests and skills, who happens to be living with mental health challenges. We work in a person-centred way that is warm and caring, flexible, inclusive and adopts a strengths-based approach. At the heart of the programme is co-creation and we work very hard to ensure that the programme reflects what participants need but also what is needed across the city. We model this approach and have been asked to deliver training on it. Participants who join our programme are invited to a group, for example Words from the Wild or Art Based Creative writing. Each group focusses on nature and uses the nature reserve. In addition, we offer 1:1 mentoring. This mentoring enables someone attending the group to fully engage in the session, knowing that 1:1 support is separately available should they need it. Further to the weekly groups, we also facilitate seasonal groups, drop-in sessions and one-off events e.g. World Mental Health Day and our Winter Solstice event. We were also pleased to continue to be a ‘Warm Space’ to support our community during the colder months. ## Education Our Holiday Clubs are funded by Holiday Activities and Food Fund and National Lottery Community Fund. These hugely popular holiday sessions engage families and young people in seasonal nature-based activities with the majority of uptake from families on low incomes. Each session includes a lunch cooked on the campfire and allows families to develop a deep nature connection. We have expanded our education offer this year to include Nature Tots, a group for parents and children aged 0-4. ## Green corridors St Nicks Local Nature Reserve (LNR) continues to develop as an important urban wildlife site and wellbeing and amenity resource for people. To further support the management, David Walker joined the LNR Team as Reserve and Maintenance Officer. David works with Eithne Phillips to support the Volunteer Park Rangers to ensure the nature reserve continues to thrive. He is also taking a lead on progressing infrastructure projects on site including footpaths, steps, benches and signage. Speaking of Park Rangers, it has been another successful year and a huge thanks to Cas, Siobhan, Charlotte and Izzy for their dedication and commitment to the voluntary roles. As ever, we are also indebted to the wide range of groups (Weekly conservation volunteers, Wildwatch group, St Nicks Ecotherapy group Bearing Fruit, Henshaw's, Danesgate, Student Action Group, business groups) who contribute to the continued development and success of the nature reserve. This year saw major tree works take place after a professional tree survey revealed a number of trees were becoming a safety risk due their age and health. Several large willow trees were felled this winter by a contractor, and dozens of smaller trees were brought down by the LNR Team to decrease risk and at the same time improve the wildlife structure of the woodland. Sessions Nature Reserve is a 2-hectare parcel of land along the River Foss off Haxby Road which we are now the proud owner of. The land was owned and managed by the Sessions Nature Reserve Trust from 1967 until 2024 when the family run Trust was wound down and transferred to the Friends of St Nicholas Fields. The land is part of an island which was created when the river was canalized in the late 18th century to make it navigable. The island is between the current main Foss channel and the original 'old' river Foss channel and provides a vital wildlife refuge away from the more exposed sections of the river. Green Corridors York continues to strive for “more, bigger, better and more joined up” green spaces and initiatives, conserving nature whilst supporting our communities. The Green Corridors Rivers and Floodplains project (funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund) continues to be successful in bringing communities and land managers together to improve the management of wildlife habitats along our rivers and becks. Improvements are beginning to make a positive difference to important riparian species such as Tansy beetle and water vole. In April 2024 we started a new project focussing on Urban Green Corridors, thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund Climate Action Fund. This project is being delivered in partnership with City of York Council and York Cares and applies our successful Green Corridors approach to number of urban corridors across York. A weekly Thursday afternoon session rotates around the urban corridors, examples of the work include creating new wildflower areas as part of York Walls in Bloom, developing the wildlife value of North Street Gardens including maintaining the floating ecosystem (see page 13), restoring grassland habitat on Foss Islands and Solar Systems greenways, creating new wildlife habitat across the Scarcroft area within the Micklegate Stray corridor and scythe training for York Museum Gardens, York Minster and Churches Conservation