Knoll Gardens Foundation
Trustees’ Annual Report for year ending 31st December 2022
The Knoll Gardens Foundation is based at Knoll Gardens near Wimborne in Dorset, nationally recognised for its use of grasses in its naturalistic planting style.
The objects for which the Foundation was incorporated as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) in 2014 are:
- to promote for the benefit of the public environmentally responsible horticultural practices which conserve, protect and improve the physical and natural environments especially by, but not limited to, the undertaking of research, the provision of educational courses and by encouraging the development of Knoll Gardens as a showcase for environmentally responsible practices which benefit biodiversity.
Trustees
In November 2022, Peter Gear, our former Chair, stepped down as a trustee after 8 years, and also gave up his role in surveying the birds in the gardens. We offer him our warmest thanks for his contributions. We were delighted to welcome two new trustees, appointed in November 2022: Rebecca Bourdon & Nicola Haswell. Between them they have considerable relevant experience including marketing, communications, fund-raising, education, trusteeship and top management posts for other charitable bodies. We anticipate that their input will be a great asset in helping The Foundation move forwards with its ambition to advance surveying and educational activities, increasing its reach locally as well as attracting a wider online audience.
Activities
In the current reporting year, 2022, The Foundation met its objectives via its continuing contribution to “future-proof” areas of planting in the Gardens, using species and varieties tolerant of a wide range of climatic conditions, as well as via wildlife surveys and monitoring, together with educational and community activities.
The Foundation works in close harmony with Knoll Gardens Ltd in order to maintain and, where desired, re-shape aspects of the planting in accordance with the naturalistic planting philosophy. The Foundation has an active team of volunteer gardeners who assist with both tasks, and additionally other volunteers who help manage our administration and website, contribute to plant labelling, and co-ordinate our wildlife surveys. We are lucky to have the excellent help of other surveyors who undertake regular monitoring of the garden’s butterflies, moths, dragonflies, bumblebees and reptiles, and occasional surveys of other fauna.
Our thanks also to Dorset Wildlife Trust, The Bournemouth Natural Science Society, the RSPB, and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC). Following ARC’s advice and practical help in improving two of the garden’s ponds in 2021 to improve access and mating display conditions for newts. The data from our newt surveys has been 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
We held a Wildlife Focus Day on Reptiles (16 June) entitled “Dragons in your Garden” – using the garden at Knoll to show people how to encourage and support reptiles and amphibians in their own gardens. Our thanks to Owain Masters from the ARC Trust for his expertise and input to the day.
The Foundation offered several community open days during 2022. These open days, referred to as “Foundation Fridays”, provide free access to the garden for a variety of local community groups, to enable them to enjoy and learn about the garden and its ethos. Additionally, the Foundation ran an Open Day on 16[th] Sept, with volunteers on hand to assist visitors and explain how the garden is managed for the benefit of wildlife. All garden entrance fees on that day were kindly donated to the Foundation by Knoll Gardens Ltd, and we are grateful to everyone who donated to the Foundation during the year.
Our monthly Saturday morning nature club for young children (and their parents/carers) reconvened during 2022, following closure during the Covid-19 outbreak. Sadly, numbers of participants did not recover, and Tracy Standish, who designed and led the classes, decided to move on for personal reasons. Our warmest thanks to Tracy, and to Mitch Perkins, our Wildlife Survey Coordinator for their dedication in running these classes.
The Foundation website began to be developed and expanded in 2022, to include photographic galleries of some of the wildlife seen in the garden. We are very grateful to Roy Mortimer for maintaining the website. Further plans are underway to enhance the Foundation’s online profile by linking it more prominently to the Knoll Gardens website.
Finally, I would like to personally thank the staff of Knoll Gardens Ltd for their help and support, my fellow trustees, and our volunteers for their dedication in contributing to this very special garden.
Rowena Jecock, Chair October 2023
| KGF | Income & Expenditure 2022(Jan - Dec 2022) | Income & Expenditure 2022(Jan - Dec 2022) | Income & Expenditure 2022(Jan - Dec 2022) | Income & Expenditure 2022(Jan - Dec 2022) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | EXPENDITURE | |||||||||
| Date | Item | Amount | Notes | Date | Item | Ref | Amount | Notes | ||
| Balance bf 2021 | 2,410.94 £ |
|||||||||
| 23-Feb | Amazon | 11.68 £ |
11-Jan | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 01-Mar | Hardy Plant Society | 250.00 £ |
20-Jan | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
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| 09-May | Amazon | 7.61 £ |
11-Feb | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.68 | ||||
| 29-May | Holbeche Corfield Charitable | 500.00 £ |
10-Feb | LDS (Website Maintenance) | 100038 | £ 238.80 | ||||
| 07-Jun | Easy Fundraising | 17.47 £ |
20-Feb | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
||||
| 05-Jul | Knoll Gardens | 53.50 £ |
11-Mar | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | ||||
| 04-Aug | Knoll Gardens | 20.00 £ |
21-Mar | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.40 £ |
||||
| 12-Aug | Donation Box | 50.00 £ |
11-Apr | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.59 £ |
||||
| 15-Aug | J Harcourt | 50.00 £ |
20-Apr | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
||||
| 16-Aug | Amazon | 5.84 £ |
11-May | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | ||||
| 23-Aug | Knoll Gardens | 22.00 £ |
21-May | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
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| 30-Aug | Knoll Gardens | 15.00 £ |
13-Jun | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.59 £ |
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| 04-Oct | Knoll Gardens | 543.00 £ |
20-Jun | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | £ 5.00 | ||||
| 17-Oct | Donation Box | 60.00 £ |
11-Jul | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | ||||
| 08-Oct | Knoll Gardens | 22.00 £ |
21-Jul | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.80 £ |
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| 15-Nov | Amazon | 6.78 £ |
11-Aug | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.59 £ |
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| 22-Nov | Knoll Gardens | 30.00 £ |
20-Aug | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
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| 13-Dec | Knoll Gardens | 5.50 £ |
12-Sep | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | ||||
| 20-Sep | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 6.00 £ |
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| 11-Oct | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.59 £ |
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| 21-Oct | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
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| 11-Nov | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | |||||||
| 20-Nov | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.64 £ |
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| 12-Dec | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | |||||||
| 21-Dec | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
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| 2022 Income | 1,670.38 £ |
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| Total | £ 4,081.32 | Total | £ 860.55 | |||||||
| Balance to carry forward | £ 3,220.77 | |||||||||
| Closing Petty Cash Balance | ||||||||||
| Closing Bank Balance as at 31 Dec 2022 | 3127.03 |
Petty Cash