Knoll Gardens Foundation
Trustees’ Annual Report 2021
The Knoll Gardens Foundation is based at Knoll Gardens near Wimborne in Dorset, a nationally-recognised garden particularly renowned for its use of grasses in its naturalistic planting style. The Foundation’s objectives are to promote, for the benefit of the public, environmentally responsible horticultural practices that support and sustain wildlife and benefit biodiversity within the garden. In 2021 The Foundation met these objectives through its wildlife surveys and monitoring, educational and community activities.
The Foundation’s active and enthusiastic team of volunteer gardeners assisted with maintenance of the garden throughout the period that the garden was open to the public. In addition, we were lucky to have the excellent help of our volunteer wildlife survey co-ordinator, Mitch Perkins, together with surveyors who undertake regular monitoring of the garden’s birds, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, bumblebees and reptiles, and occasional surveys of other fauna.
The Foundation is grateful for the continuing support of the volunteer surveyors and organisations including Dorset Wildlife Trust, The Bournemouth Natural Science Society, the RSPB, and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC). We are particularly grateful to the latter, who helped train a KGF volunteer to survey the garden’s reptile population, with data being submitted to the National Reptile Monitoring Survey. ARC also advised the Foundation on improvements to two of the garden’s three ponds to enhance their attractiveness to newts. We wholeheartedly thank two teams of ARC volunteers who gave willingly of their time and energy to both construct newt access to the formal Dragon Pond and clear the overgrowth in the Mill Pond to encourage newts to breed there. The Foundation intends to begin newt surveys in Spring 2022, with data being submitted to the National Amphibian Monitoring Survey. More information about these activities and others can be found on the Foundation website, http://www.knollgardensfoundation.org
Our monthly Saturday morning nature club for young children (and their parents/carers) did not reconvene during 2021, but will do so in 2022.
Some of the Foundation’s community open days were re-initiated as life began to return to a more normal footing following relaxation of COVID restrictions during the second half of the year. These days, referred to as “Foundation Fridays” provide free access to the garden for community groups, to enable them to enjoy and learn about the garden and its ethos. We expect the number of these events to return to usual levels in 2022. A Wildlife Discovery Day was organised by our wildlife survey co-ordinator on 3 August, with volunteers on hand to assist visitors and answer questions about gardening for wildlife. Although lower key than in previous years, the event was enjoyed by those attending.
Income generated during 2021 was again limited as a result of COVID restrictions. We are very grateful to those who kindly donated to the Foundation during the year.
During 2021, there were fewer than the usual annual visitor numbers of around 8,000. We hope for increased footfall in 2022. The massive increase in online activity during COVID seems to be here to stay, and during 2021 the trustees supported plans to enhance the Foundation website. Our thanks to Roy Mortimer, our voluntary website manager, for all his work.
Finally, but by no means least, I would like to personally thank the staff of Knoll Gardens Ltd for their help and support, my fellow trustees, and all our wonderful volunteers for their efforts to maintain and enhance this special garden for the benefit of the wildlife that occupies it and the public who enjoy and learn from it.
Rowena Jecock, Chair
October 2022
| KGF | Income & Expenditure 2021(Jan - Dec 2021) | Income & Expenditure 2021(Jan - Dec 2021) | Income & Expenditure 2021(Jan - Dec 2021) | Income & Expenditure 2021(Jan - Dec 2021) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | EXPENDITURE | |||||||||
| Date | Item | Amount | Notes | Date | Item | Ref | Amount | Notes | ||
| Balance bf 2020 | 2,089.12 £ |
|||||||||
| 08-Mar | Griffiths | 50.00 £ |
11-Jan | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 45.86 | ||||
| 15-Mar | Amanda Walker | 250.00 £ |
10-Feb | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.44 | ||||
| 12-Mar | Ann Lucas | 215.00 £ |
10-Feb | LDS (Website Maintenance) | 100032 | £ 46.80 | ||||
| 14-Apr | Holbeche Corfield Charitable | 500.00 £ |
24-Feb | LDS (Website Maintenance) | 100033 | 238.80 £ |
||||
| 24-May | Amazon | 10.64 £ |
11-Mar | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 14-Jun | Donation Box | 30.00 £ |
12-Apr | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
||||
| 15-Jun | Knoll Gardens | 28.00 £ |
11-May | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 29-Jun | Bugs and Buds | 45.00 £ |
04-Jun | Fundraising Regulator | DD | £ 50.00 | ||||
| 17-Aug | Amazon | 7.91 £ |
18-Jun | Mitch Perkins(pond eqpt) | 100035 | 56.49 £ |
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| 17-Aug | Knoll Gardens | 97.00 £ |
11-Jun | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
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| 05-Oct | Knoll Gardens (Garden tour) | 78.00 £ |
12-Jul | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 23-Nov | Knoll Gardens | 50.00 £ |
11-Aug | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
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| 13-Dec | Amazon | 11.16 £ |
13-Sep | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 11-Oct | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
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| 11-Nov | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | |||||||
| 10-Nov | LDS (Domain registration) | 100036 | £ 103.20 | |||||||
| 13-Dec | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | |||||||
| 2020 Income | 1,372.71 £ |
|||||||||
| Total | £ 3,461.83 | Total | £ 1,050.89 | |||||||
| Balance to carry forward | £ 2,410.94 | |||||||||
| Closing Petty Cash Balance | ||||||||||
| Closing Bank Balance as at 31 Dec 2021 | 2317.20 | |||||||||
| Petty Cash | 93.74 |