Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 ## **Long Mead Foundation** Registered Charity Number: 1196294 Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 ## **CONTENTS** ## **Administrative Information** **Accountants’ verification** **Report of the Trustees** **Approval of the Trustees** **Statement of Financial Activities** Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 ## **Administrative Information** **Trustees** **Fiona Ravenscroft Louise Henson Kevin Martin** **Registered address** **Horseshoe Island Oxford Road Swinford Witney OX29 4DU** **Bankers Metro Bank Key management personnel Catriona Bass Charity Registration number 1196294** CAMERONS ACCOUNTANCY Long M&ad Foundation Horseshoe Island Oxford Road Swinford Oxfordshire OX29 4DU Camerons Accountancy Consultants Ltd 9 Wofton Park. Cassington Oxfordshire OX29 4SX +441011865 882 621 www.cameron5-ukcom 20th Marth 2025 To the Trustses ot Long Mead Foundab'cn. I report on the accetsnts of the tharty (registered number. 11962941 futhe period ended 31st March 2024. Responsibl￿tieS and b￿65 ts1 report As the charity's trustees of the Company Iwho are also the direetots of the company for the wrposes of company lawl. you are responsible lorthe prtyarètson of the atcounts In ¥c¢rdance wrth IhÈ Teouirements of th• Companw$ Act 2006 ftt* 2006 A¢n. Having satisfied myself thatthe KcrNJnts dthe Company are not requ¥ed to￿ auditéd for this year under Pert 16 of 2￿6 Act and ave eligitAe for IndepÈndÈnt eaxmination. l ¢eport in respertof myexgmination of vour ch8rity's accounts as carried out under $￿tion 145 of the Char￿5 Act 20111.the 2011 Act'l. In carrying cut my exarninaticr, I havefciiowed the direthc•5 given by the Charity Comrni$510n lundir s•eUon 14515libl of thfr 2011 Act). Independent examinerf5 Statem•rt I have com￿eted my examination. I confim that no m*eriat mattus have cometo my attention (other than that disclosed below'l which gives mt causeto té￿evethat the 4ccounts do not comply with relevant atcounbwJ reouiiernents under section 396 of the Companies Act 21106, other than any requirement thatthe accounts give a tnje and f￿r. view. whith is Thjta matter COTh￿￿ered as part of an independert exarnin£b'on'. the accounts hive not been prepared In 8¢cordance wththe Char￿.￿$ SORP IFRS1021. I have no mncerns and have come across no other rn*ters in conneclion with the examination to which attent should be drawn in this rww>rt in orderto enable a proper underSta￿lIr￿j of the accounts to be reathed. Ellen O'DonneU FCA Camerons Accountsncy Consultsrts Ltd 9 Worton Park Cassiryton Oxford5hire OX29 4SX 4E81666 Re￿51￿￿1*jdrt0r.Trg￿Edt0cmryO￿l4udIt￿ork1nth•uK VATi¥strtkn 556429l95 &w4k&Qet4dsabwtOLy￿￿rO4￿aE1tifft tan bÈviÈwÈdat Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 ## **Report of the Trustees – Year ending 31[st] March 2024** Long Mead Foundation was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with The Charity Commission in England on 27[th] October 2021. All Trustees have been in post throughout the period and have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by The Charity Commission in exercising their duties. The objects of Long Mead Foundation are: 1. To promote, for the benefit of the public, the conservation protection and enhancement of the natural environment and in particular but not exclusively - a. To undertake the conservation and enhancement of the biodiversity of the floodplain meadows along the Upper Thames; - b. To advance the understanding of, and methods to, restore the ecosystems of floodplain meadows working with academic institutions, farmers and landowners; - c. To advance education of the public about the natural environment, including naturebased solutions for climate-change, particularly in relation to floodplain meadows; 2. To relieve the needs of adults with learning disabilities and autism by offering naturebased activities. During this financial year, Long Mead Foundation continued to expand its activities on the ground and with the community as part of the Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project and Nature Recovery Network. Since 2018, our meadow creation work has connected up over 210ha of ancient floodplain meadow and meadows under restoration by creating new meadows between them. After 5 years of negotiations with the landowners, (Oxfordshire County Council and Smiths of Bletchingdon), we acquired leases on 50 acres of land along the River Thames adjacent to Long Mead in 2023, for communityled restoration with the Nature Recovery Network, facilitated by LMF. This significantly extends the creation of a connected nature recovery network for floodplain meadows along the Thames above and below Swinford Lock. Work on creating a nature recovery network of floodplain meadows along the Cherwell in Oxford, to buffer the Marston Meads Sites of Special Scientific Interest also continued, with further planting of rare and slow growing hand-propagated plants in Christ Church Meadows and Music and great Meadow, belonging to Merton College. Restoration work included planting over 500m of hedge and planting out around 4000 hand-propagated plants, engaging the whole community, including the Scouts, Beavers, Primary and Secondary School and many individuals through our _Nature Recovery Network,_ community organisation. Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 Central to our restoration work is the hand-propagation of the rarer and slow-growing species in a way that engages the whole community, including adults with learning disabilities and autism and people facing mental or physical health challenges, students and pensioners all working together. Our partnerships with FarmAbility and Bridewell continue to grow and deepen. LMF was in demand, for advice and consultation on floodplain meadows, from a wide range of stake-holders from Oxford Colleges to Parish and District Councils, as well as private landowners. In June 2023, a workshop on Long Mead for Natural England’s senior Nature Recovery Network advisors from all the England regions to learn about our model of community-driven landscape scale nature recovery. We were also delighted that Christ Church Meadows, whose restoration we began in 2020 and continued through to 2023 was runner-up for Oxford University Vice-Chancellor’s Environmental Sustainability Project Award. A number of talks and workshops were undertaken, articles published and Long Mead welcomed a significant number of visitors. Sponsorship was received from the Open University Floodplain Meadows Partnership, West Oxfordshire District Council and Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (hedgerow plants). Further details of activities during the year can be found in the Appendix. The Trustees are grateful for the hard work of Catriona Bass who continues to work largely _pro bono_ . They are pleased that new funding in 2024/2025 will pay for administrative support, which will enable to Financial Statement to be submitted on time. They also thank all volunteers at Long Mead Foundation and the Nature Recovery Network and the contractors, consultants and experts who have contributed to the work of its Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project. The Trustees offer their thanks for the financial support from the multiple individual donations made to the Foundation and to their sponsors: The Open University and West Oxfordshire District Council, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Englandl without whom much of this work would not be possible. ## **Approval of the Trustees** The Trustees of the Long Mead Foundation have approved these, the first financial statement for the period herein and is signed on their behalf by: _Signature redacted for security_ M L Henson Trustee Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 Statement of FinvdDcfial Aetfivities 2023-2024 TOTAOPENING eAIAN RE5TRicfEDOIB UNAESIAIrnOIO E16, 714 É9.335 RESTRICTED RESTRicfEO RE5TrKfED FUNOS IN(QME EXPENDITURE Narjral E￿la￿ Own Unl*tslty Fr￿P￿at￿r Habitats Trwt Oxfcrd5hire tyJntycouncil W*stOxFtsr&NrÈ ￿$ÉtItt c￿r￿lI Ipald in 2412SI £62 6,7(A) E6.114 £3.824 £14 £1&714 £24,120 £20.837 £9,983 Éo 13.835 £2.014 Éo E9Jn TOTAL UNRESTwcre UNA￿lk￿l£ts FUNDS IriaJME uriRESTRicre D¢leALAN E%PEII(ITUAE ,751 E827 É130 1.212 GIftAld Ot￿r TOTAi UNftESTRKfED 14C E9JJS El TOT*IS IV1Mtrf(thd•r￿ Urrn £J5.ni £29.257 EXPENSt5 EXKNDtTURÉ FROM RESTAThD FVMDS CO.ORDINATION COMMSIENGAGEMENT rMTA MANAGEMENT OVERHEA PLANT PROP REFEAENCE RESEARC RESTORATION £4.WO £7.890 £9,34B £3.013 £7,030 £32,164 TOT EXPENDfiuRE FROMVNRUTRrnO FUNDS OFFICEIALWIN OUTttEACH/COMMS VOLiJNTEEFi EXPENSES REFERENCE SITE COSTSIREPAIRS TRAINING É505 £494 £352 E63 £1,350 UNRESTrThD- TOTAL TOTAL EXPEPISES OVERHEAt6 From irant ir*ome TOTALCIVJ Accf¢uALS 101>20U £2.022 C ￿￿%(00rd￿nIt0r Foo5 Tatsl £6,400 ,422 A(CBUA15UnpoIdlrD￿ Z022-2023 £2,500 £1,050 11,972 F R￿s(ruftFttS £19229 Note Balar￿ lrnlLths att￿￿1%.. EKwsektru¥s.. Ell.972 Incom•P￿ru￿..£2oDo Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 ## **Appendix: Details of Activities during 2023-2024** ## **Meadow Restoration and Management** Meadow creation and restoration took place in the fields listed below, in and around Eynsham and Oxford. It included planting over 500m of hedge and planting out around 4000 plants, engaging the whole community through our _Nature Recovery Network,_ community organisation. Early unprecedented flooding meant that planting out of hand-propagated plants was curtailed and the plants had to be carried over to the next season. - Eynsham Playing Fields, Carnival Meadow - Dovehouse Close Meadow, Eynsham - Eynsham Churchyard - Fishponds Meadow, Eynsham - Newlands Meadow, Eynsham - Long Mead Restoration Area - Changeable Furlongs (Smiths of Bletchingdon) - Neyotts Meadow (Oxfordshire County Council) - Christ Church Meadows - Music Meadow and Great Meadow (Merton College) Hand-propagated plants were donated to other groups and organisations, including BBOWT (Chimney Meadows National Nature Reserve), Long Hanborough Nature Recovery Network, Church Hanborough Nature Recovery Network, Standlake Nature Recovery Network. ## **Local Experts group** In March 2024, we convened a meeting of