Trust to better manage their city centre land for wildlife. Another new project for this year was our involvement in the Yorkshire and Humber Local Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP). The UKRI-funded project builds on the existing multisectoral partnership working between academia, local government and community organisations in Yorkshire and the Humber across the 4 Mayoral Combined Authorities: York and North Yorkshire, Hull and East Riding, South, and West Yorkshire. Green Corridors York is a place-based demonstrator project for the Sustainable Living in a Greener Economy work package. We will be supported by work package partners (Stockholm Environment Institute, Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, City of York Council, Green Estates Sheffield) to test and demonstrate the value of improved knowledge exchange in increasing nature recovery and use Wild York to demonstrate a model of community-connected nature recovery that may be adapted and applied in other communities. To enable us to deliver the expanded Green Corridors work we undertook a staff restructuring and recruitment phase, including the introduction of Senior Officer roles in the Green Corridors team. ## Key achievements in 2024/25 Minimising waste contamination rate so no materials are rejected by 0% reprocessors and incinerated tonnes of business and residential recycling 587.2 collected and hand sorted kg of cheese 17.36 packaging kg of Taylors 23.66 Tea packaging kg of biscuit 42.06 packaging recycled as part of our “difficult to recycle” materials public recycling points maintained, as well as regular 12 drop-in sessions at St Nicks 12.64 tonnes of recycling collected in one week over Christmas (our average is 8!) 43% reduction in energy consumption for charging the electric recycling vehicles, now that they are stored at a consistent temperature in the new garage activities Ecotherapy 5,153 of participants feel they need less help from elsewhere 83% because they come to St Nicks 95% Ecotherapy hours of 1:1 mentoring groups held on for mental health logged 7 a weekly basis 530 with participants participant hours logged at Ecotherapy activities of participants feel more connected to other people hours of 1:1 mentoring for mental health logged 530 with participants 46 participants actively engaging in our 96 Ecotherapy groups 10 new referrals to our Ecotherapy service in 2024/25 additional Ecotherapy groups held on a 5 seasonal basis Ecotherapy group trips held throughout the year 7 7 ## Education ## 337 60% children and young people attending our “Green Leaders” activities of places at our holiday club places given to lowincome families ## 52 13 educational groups and sessions held in 2024/25 different uniformed groups partnered with in York ## Green corridors during the Big Community Challenge, in four weeks... hectares of land worked across for nature 127 recovery new sites where water vole were found 4 on the corridors volunteers from 16 different 500 organisations gave hours of volunteer time spent over 1,362 sites across York 33 new roles within the Green Corridors team to support the 5 delivery of nature recovery 5,000 tansy beetle food plants planted to create and improve tansy beetle habitats ## Key achievements: Waste minimisation In 2024-25, our priority as a team was to focus on consolidating our growth over the last few years. Thanks to the contract with City of York Council that is our longest yet, and gaining approval for our custom garage we took this opportunity to really focus on getting the basics right, so that in coming years we can continue to expand on our previous successes. To do this we have had our new garage built, and played with the internal layout to make functional workspaces, storage for items like replacement boxes and to keep it a safe and accessible place to store and charge our vehicles. Being able to store our vehicles outside of the garden has increased storage capacity for other teams, and improved our efficiency as we are now able to get all vehicles from one location, instead of having them spread out wherever there is space. Having a dedicated space where we can carry out routine maintenance and bale foil has also helped the team massively! Over the year Terracycle have gradually phased out and closed down many of their most popular schemes. As a result we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of people attending our drop in sessions and the volumes of waste brought to us and our partner locations. This year we invested in new software that is helping us improve efficiency on our routes. It allows us to store all paperwork related to our business waste customers, schedule collections, report issues and generate invoices. We have also been investing in our people. Three of our staff have attended mental health at work first aid training and one has attended dementia awareness training. These team members