Annual Report 2021/22 Heath Hand
Heath Hands
The Dairy Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane London, NW3 7JN
Tel: 020 8458 9102
Website: www.heath-hands.org.uk Email: info@heath-hands.org.uk
Registered charity no: 1173419
Annual Report and Financial Statements
Year ended: 31st March 2022
Trustees
Chair: Cindy Galvin Deputy Chair: Rachel Chapman Secretary: Alan Merkel Treasurer: Tony Braca
Volunteer Representatives: Stuart Clark, Merlin Fox, Liz Andrew, Sarah Williams
Co-optees: Nicola Sinclair
Ex-officio: Bob Warnock (until August) and Anne Fairweather (until March), both City of London; Jeff Waage (Heath and Hampstead Society)
Projects and Volunteer Manager: Colin Houston
Project Coordinator: Karin Oleinikova Project Activity Leader : Rory Dimond Assistant Ranger: Joanne Maddox Session Leader: Avigail Ochert
Bankers: Lloyds Bank, Virgin Money, United Trust Bank Independent Examiner: Simon Erskine FCA FCIE DChA
Heath Hands works in partnership with:
Heath Hands Annual Report 2021/22
Heath Hands is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), governed by its Trustees, all of whom are appointed by members in General Meetings. The Trustees herewith submit their Annual Report and independently examined financial statement for the year ended 31st March 2022. The Trustees employ staff to administer the charity. Membership is open to registered volunteers who contribute to our charitable activities.
The trustees have given consideration to the major risks to which the charity is exposed and satisfied themselves that appropriate procedures are in place to manage those risks.
Objects
To help, engaging volunteers, to conserve, protect and enhance Hampstead Heath, the Kenwood Estate, Highgate Wood, Keats House and such other areas as the charity trustees may determine from time to time (the “Relevant Open Spaces”);
To advance education in conserving, protecting and enhancing the environment of the Relevant Open Spaces for the benefit of the members of the CIO and for the benefit of the public at large, and
To help the bodies responsible for the Relevant Open Spaces to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation by the members of the CIO and the public at large with the object of improving their conditions of life.
Main activities in relation to those purposes for the pubic benefit
Heath Hands delivers a range of volunteering and community programmes across our open spaces including significant conservation and estate maintenance, ecological monitoring, wildlife interpretation and public engagement activities. We work with our partners to get people involved on our green spaces and we deliver over 600 volunteer sessions and community outreach activities each year.
Alongside our adult programmes our youth volunteering activities and Heath Friendly Schools scheme encourage young people to get involved in nature conservation. This complements our community outreach work, which supports underrepresented people and those with disabilities to take part in volunteering and recreation.
Heath Hands trustees have had regard to the guidance that has been issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Structure, governance and management
At each AGM of the CIO, the members may elect from amongst themselves a Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, who shall also be elected charity trustees and hold office from the conclusion of that meeting. Additional trustees may be appointed at the meeting, and the trustees may also co-opt up to three trustees.
The Chairman of the Hampstead Heath Management Committee and the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath are trustees, while English Heritage, The Vale of Health Society, and the Heath and Hampstead Society may appoint a trustee.
Heath Hands has a trustee code of conduct and trustee role description to guide the committee.
Heath Hands signed a partnership agreement in 2017 with the City of London Corporation who manage Hampstead Heath, this was reviewed and extended in 2020.
Statement on post-pandemic activities
After a severely disrupted year in 2020-21, this year has seen a return to normal, exceeding our pre-pandemic activity levels and the gradual resumption of all interrupted programmes. Our volunteer sessions and community outreach work restarted and our Community Fun Day in June 2021 helped mark Hampstead Heath’s 150th anniversary. The last of our volunteer sessions, wildlife interpretation restarted in January 2022.
Main achievements of the charity
We are a volunteer-led conservation and community organisation with a dedicated staff team and membership of over 200 people. Since Heath Hands was founded in 1999 our volunteers have contributed over 130,000 hours to the conservation and maintenance of our green spaces: Hampstead Heath, Kenwood Estate, Keats House and Highgate Wood. We deliver up to 20 community and volunteer sessions per week and have had many thousands of people taking part as volunteers – people of all ages and backgrounds get involved, improving the health and wellbeing of all. We contribute over 15,000 of volunteer hours per year.
