Trustees’ Report
Mount Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group Registered Charity No. 1177943 1st September 2019 - 31st August 2020
Introduction
This is the second annual report of the Mt Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group to the Charity Commission. Progress and plans went ahead as expected in the first half of this period but were badly affected due to Covid restrictions between March - August 2020. During the first lockdown and throughout the summer, the six trustees took on all the tasks of caring for the bees, socially distanced as was expected. Unfortunately all other projects had to be abandoned once travel and social mixing was curtailed.
Until the end of the beekeeping season in October 2019, the premises at the Mt Edgcumbe Country Park were well used. Links which were being forged with local beekeeping groups, schools and organisations had begun opening up opportunities for furthering our aims related to Conservation, Education and Pollination. Some of these were pursued as recorded below and others put on hold until the Covid rules would be relaxed.
Conservation of the Native Honey Bee
All 25 colonies had overwintered successfully but, in order to concentrate the highest standards in the Rame peninsula, it was decided to reduce the numbers and focus on breeding from the best. In March, eleven colonies went to other sites, thus widening the influence of the native sub-species. The fourteen colonies remaining were designated either as key breeders or reserves.
During the early part of the season time was spent on refining the recording system so that more useful information was noted about the performance of the queens and the characteristic behaviours of the worker bees. This enabled us to improve the stock being produced and aid the selection process when assessing the colonies at a later stage.
Despite the lack of volunteer help due to the pandemic, the trustees resolved to follow through with the queen rearing plans so as not to interrupt the conservation programme.
Some changes to routine made the job more manageable and, at the peak of the season (July/August), the trustees were able to manage 45 colonies at different stages of development. This formed a solid basis on which to select for conservation suitability.
Funds
Donations from the public and from local funding sources enabled the charity to cover maintenance and running costs, as well as the purchase of necessary consumables and additional equipment. Partly due to the pandemic, no ambitious projects were put forward this year so applications for grants were minimal.
The largest sources of income were from visitors placing cash in donation boxes; sale of Mt Edgcumbe honey at the park’s Christmas Fayre; and contributions from beekeepers who had received colonies raised from our bee stock. In difficult times, the charity has been able to continue functioning and maintain its conservation aims without suffering serious setbacks.
Education and Community Engagement
The Mt Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group was asked to participate in a number of events and attended three conferences in the autumn/winter of 2019-2020 with displays and successful interaction with the attendees. Kathy Lovegrove gave a slide presentation about the work of the group at the ‘Sustainable Beekeeping Conference: A Future without Imports’ which prompted interest in supporting the work of the charity.
In November 2019 the group held its annual meeting which invites associate members to contribute to a review of the year and make suggestions on the next year’s plans. There was a good response to the discussion and participants were then pleased to welcome Tricia and Alan Nelson from Somerset who gave a presentation on ‘The Importance of Preparation before Attempting Queen-Rearing’. This was a prelude to a training course they had agreed to run for Mt Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group in April of 2020. Unfortunately this had to be cancelled but will be reinstated when the pandemic is not such an issue.
The final community event before lockdown was a visit by the Year 1 Class from Millbrook Primary School. The teachers had prepared the pupils by introducing them to topics related to bees, and the children were enthusiastic about what they saw and the equipment they handled.
Summary
The Mt Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group has held steady both financially and in its charitable focus throughout a challenging year. There has been distinct progress in some areas with others put into abeyance until Covid restrictions are lifted.
| Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | Charity Name | No(if any) | No(if any) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Edgcumbe Cornish Bee Group | 1177493 | |||||||
| Receipts andpayments accounts | ||||||||
| For the period from |
Period start date | To | Period end date | |||||
| 1-Sep-19 | 31-Aug-20 | |||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | Endowment funds |
Total funds | |||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |||||
| A1 Receipts | ||||||||
| Membership | 6 | - | 6 | |||||
| Grants | - 0 | 60 | - | 60 | ||||
| Donations | 2,442 | - | - | 2,442 | ||||
| Publicity | 70 | - | - | 70 | ||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | |||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | |||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | |||||
| - 0 | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total_(Gross income for AR) _ | 2,518 |
60 | - | 2,578 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
||||||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | |||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | |||||
| Sub total | - 0 |
- 0 | - 0 | - | ||||
| **Total receipts ** | 2,518 |
60 | - 0 | 2,578 | ||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||
| License | - 0 | - | - | - | ||||
| Insurance | 48 | - | - | 48 | ||||
| Fundraising | - 0 | - | - | - | ||||
| Education | - 0 | - | - | - | ||||
| Stationary | - 0 | - | - | - | ||||
| Apiary Structures & Services | -0 | - | - | - | ||||
| ApiaryEquipment | 927 | 480 | - | 1,407 | ||||
| Apiary Consumables | 505 | 994 | 1,499 | |||||
| Personal Protective Equipment | 79 | 79 | ||||||
| Honeybottlingmaterials | 97 | 97 | ||||||
| Publicity | 189 | 60 | - | 249 | ||||
| Reporting meeting expenses | 30 | - | - | 30 | ||||
| **Sub total ** | 1,875 |
1,534 | - | 3,409 | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases,(see table) |
||||||||
| - 0 | - 0 | - 0 | - | |||||
| -0 | -0 | -0 | - | |||||
| **Sub total ** | - 0 |
- 0 | - 0 | - | ||||
| **Totalpayments ** | 1,875 |
1,534 | - 0 | 3,409 | ||||
| **Net of receipts/(payments) ** | 643 |
- 1,474 |
- | - 831 |
||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | - 0 | - | - | - | ||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | 2,321 | 1,474 | - | 3,795 | ||||
| **Cash funds thisyear end ** | 2,964 |
- | - | 2,964 | ||||
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | ||||||||
| Categories | Details | Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | |||||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
CCXX R� accounts (SS)1
28/06/2021
�1
| B1 Cash funds | cash | cash | cash | 121 | - | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bank | 2,843 | - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| Total cash funds | 2,964 | - | ||||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
OK | |||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds | |||||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | - | - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | ||||||
| B3 Investment assets | - | |||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | ||||||
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
- | |||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which liability relates |
Amount due (optional) |
||||||
| B5 Liabilities | Awaiting invoice: | - | ||||||
| Apiary Equipment | unrestricted | 316 | ||||||
| Apiary Consumables | unrestricted | 618 | ||||||
| - | ||||||||
| - | ||||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Print Name | ||||||
| AnnetteQuartly | ||||||||
CCXX R� accounts (SS)2
28/06/2021
�2
CC16a
Last year to the nearest £ 24 6,304 2,757 - - - - - 9,085 - 0 - 0 9,085 1 20 20 123 1 2,291 1,461 1,373 - - 5,290 - 0 5,290 3,795 - - 3,795 Endowment funds to nearest £
CCXX R� accounts (SS)3
28/06/2021
�3
- OK Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due (optional) Date of approval 19-Dec-20
CCXX R� accounts (SS)4
28/06/2021
�4