have shared their learning and as a team we have modified the way we work and communicate internally. In September 2024 Sam, our Waste & Recycling Manager attended the awards ceremony for her Churchill Fellowship. Here she was awarded her Churchill Medal, in recognition of her work Towards Zero Waste. Her report is published on the Churchill Fellowship website here if you’d like to have a read. In the coming financial year we hope to build on the foundations we’ve solidified in this year. We will be proactively looking for new business customers and events collections. Now that we have a dedicated space, we will also be doing market research and testing to launch Precious Plastic York, our in-house plastic recycling initiative, and we will be focusing on working with our residents to ensure our service meets their needs. In April 2025 the first phase of the Simpler Recycling legislation, on workplace recycling, entered into force (further phases, due to take effect in April 2026 and April 2027, will also affect domestic recycling). The new rules provide a great opportunity for us to showcase our skills and experience. We will be leading by example, launching a Zero Waste St Nicks programme where we take a deep dive on the waste our charity produces and what we can do about it to minimise that. We’ll be helping our businesses and residents navigate the Simpler Recycling reforms and sharing what we learn along the way to create resources that anyone can use to reduce their waste impact. ## Key achievements: Green Corridors York (GCY) ## St Nicks Local Nature Reserve The St Nicks Wildwatch group have met weekly to record species on the nature reserve since 2011. The species list continues to grow (2591 in March 2025) which is testament to the expertise and dedication of the volunteers. The highlight of the year was the confirmation of White-letter Hairstreak butterflies from the small Ash tree behind the Dragon Stones in July, where they feed on honeydew. First found in 2022, it's a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, “Vulnerable” nationally according to IUCN criteria, “High” conservation priority (Butterfly Conservation), and in serious decline in Britain. In July, a gorgeous little jewel wasp (aka ruby-tailed wasp or cuckoo wasp) was found pottering around and preening itself on a Teasel leaf near the Dragon Stones. Remarkably this appeared to be Chrysura radians, another of St Nicks' Red List species, originally _Chrysura radians,_ found by Michael Archer way back in 2007 and considered possibly extinct on the reserve and a priority to re-find. The wasp is Nationally Scarce A and associated with deadwood where its mason bee hosts nest. The photo above was taken by Sam Buckton. Moth-trapping by Amy Bowman continued in the Environment Centre garden with several first recordings for the nature reserve. Non-moth moth trap ‘intruders’ are sometimes as interesting, if not more so, than the moths themselves, and a particularly notable example was a female Rhinoceros Beetle Sinodendron cylindricum.This beetle is uncommon _Sinodendron cylindricum._ nationally, especially in the north, and its larvae feed on rotting wood while the adults feed on tree sap – potentially a further vindication of St Nicks’ excellent deadwood habitats as the site matures. Another general piece of news to highlight in this reporting period was the completion of a document entitled ‘Habitats, species and ecology of St Nicks’ (to be added to the website and linked), written by Sam Buckton with input from the wider Wildwatch group. ## Citizen Science and Ecological Monitoring It has been a year of growth for our citizen science and ecological monitoring work for the Green Corridors project. Having a dedicated Ecology Officer has allowed for much greater coordination and joined up working with partners. Miranda has been busy developing partnerships and recruiting citizen scientist volunteers to support our work and highlights have included: - Water voles being recorded on Tang Hall Beck at Hull Road Park and Derwenthorpe, and on the River Foss at West Nooks and Willow Bank. All sites which have seen improvements in the management as part of the Rivers and Floodplains project. Undertaking Grassland Quality Surveys across a series of Green Corridors sites to collect baseline data to monitor and improve management. - Miranda and Nicola Ward undertaking a 3-year programme of Floodplain Meadow Ambassador training with the Floodplain Meadow Partnership. The skills they are learning include botanical ID and floodplain meadow survey techniques and will provide us with the resource to better undertaken restoration projects in the future. Successful delivery of a Tansy Beetle Habitat Suitability research project in partnership with the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre. Using existing data and knowledge of Tansy beetle requirements, the research project has produced a Tansy beetle habitat suitability tool to help to inform habitat creation and improvement works. ## York Cares Big Community Challenge In partnership with York Cares and City of York Council (CYC) the 16th Big Community Challenge was held over 4 weeks in September and October. Over 500 volunteers from 16 local employers and both universities volunteered over 1,362 hours of their time to change landscapes, connecting communities in the North, South, East and West of York through nature. 