Knoll Gardens Foundation
Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statement for year ending 31st December 2023
Charity Information
Charity Registration No. 1159390 Registered Office Knoll Gardens, Stapehill Rd, Hampreston, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7ND
Trustees Rebecca Bourdon Andrea de Souza Nicola Haswell Ross Humphrey Rowena Jecock (Chair) Neil Lucas Helen McIllmurray Bob Sweet (to March 2023)
This report covers the financial period 1 January - 31 December 2023.
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.
The Foundation is managed by a committee of Trustees, each of whom is elected for a period of up to three years. The trustees operate with regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Activities
2023 saw Foundation garden volunteers continue work to “future-proof” areas of planting in the Gardens, using species and varieties tolerant of a wide range of climatic conditions. Implementation of a new series of garden message boards has begun, to assist visitors in understanding Knoll’s naturalistic style of planting, how plants are chosen, and their interaction with local wildlife. Volunteers in the nursery assisted with
care and maintenance of the large number of these plants propagated and grown at Knoll. Other tasks undertaken by our volunteer cohort included a project to capture all Knoll’s extant planting on a database, and unobtrusively label the plants for the benefit of visitors, as well as contributing to an ongoing programme of wildlife surveys and monitoring. The Foundation is fortunate to have the assistance of other surveyors who undertake regular monitoring of the garden’s butterflies, moths, dragonflies, bumblebees and reptiles, and occasional surveys of other fauna.
Dorset Wildlife Trust, The Bournemouth Natural Science Society, and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC), have continued to provide assistance with aspects of our wildlife surveys. Of note in 2023 was the big jump in the number of newts recorded in both the Dragon & Mill ponds since ARC volunteers assisted in improving the access and attractiveness of both ponds to newts in 2021.
More information about this and other surveys can be found on the Foundation website, http://www.knollgardensfoundation.org
We are grateful for the continuing support of all our surveyors. In particular, the trustees would like to acknowledge and offer our special thanks to Keith Powrie, assisted by his wife Ann, for their dedication in surveying Knoll’s butterfly, dragon- & damselfly populations for the past 15 years, beginning in 2009. Keith has produced annual reports of his survey data (available through the Knoll Gardens Foundation website), providing a valuable longitudinal picture of changes in these populations over the period.
Educational and community events and activities
During the Summer, the Foundation facilitated guided walks of the Garden and also on some of the insect life to be found therein – notably butterflies and bumblebees, as well as providing displays of some of the numerous species of moths, following nighttime moth-trapping surveys.
The Foundation offered several community open days during 2023. These open days provided 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. Those attending included local art and camera clubs, as well as two local nurseries which promote therapeutic horticulture for those struggling with their mental health.
A variety of events were hosted in the garden for the benefit of the local community, including yoga sessions, photography workshops and art/craft events.
Additionally, we ran an Open Day on 6[th] October, 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.
With regard to other outreach activities, the Foundation facilitated the donation of plants to Wimborne Community Garden, created to provide therapeutic and productive
gardening for people in Wimborne, and to students at Kingston Maurward College, Dorchester, for their winter garden project. We hope to be able to expand similar outreach activities in future years.
In conclusion, I and my fellow trustees thank all our volunteers, together with the staff at Knoll Gardens for their help and support.
Rowena Jecock, Chair October 2024
| KGF | Income & Expenditure 2023(Jan - Dec 2023) | Income & Expenditure 2023(Jan - Dec 2023) | Income & Expenditure 2023(Jan - Dec 2023) | Income & Expenditure 2023(Jan - Dec 2023) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | EXPENDITURE | |||||||||
| Date | Item | Amount | Notes | Date | Item | Ref | Amount | Notes | ||
| Balance bf 2022 | 3,220.77 £ |
|||||||||
| 31-Jan | Amazon | 9.42 £ |
11-Jan | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.59 | ||||
| 19-Feb | Garden Master | 57.51 £ |
20-Jan | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
||||
| 21-Feb | Knoll Gardens | 91.00 £ |
13-Feb | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.47 | ||||
| 24-Apr | Amazon | 5.00 £ |
02-Feb | LDS (Website Maintenance) | 100039 | £ 238.80 | ||||
| 26-Apr | Donation Box | 90.00 £ |
20-Feb | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
||||
| 02-May | Knoll Gardens | 27.50 £ |
13-Mar | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 19-May | Amazon | 18.23 £ |
21-Mar | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.40 £ |
||||
| 11-Jul | Knoll Gardens | 27.50 £ |
11-Apr | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
||||
| 20-Jul | Donation Box | 55.00 £ |
20-Apr | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
||||
| 21-Jul | WI - talk | 40.00 £ |
11-May | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 22-Aug | Easy Fundraising | 17.06 £ |
21-May | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.76 £ |
||||
| 29-Aug | Knoll Gardens | 104.00 £ |
22-May | FundraisingRegulator | 100040 | 50.00 £ |
||||
| 19-Sep | Knoll Gardens | 132.00 £ |
12-Jun | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
||||
| 12-Oct | Knoll Gardens | 100.00 £ |
20-Jun | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | £ 5.40 | ||||
| 08-Nov | Donation Box | 175.00 £ |
11-Jul | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 21-Nov | Knoll Gardens | 39.00 £ |
21-Jul | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
||||
| 05-Dec | Knoll Gardens | 97.50 £ |
11-Aug | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
||||
| 12-Dec | Donation Box | 30.00 £ |
20-Aug | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 6.02 £ |
||||
| 13-Dec | L&J Holder | 50.00 £ |
12-Sep | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | ||||
| 20-Sep | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
|||||||
| 11-Oct | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | 46.33 £ |
|||||||
| 21-Oct | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
|||||||
| 03-Nov | LDS (Domain Registration) | 100041 | 103.20 £ |
|||||||
| 13-Nov | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | |||||||
| 20-Nov | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 5.00 £ |
|||||||
| 12-Dec | NFU (Employers & PI) | DD | £ 46.33 | |||||||
| 2023 Income | 1,165.72 £ |
21-Dec | HSBC (Bank Charges) | DD | 6.50 £ |
|||||
| Total | £ 4,386.49 | Total | £ 1,012.44 | |||||||
| Balance to carry forward | £ 3,374.05 | |||||||||
| Closing Petty Cash Balance |
| Closing Bank Balance as at 31 Dec 2023 | £ 3,280.31 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petty Cash | £ 93.74 |