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2021-04-05-accounts

Annual Report & Accounts

2020-2021

Charitable Incorporated Organisation Foundation Model Constitution

Contents

Report 3
Mission 3
Strategic Aims 3
Main Activities 4
Engagement 4
Infrastructure 5
Planting 6
Grants 6
Trustees 7
Accounts 8

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Report

Mission

To advance the arts, horticulture and ecology for the public benefit, through the provision for community participation, educational workshops and public displays.

To develop the capacity and skills of local communities to engage with nature through creative design, contribute to environmental regeneration, food sufficiency, wellbeing and employment.

Strategic Aims

Greenaleigh Community Garden

Establishing a base to provide:

3

Main Activities

Great strides have been made in engaging volunteers, fund raising and establishing the garden infrastructure.

Engagement

Thanks to funders a part-time, Creative Project Manager (15 hrs/week) and a Horticulturalist (7.5 hrs/week) were contracted for two consecutive six month periods, July to December 2020 and January to July 2021.

Covid-19 restrictions led to a boost in engagement. Occupying three plots, the garden allowed volunteers to observe social distancing guidance and provided a place to combat isolation, enjoy outdoor activity, transform the abandoned plots into a community garden and learn new horticultural and landscaping skills.

47 volunteers clocked up an inspiring average of 37 hours a week. Participation, word of - mouth, Facebook and web site pages led to three families, a group of young people and two individuals taking up plots on the Greenaleigh Road Allotment site.

Volunteers varied widely in age and demographic backgrounds. They included home schooled children and young people, participants with caring responsibilities, long term health conditions, and people who felt isolated from their community and would otherwise have been at work.

4

Infrastructure

Volunteers, trustees and contractors made light work of the infrastructure by sharing skills and humour.

Particular gratitude goes to young Bobby Crosbee, who wielded 3’x2’ slabs to help lay the main path and shed base area for wheelchair access. Locally sourced potting sheds, delayed due to Covid-19, were finally delivered and erected, September 2020.

Up-cycled pallets were transformed into compost bins.

The poly-tunnel base proved tricky, a couple of false starts lent new meaning to ‘level up, not down’. Success was achieved with the help of Bill’s trusty Ferguson Plough, levelling the ground across the width and working with the gradient along the length. Slabs and oak sleepers finally won out to make a durable base to attach the frame.

5

Planting

Edible planting included three cherry trees and an apple tree. Two neglected apple trees, originally cordoned, have been pruned to bring them back to health. A variety of fruit bushes and rhubarb will be ready for harvesting next year. Other produce includes onions, garlic, beans, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, tomatillo, chard and cavolo nero.

Encouraged by an exchange of recipes and culinary advice, volunteers and the local family centre, GBNFC at The Chinnbrook Centre, made good use of the produce. Non-hybrid seeds were collected and stored.

Apart from producing food for human consumption, garden management aims to improve habitat for wild life.. Hedge roses and hazel have been added to existing bramble, wild plum and other inherited border vegetation. Additional border planting will take place autumn/ spring 2021/22.

Soil fertility is maintained by using green manures and composting. Areas of the garden used for social gatherings and workshops are stimmed when necessary. Bramble suckers and some bind weed have been removed, for the time-being they are otherwise in their natural state.

Grants

6

Trustees

Adam Atkins - landscape architect and arboriculturist

Simon Bell - writer, book publishing, retired senior lecturer at the School of Art and Design, Coventry University

John Little - Grass Roof Company partner, Green Roof Shelters director

Jennifer Parkinson - engineer, Greenaleigh Road Allotment plot holder, experienced food grower

Aimee Postle - business consultant, visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University, University of Wolverhampton

Phil Stokes - ecologist, horticulturist, Greenaleigh Road Allotment plot holder

7

Accounts

Summary

6th April 2020 - 5th April 2021

Full accounts are available on request, play.ground@mail.com

Running Costs/
Project		 Opening
Balance		 Income Items £250 + Total Spend Closing Balance
PlayGround 35 145
(Insurance, budget
transfer from
Awards For All)		 0 180
Birmingham
Municipal
Charities
(grant restricted)		 2,722 £2,354.46
Potting Sheds		 2,545 177
Awards For All
(grant restricted)		 9,957
-145
(budget transfer to
PlayGROUND)
-425
(end of project
budget transfer)		 £4,320
Project Manager
£1,722
Horticulturalist
£2,072
Polytunnel
£425
End of Project
Transfer		 9,387
(9,957 including
transfers)		 0
Severn Trent
(grant restricted)		 9,963
425
(budget transfer
from Awards For All)
£1,440
Project Manager
£504
Horticulturalist
£536
Sleepers
2,565		 7,823
£
2,757		 £
19,920		 £
14,497		 £
8,180

24/01/2022 Date…………….………………… Signed on behalf of all trustees ………………………….………………………………

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