48 volunteering sessions took place across 33 sites working with 28 business partners. During the month we weeded, dug, raked, scythed, created meadows, picked litter, sowed 6kg wildflower seed and planted around 17,800 plants and bulbs to improve the sites. One of the biggest successes has been creating a new wildflower area on a key area of the city walls. This is the first of a series of habitat improvements across York’s historic city centre boundary in partnership with City of York Council called York Walls in Bloom. More information can be found here https://www.york.gov.uk/YorkWallsInBloom. ## Floating Ecosystem The grand finale of the Big Community Challenge was the launch of a 36m2 floating ecosystem habitat on the river Ouse which has been many years in the planning. The launch brings together representatives and volunteers from organisations across the city. Volunteers from the key funder Aviva, St Nicks and York Cares helped assemble and plant the ecosystem. The structure will provide fee « ‘s Sr: ee png i ee oa kes the community in the City Centre with a lasting environmental focal point, which will =thsae i Saat:i ‘eeeceaf * TBC ieee p.3 : * ~7 . ‘i ori +4 - ee evolve and grow over time. The pontoon-like structure will help improve water quality and increase biodiversity and vegetation in the river, which will attract wildlife that live in and on the Ouse. By introducing more ee a ie crate ene ge ee See P| natural wetland habitats, aquatic life will be encouraged to feed and shelter around the structure, as well as giving birds a place to rest and nest. ## Key achievements: Nature-based Wellbeing Over the past year, we have focussed on increasing our capacity having been oversubscribed and closed to new referrals for a period. We increased the size of our team, added new groups such as Sweet Chestnut and Slow Floristry, increased our mentoring capacity and developed our programme across the city in new locations. The changes we made allowed us to re-open to referrals in January 2025. This was exciting and io ie ee nae there was considerable interest in the programme, not only from social prescribers and self-referrers but also from many organisations across the city, highlighting the continuing need for participants and demonstrating the strength of the links the project has built across the city. During this period, we have also made changes to how we administer the programme, ensuring that we are able to grow safely. We implemented the use of a new CRM, Charity Log, helping us to streamline our referral process, store our data more efficiently and monitor trends in group activity much more effectively. We have had many highlights for participants throughout the year including our work with the York Minster, York Art Gallery and York Museum. They kindly invited our Art Based Creative Writing group to visit numerous times including to the exhibition to commemorate the fire at the Minster 40 years ago. Our participants particularly enjoyed looking at the archives relating to this. Words from the Wild book group were fortunate to have a visit from a York-based author, Kathryn Tann, whose book “Seaglass” they were reading. The feedback was wonderful with group members being inspired to write. Kathryn noted the warmth of the group, and the supportive environment. Our Discover Nature group have attended numerous nature inspired ——— a trips including to Dalby Forest, a picnic at Howsham Mill and a trip = to Temple Newsam. Trips are always well received by participants and give opportunity to explore somewhere new in a safe way. Trips are one example of our codesign and feedback process which is at the core of the project. ## Ecotherapy in the community The past year has seen a notable increase in our partnership work. We have strengthened our existing links with the local community and developed new partnerships which have allowed us to add value to our provision for the community and reach new people. We continue to deliver a gardening group at Foss Park allotment. A key success of this provision has been the transition for people to join our wider programme at the point of discharge. Our outreach and taster programmes have proven to be a successful was of broadening our reach and allowing us to work with new participants. We have delivered taster sessions at various organisations and community settings, and this continues to be a priority for the programme. An example of this