Our wildlife monitoring has expanded and to date our wildlife interpretation project has helped connect over 15,000 people to nature and wildlife on the green spaces. Since 2017 our community outreach work has delivered over 500 events and activities for the local community and supported over 4,000 underrepresented people to get involved in volunteering and recreation.
This year, we expanded our work with young people, being joined by 17 Heath Friendly Schools, and developing our youth and work experience projects, helping connect people with the environmental sector. We resumed our corporate volunteering and wildlife interpretation programmes and started work on enhancing Savernake Road Bridge and around the Hive. Increased fundraising and grant funding enabled us to expand our community outreach and wellbeing programmes, providing more opportunities connect with nature.
Overall, we increased our activity levels across our programmes, contributing a record number of volunteering hours, events and activities across our green spaces.
Financial review
Total cash funds at the end of the period were approximately £93,025., with £82,029 held in deposit accounts.
The charity’s principal sources of income are donations, merchandise, grant funding, corporate volunteering plus the benefits in kind set out in the Notes to the Accounts. Total receipts for the period were £119,208.
Total payments for the period was £102,616 and included payroll, session leaders, catering, events, marketing, office expenses, volunteer uniform and equipment, insurance and training.
Statement on reserves
The trustees of Heath Hands employ a prudent approach in terms of financial management, retaining a fairly large reserve against risk, but spending a proportion of the reserves on beneficial projects that enhance our green spaces in line with our charitable objectives and Strategic Plan. The reserves were generated from a variety of sources including a major legacy left by our founder Bobby de Joia.
Heath Hands will retain reserves to cover 12-18 months of core operational costs for the charity, this has increased to around £50,000 due to the increased growth of the charity. Financial unrestricted reserves on 31st March 2022 were £60,116.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
Heath Hands Highlights - 2021/22
Friends of Heath Hands membership grows to over The Heath Hands vehicle 70; supporters and donors fleet increases with the increasing addition of ‘Polly’, our ATV
Over 15,000 hours contributed to the green spaces across over 600 volunteer sessions. Activity levels exceed pre-pandemic levels
Activities restart from April 2021; group sizes increase and recruitment of new volunteers begins, with 30 joining in the year
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Fundraising develops and major
grants from TNL’s Green
Recovery Challenge Fund and
Postcode Society Trust, along
with smaller grants from Thames
Water, Grow Wild, Young
Camden Foundation
Youth volunteering
programme grows with
Social media and online shop weekly sessions and
expanding, complemented by hundreds of young people
regular info stall and market stall involved; Summer holiday
nature activities for 8-12s
Community outreach
activities expand with a busy
programme with local
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Importantly—teas
return to sessions!
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Corporate volunteering at record levels with 26 sessions and over 500 participants Work experience programme gives seven trainees valuable experience of working in the environment sector
Community outreach activities expand with a busy programme with local groups including: the African Health Forum and King’s Cross Somali Community, Camden Carers and the Holborn Community Association among others
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Sessions running at pre- Wildlife monitoring
pandemic levels at all successful season
sites and all CoLC teams with ongoing
welcome back volunteers projects species
(snakes, butterflies,
dragonflies) as well
as major
Community Fun Day collaboration with
and picnic celebrates ZSL on repeat
the Heath’s 150th hedgehog survey of
anniversary; the Heath
English Heritage Garden #lovetheheath video
Team running a full
project gets the
volunteer programme; joint
community digital
activities run with volunteer
team at Kenwood
Wildlife Interpretation
Work on health connections and
restarts after lockdowns
social prescribing grows providing
in January 2022 to
opportunities for those in need
celebrate Big Garden
Birdwatch
Programme of free walks and
talks restarts focusing on
nature, wildlife, mindfulness
and the River Fleet.