is our work with the Unitarian Chapel to deliver a Community Eco-action event for the inter-faith community. The event saw the group enjoy walks on the nature reserve, poetry readings, craft activities and songs as well sharing lunch together. Our Warm Spaces groups, funded by City of York Council and delivered through the winter months were successful in helping us to reach new communities. Through this programme, we coordinated our efforts with York Mosque to allow us to maximise the provision and avoid duplication. Our relaxed and welcoming groups were well ¥ cee a attended and provided a warm a a space and lunch for 71 people from a range of communities. This year we have begun to develop Ecotherapy at The Mental Health Hub, 30 Clarence Street. This connection has meant that we are delivering as part of York’s community mental health transformation plans and will enable us to support more people going forwards. The past year has been one of transition, with new staff coming onboard both in delivery and management of the project. Like our team, our number of sessions have grown, and we are delivering more than ever both at St Nicks and wider afield. We see developing further outreach links something we will continue to explore to help those in different areas of the city access nature-based wellbeing services. I thought I wasn’t good with words. But here, words are powerful. Your thoughts mean something. Even further than that, you mean something here. That’s pretty rare to find.. ## Key achievements: Education It has also been a very busy year on our Education Programme. This year, we have continued to deliver our Nature Adventurers programme as well as expanding our education offer to preschool aged children and families through our Nature Tots provision. As with our wider Ecotherapy programme, partnership has been key to our developments this year, and we had the pleasure of hosting groups from a variety of other organisations, including scouts groups and family activities for Refugee Action York (RAY) and York Travellers Trust. We have continued to forge relationships with local youth provision, schools and community groups, delivering awareness talks and outreach sessions. Through our education programme, we have seen young people grow in confidence, engage in group activities and develop their knowledge and understanding of nature, conservation climate and the environment. ## Green Leaders “This has been lovely. Really relaxed. Lots of our families come from farming backgrounds or had land and now are housed in apartments so being free to climb and play is TBC perfect. I usually have a lot of concerns to help people with, but here, they can escape them. They are too busy enjoying themselves!" - Senior Project Officer, RAY This programme is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and Food Fund and is aimed at engaging children and young people in the natural world but also equipping them with the knowledge and skills to protect and care for the environment. The groups cover a range of skills from focused conservation work to engagement through play and discovery. We engage with Green Leaders through work with after school groups, alternative education providers, uniformed organisations such as cubs and brownies, as well as running two community Nature Adventurers programmes, one aimed at families, and another aimed at babies and toddlers. In addition to this, we work with trainee teachers to equip future educators with the skills to engage children green education. This year, we have engaged over 260 individual young people in the Green Leaders programme. ## Holiday clubs Our Holiday Clubs are funded by Holiday Activities and Food Fund and National Lottery Community Fund. These hugely popular holiday sessions engage families and young people in seasonal nature based activities with the majority of uptake from families on low incomes. Each session includes a lunch cooked on the campfire and allows families to develop a deep nature connection. This year, we have delivered 26 holiday clubs with a total of 377 attendances, of which 60% are eligible for free school meals. ## Fundraising and events We host a range of events throughout the year to engage with our community, celebrate the changing seasons, and raise funds to continue our valuable work. Our annual Autumn Fayre took place in October again this year: despite the windy conditions and rain towards the end of the event, we welcomed around 400 attendees to the nature reserve for a fun afternoon of community fun, engaging with other organisations through stalls, fundraising activities and live music. We are grateful to Latimer by Clarion Housing Group for sponsoring this year’s event. In December we hosted York’s Rock Choir for our Winter Songs for an atmospheric evening of Christmas music and refreshments. Our annual fundraising ceilidh was popular as ever (see the photo below!) with FiddlersWreck ceilidh band, helping us to raise over £1,200 in ticket sales in February 2025. ISL, one of our recycling properties, very kindly nominated us as their charity of the year. Staff from across the organisation were invited to an awards evening in Manchester. We are so grateful to our members and regular donors who support us and share our vision to see York as a city where people value wildlife, the environment and each other equally to sustain a rich and healthy life for all. ## Looking ahead ## Areas of focus for 2025/26 and future aspirations Our Environment Centre continues to be a priority for us moving forwards. Looking into 2025/26, we are keen to finalise our initial plans and secure planning permission to extend and retrofit the centre. Our focus continues to be on how we can lead by example in sustainable builds. We know that financing a project this size is going to be a huge challenge for us. Since first identifying the need to develop the building, costs have increased significantly, making it harder to source and secure funding. We are keen to explore opportunities for partners to invest in this capital project. In 2025/26, we have a number of larger projects that will be entering their final year of multi-year grant funding. Our priority will be to work to sustain our provision, ensuring that we are co-creating with our stakeholders and key partners through the development process. We are keen to further explore our education work with children and young people, with a focus on increasing our capacity to support more teenagers in the local area. We are aiming to engage more young people in the local nature reserve and increase their skills and understanding in nature-based work. ## Who we are ## Trustees Stuart Leslie, Chair Jonny Exon, Vice Chair (until December 2024) Emma Beddington Emily Casey (from December 2024) Martin Crosby Samuel Crutchley Harrison Green, Secretary (from December 2024) Savannah Green Marina Lambrakis (from December 2024) Adrian Lovett (until November 2024) Jamie Sims ## Staff Vicky Blakey-Archer, CEO (from September 2024) Ellie Stead, CEO (until July 2024) Sara Addy, Ecotherapy Officer (from November 2024) Gillian Astbury, Green Corridors Community Engagement Officer (from June 2024) Christine Banham, Ecotherapy Youth Mentor (from May 2024) Mark Claridge, Recycling Officer (from May 2024) Jonathan Dent, Green Corridors Manager Sam Dredge, Recycling Officer (from January 2024) Miranda Dunstan, Green Corridors Ecology Officer (from April 2024) Eliza Fergusson, Charity Support Manager Abi Gibbons, Community Engagement Officer (until February 2025) Maria Gill, Senior Green Corridors Officer Beki Hagger, Senior Green Corridors Officer Rachel Hall, Ecotherapy Officer (until August 2024) David Hammond, Recycling Officer Charlotte Hanson, Recycling Officer Andrew Harper, Nature-based Wellbeing Manager - Maternity Cover (from January 2025) Marc Hodgson, Senior Recycling Officer Chris King, Recycling Officer Jane Mackay, Thriving at Work Officer Maeve Milliken, Green Corridors Habitats Officer Anna Perrett, Nature-based Wellbeing Manager (from April 2024) Eithne Philips, Ecotherapy Officer Tommy Ralling, Recycling Officer (from 2023 to June 2024) Catriona Strachan, Ecotherapy Officer (from November 2024) Sam Taylor, Waste & Recycling Manager Eleanor Tookey, Senior Ecotherapy Officer Martha Tookey, Recycling Officer Nicola Ward, Senior Green Corridors Officer David Walker, Reserve and Maintenance Officer Stuart Watling, Senior Recycling Officer Joe Whitney, Green Corridors Habitats Officer (from April 2024) Patron Kate Pickett ## Volunteers We would like to thank our volunteers for their energy and enthusiasm: across educational activities, green corridor sites, park rangers, citizen scientists, our eco-crafters, helping events to run smoothly, corporate groups... the list goes on and we are so grateful for every single person who generously shares their time and skills. Our volunteers are a hardy bunch: we love that our volunteers turn out whatever the weather, rain or shine, to help make York a greener place. ## Governance and risk management The Friends of St Nicholas Fields is a registered CIO (charity number 1153739). In line with our Constitution, the Board of Trustees may appoint up to twelve trustees, who are ratified by our members at the Annual General Meeting. Trustees are selected and appointed based on the skills they bring to the charity. The Board of Trustees and senior management team regularly review our risk register in order to govern effectively and mitigate any identified risks. In relation to some of our higher scoring risks, we have made good progress in addressing potential issues around securing continuity of funding (financial), economic and political changes (external), and succession planning (governance). Overall, the Board of Trustees of St Nicks have given consideration to the most significant