Savernake Road Heath Friendly School scheme
greening project expands with 17 local schools
launches and signing up and hundreds of
improvements around pupils volunteering and
the Hive help nature getting involved in
connectivity and environmental projects
wildlife
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Heath Hands Annual Accounts
Payments and Receipts
| 2021/22 2021/22 2021/22 to 31 Mar to 31 Mar to 31 Mar Payments Unrestricted Restricted Total £ £ £ Catering and events 804 1,172 1,976 Transportation 4,453 3,497 7,950 Insurance 698 464 1,162 Marketing - 1,199 1,199 Office Expenses 7,495 4,809 12,304 Tools and equipment 143 10,111 10,254 PPE/Uniform - 3,196 3,196 Training 229 5,199 5,428 Volunteer Expenses 126 53 179 Employee Pension 1,935 1,935 PAYE and NI contributions 1,245 2,393 3,638 Net staff pay 1,328 52,067 53,395 total 18,456 84,159 102,616 Receipts Bank Interest 414 414 Merchandise 2,805 2,805 Donations 6,362 6,362 Friends 2,776 2,776 Heath Friendly Schools 2,192 2,192 Events and Venue Hire 2,015 2,015 Wildlife Adoption 1,457 1,457 Gift Aid 1,097 1,097 Corporate 16,135 16,135 Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 3,462 3,462 Grants 80,493 80,493 total 38,715 80,493 119,208 Surplus (Deficit) 20,258 (3,666) 16,592 Transfers (1,557) 1,557 - Surplus (Deficit) after transfers 18,702 (2,109) 16,592 Cash funds last year end 41,414 35,020 76,434 Cash funds this year end 60,116 32,910 93,026 |
2020/21 Actual Total £ 215 4,261 595 1,320 8,696 7,368 2,328 3,801 19 636 2,730 35,030 |
|---|---|
| 66,999 595 2,147 5,806 1,308 - - 1,330 2,057 - 2,768 65,699 |
|
| 81,710 14,711 |
|
| - | |
| 14,711 61,723 |
|
| 76,434 |
Statement of assets and liabilities as at 31/03/2022
Bank balances
| Other assets Lloyds Cash United Trust Savings Virgin Money Savings Equipment and PPE Leased ATV vehicle TOTAL |
2022 £10,996 £79,271 £2,758 £93,025 £9,325 £16,400 £25,725 |
2021 £14,818 £51,365 £10,251 |
|---|---|---|
| £76,434 | ||
Liabilities
| Remaining ATV vehicle lease payments (over 12 months) | £6,560 |
|---|---|
| PAYE due for Jan-Mar 2022 | £1,224 |
| TOTAL | £7,784 |
Notes to accounts:
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The full-time Projects and Volunteer Manager is seconded from the City of London Corporation which meets all their costs.
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The charity also occupies the Dairy at Kenwood House rent-free in return for work done for the owner, the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England at Kenwood House and elsewhere
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Grants received in 2021-22: The Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund (£44,400 of £88,800), Postcode Society Trust (£17,500), Cheshire Community Fund (£5,000), London Catalyst Partnership for Health Fund (£3,000, with 1,900 going to our partners, UHF) Young Camden Foundation (£2,500), City of London Corporation (£2,500 of £17,500), Barnet Community Fund (£2,000), Camden Giving Pathways (£1,818 of £9,092), Thames Water (£1,500), Kew Grow Wild (£1,000), Camden Festival Fund (£700), Mayor of London Young Londoners’ Fund (£475 of £9,500).
-
• In the 2020-21 accounts, some of our project costs (equipment, training, office expenses) were shown as ‘direct costs’ for our TNL and other grant-funded projects. This year, these have been shown in their relevant categories.
-
Transfers represent the short-fall in funding of completed projects which has been met from Unrestricted funds.
-
Donations include Rachel Weisz artist (£960), Waitrose (£833), Dennis Ross and Lisa Dalglish bequests (over £1,000), Kenwood Walking Group (£400).
Tony Braca, Treasurer
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Report to the trustees of Heath Hands, registered charity no. 1173419, on the accounts for the year ended 31/03/2022 set out on the preceding two pages.
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended.
As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
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• the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
.
Signed:
Date: 25 May 2022
Simon Erskine FCA FCIE DChA 61 Mortimer Road London NW10 5QR
Heath Hands
The Dairy Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane
London NW3 7JN
Registered charity no: 1173419