risks to which the charity is exposed and satisfied themselves that appropriate and proportional systems and procedures are in place to mitigate those risks. ## Financial activities 2024/25 In 2024/2025 St Nicks generated income of £789,347 against £655,526 in the previous year. Total expenditure amounted to £774,759 (2022/2023 £654,883). The net result of the charity for the year is a surplus of £14,588 (2022/2023 £654). This surplus is essential in keeping our reserves figures relative to the increased size of the organisation. The organisation growth is largely a result of securing our residential recycling contract with CYC, as well as a planned growth of our Green Corridors York project, allowing us to deliver our much needed nature recovery work on even more sites in York. As always, we are grateful to our funding partners, supporters, members, volunteers and our incredible staff team for what has been a hugely successful year for St Nicks. 2023/24 2024/25 ## Thank you to our key supporters Better Connect Brelms Trust City of York Council Department for Work and Pensions Energy Savings Trust Environment Agency Ernest Cook Trust Heworth Ward Committee Hey Smile Foundation Hull Road Ward Committee Joseph Rowntree Foundation Natural England Natural England Species Recovery Fund Neighbourly Persimmon Homes Spark Fund The National Lottery Community Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund Two Ridings Community Foundation York CVS York St John University Yorkshire Water ## Organisations donating funds or other support: Latimer York CVS York Cares River Foss Society GoodGym North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Foss Internal Drainage Board Stockholm Environment Centre ## Friends of St Nicholas Fields (Charity Registration Number 1153739) # Trustees Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2025 Charity accounts preparation & independent examination service Contents Index Page Annual Report of the Trustees Independent Examiner5 Report 24 Statement of Financial .Activities 25 Balance Sheet 26 StaterrTrpnt of Cash flows 27 Notes to th• Accounts 28 23 Independent examlner's report on the accounts I report on the accounts of: Friends of St Nicholas Fields for Ihe year ended 31st March 2025 which are sel out on pages 24 to 36 Respectlve responslbllltles of trustees and examlner The charity's trusiees are responsible foi the Preparat￿n of the accounts. The charivs Irustees consider that an audit is nol required for this year under seciion 144 (2) of the Chantses Act 2011 (the "2011 AGt") and that an indeperKlent examinats"c>n is needed. It is my responsibility to.. examine the aCC￿nts under séclion 145 of the 2011 Acl to follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity CommisS￿n (under seC￿n 145(SXb) of the 2011 Act). and lo state whether particular matters have come lo my attentK)n. Basls ol Independent examlnerfs report My examination was carned out in accordance thryth the general directions given by the Chanty Commission. An examination includes a review of Ihe accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also indudes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in Ihe accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concemina anv such matiers. The Drocedures undertaken do not Drovide all the evidence that vdould be required in an audil. and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the ac¢ounls prosenl a 'true and fairf view and the report is limiled lo those matters sel ¢)ul in Ihe slatement below. Independent examlnerfs statement The charlty's gross Income exceeded £250,000 and l am quallfled to undertake the examlnatlon by belng a quallfled member of The Chartered Instltute 01 Management Accountants. In connection with my examination. no matter has come 10 my aitention 1) which gives me feasonable cause 10 believe that in any m8teri81 respeci, the requiremenls: . to keep accounts'ng recixds in acc 141.864 {Kl.838> 132.181 N•t curr•nt ass•ts N•t Assets 445.562 430.974 Funds of lh• Charlty Unr￿tnaQd Fwd• IG•nernl) 11 184,300 133,048 R•skncl•d Funds 281.262 297,928 Total Funds Carrl•d Forward 11 445.562 430,974 Th• IlTh•nd•l st•t•m•nts w•r• apyo¥•d by th• Innt••s •)n: 2211012025 And $18ned on thelr beh•lf by: Stuart Leslie. Chair of Trustees 26 Friends of St Nicholas Fields Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended: 31st March 2025 Total 2025 Total 2024 Cash flows from operating activities Net incomel(expenditure) for the year Add: Depreciation for the year 14.588 4.645 643 5.748 Working capital changes (Increasevdecrease in stock (Increasevdecrease in debtors Incroas•l{docrease) in cr•di¢ors 12,994 1.325 3.874 152.496) Net cash provided byl(used in) operating activities 33.552 42,231 Cash nows from investing activities Purchase of fixed assets Disposal of fixed assets 9,551 8.896 9,551 8,896 Change In cash and cash equivalents in the year 24.001 (51.127 Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2024 154.886 206.013 Cash and cash equivalents al 31 March 2025 178,887 154,886 27 Friends of St Nicholas Fields (Chanty Rogistratlon Number 1153739 Notes to the accounts lor the year ended: 31st March 2026 1 Basis of preparation 1.1 Basls of a¢¢¢)untlng The financial statements are wepwed Ur￿ the hislwl cost ¢CffiVent￿n Ihe Acco￿lIr￿a and Repthng by Charl￿"e$.. Sialemenl of Recommended Pra¢lice applwble lo thanb.es weparing Iheir 8¢¢ounls in a¢¢ordance vAth lh& Financial Rewlin9 Slandard apfvbla ￿ the UK and RewblK of Ireland (Chantsas SORP (FRS 10211. 1.2 Ch•n8e of basss of •ccountini Thero has boen no chawo lo Iho a￿tIng polici88 (valuati￿ wlos mottx*Js of aCC￿n11n9) 8inco last spar. 1.3 Change io prevlous accounts There has been some recalegcvwtM)n of ¥)¢(¥n• a)d oxkw)diturn from last ￿ . This does not affect tho lolal fyurès . 2 A¢¢ounllng poll¢les Income and endowments Recognftlon of Income These are included in the Slalement of Fina￿181 Acti¥ilies (SOFA) bthen: . the chanty b8￿M•S entilled to the resour￿. - receipt of the resources is Fyobable.. and . th8 moneiary valu8 can ￿ Ma￿ul￿d y￿th Suffici￿ reliabilty. Incomlng resources wlth related expendllure Where inwniNJ resourc•s hm rnla18d 8xper#Yrture. inccffiing roswrrns WKI related oxpendilure are rep￿d gwss in tho SOFA. Granls and donatlons Granls and donalions aro Ind￿ in tho SOFA the dffjrity has ovidortt of enlillamonl to thé rosour¢•s gnd receipl is probatrAe. Volunteer help The value of any yo￿n￿ hdp rec•ivod li not w￿l￿led in the #t(￿nts but is d8suibed n the irustots. annual rePC￿l. Inve$lmenl I￿orne This is I￿lUd0d in the acclxmts th r•coivabl•. 28 Expenditure and Liabilities Expenditure Ralslng funds Cosl of raising funds comprise those costs as%)ciated with attractiry voluntary income. Charftable actlvllle$ Chariiable a¢livilies expendilure ¢(Mnwises those costs by Ihe ¢harity in Ihe delivery ol its a¢lpths and services. It ind(hdes tK)th o)sts thal can be allocaled directy to swh actiwties Ihose costs of an indirect nature Llablllty recognftlon Liabllilies are recognised as soon as there is a legal or ccrtslruclive Obligati￿ caxnmitling ihe charity kn pay oul resources. Assets Tanglble flxed a*$els for use by the charlty These are capitalised rf ihey can be used for more than ono year and cost at least £21￿0. are valued 8l cnst or. if grfted, at the value to the charity on receipt,18ss depr￿at￿)n. Depreciation is provided at rale8 Io V*Yite off tho costs less ests'mated residual value of each asset ovw its expected useful life as follows.. Office equipment Proied equipment Compuier equirKneni Adventurè ￿aygroUnd ewipmenl 25% Stra￿h1 line basis 25% straght line basis 33.33% straght line basis 25% Stra￿ht lino basis Envlronmenl Centre Depreciation is on a strayht line basis in line ￿ the lease leryth. Fund accounllng Unrestricted funds are fU￿JS whith are available f8n ￿¢k$ York be¢ks 2 Y4J¢kshire water National k)Itery h￿ts9• NE S•6dcom New to naluf• Rawcliff• lake Giants Nature & wdlb•lng Gréen Influ*n￿r$ sthém• National bll¢ry MmmuThity fvr•d 8LF2 JRCT CMHT TRCF Gr••n l••d•rn De¢￿ing logelh•r Two Riding$ COL Thnving ai wwk 294.645 294.645 11.945 11.945 (eo) 7.340 7.340 3.281 3.850 3.850 3.281 4.$0S 4,505 894 15.471 3.459 46.528 15.471 3,459 46.526 49.036 13.750 16.329 2.083 49.036 13.750 16.329 2.063 9.143 111.328 8.33S 8.379 13.974 9.830 11.630 7.570 5.821 9,143 111,328 8.335 6.379 13,974 9.830 11.830 7,570 5.821 297 926 Total Funds 655 $26 The kKksL•rter fund now fiNsh•d WKI • Iransf•r h•• b••n m•de to clfr•r the W•nc•. 35 11.2 Details of Funds Held Unr•stri¢t•d Funds (G•noral) The General lund Is unrestr]cied arbd av•lable k)r general purpr￿S of lh• Organ￿1￿. Reslricted Funds The re5tri¢led funds aro onty available for Ihe purpoms spe¢rf*d for oach fuNI. •r•: Envlronmenl Centre A fund uséd io'Nafds buildYKJ ol lh• c•ntr• to •nwmfwn•nlal educal￿al latslrt￿s. Pr•eious plastic Precthis Plasii¢ Yofk was defefred iicome from • gxnb"n•tw of a ¢¥wlfvnd•r m•l¢h lunded by th¢ Unwerty d Yort's Spafk InnOYal4￿ F￿d. Avlva Funding from AvbV• lowards Ihe •mpl•mentatK)n of a IloatKw •cosys*m on the rrrf•r Ous•. HR Park Envffonmenlal Ag•ncy lunding lo r•stOf• natwal yoc•ss•s ol Osbakfvrtk 8•ck through Hull Road Pafk Yolk urban beck$ 2 Cty ol Y¢xk funds lo urbdert•ke ecobo9K•I •w4oys ol HLII Road part the wwjef Osbabjwick beck. Natlonal lottery herllage Green C￿d￿5 Ywk Rivers and Fbodplains . 3 y••r woi¢¢t h4brt4ts ¢4)mmunrt*$ lor n4lur• iecovery across York'5 rivers and fbodplains N•w to natur• Funding Irtsm Gffjunthvorfrt lof a Gr••n ye￿ traw)•• lof 12 months. Tf*n••S art Pa￿ a coMp•b￿¥• wag• fe¢ 124nonth$ vthil• pain￿9 Va￿a￿ hand$4)n •xp•ri•r•C• In lh• •nvIffcM￿n•filal s•dor. This nol only alknvs Ih•m 10 5UPPOrt IhwnMlv•s ljut alw off•rs • st•ppww ston• ttyvwdi • fvifiiiry ¢w•w. NE SRP Furbding from Natufal England sp•c*s r•cov•ry programme to support nver c