the local experts with a view to planning the restoration of the 50 acres of newly leased land to create a mosaic of habitats and to discuss plans for extending this connecting network further downstream to join up with the SSSI meadows at Wolvercote and Port Meadow, Oxford. ## **LMF Facilitated Research** ## Invertebrate Study Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 We have continued and expand our research into the diversity and abundance of invertebrate in floodplain meadows. In March 2024, 3 more entomologists joined the team. Our collaboration with Oxford Brookes University in this research continues. ## Water Quality We continue to monitor the water quality in 10 streams and rivers around Eynsham. ## Plant Propagation We continue our research into the growing characteristics and requirements of 50 floodplain meadow species, with 3 years of data now. Local expert led community surveys in our _Nature Recovery Network_ continue to monitor: birds, bats, freshwater invertebrates, water voles and plants in and around Eynsham including the meadows under restoration. ## **Training and Workshops delivered by LMF** - Creating and Restoring Meadows - a Workshop for Facilitators, included staff from BBOWT, FWAg, Slimbridge, NE Cotswold Farmer Cluster and other Ngos. - Scouts and local Youth Theatre coronation volunteering for plant propagatioon - Regular Community survey workshops - County recorder David Morris - Botanical Survey Workshop - Ecover Staff Corporate Day - Community Plant Propagation and Meadow Picnic - Scything Workshop and Community Meadow Management - Apple Day hosted by Peace Oak Community Orchard We continue to fund one of our participants who has learning disabilities to attend FarmAbility once a week ## **Visits and guided walks to Long Mead Local Wildlife Site** - Oxford University Nature Conservation Society - Village environmental group leaders from 8 local villages to discuss further collaborations. - Cherwell Dairy Farmers - Officers of the Oxfordshire County Council Local Nature Recovery Strategy - Councillors from West Oxfordshire District Council - Chair and Cabinet Member for Environment of Oxfordshire County Council - Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (Oxfordshire Branch) - Oxford University Botanical Gardens - Oxford City Council (Oxford Direct Services Staff) Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 ## **Talks, Radio and Conference Presentations** Delivered by LMF CEO Catriona Bass and Prof Kevan Martin - Rotary Club - Public Meeting for Oxford’s Flood Alleviation Scheme (Hinksey Meadow) - South and Vale District Council. - Green Henley - Open University (Conference presentation- Floodplain Meadows) - Jack FM Radio - Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership (Conference presentation - People and Nature) - Oxfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (Facilitator for Grasslands Group) - University of the Third Age - West Oxfordshire District Council (Conference - Women and the Future of West Oxfordshire) - Wild Oxfordshire (Conference Presentation - Hedgerow Heroes) - West Oxfordshire District Council (Conference Presentation - Waterways Day) ## **Advice and Consultancy includes:** - Oxford Preservation Trust - Catriona Bass appointed to OPT Green Spaces Committee - West Oxfordshire District Council - Nature Recovery Plan Scrutiny Committee - Church Hanborough - Long Hanborough ## **Media and Articles** We continue to write regularly for the Nature Recovery Network newsletter (700 members) as well as for Eynsham Online. Our work is also disseminated via our Instragram and X accounts and Facebook. Occasional articles on our work are published in: - Oxford Mail - Campaign for the Protection of Rural EnGland - Wild Oxfordshire Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024 - Jack FM Radio - Eynsham News ## **Funding and Awards** Christ Church Meadows Restoration - Runner up for Oxford University Vice Chancellor’s Environmental Sustainability Project Award 2023. ## **Partnerships** Key partners include: FarmAbility Ongoing long-term partnership with FarmAbility which dates back to its founding over 10 years ago. Monthly visits of a group of adults with learning disabilities and autism. ## Bridewell Organic Gardens (Mental Health Charity) Ongoing long-term partnership which dates back over 10 years ago. LMF supports Bridewell to propagate floodplain meadow species on their own site for planting out in the meadows that we are restoring in the landscape. ## Eynsham Partnership Academy Students from the Alternative Curriculum Band - twice monthly visits, Sixth form end of year work experience. Other partners include: - Oxford Conservation Volunteers joined our community restoration activities. - West Oxfordshire District Council - Environmental Change Institute Nature Recovery Symposium - Wild Oxfordshire - Oxfordshire Hedgerow Heroes Project - Campaign for the Protection of Rural England - Oxfordshire Hedgerow Heroes Project - Oxfordshire County Council - Local Nature Partnership - Nature and Health subgroup - Open University - Floodplain Meadows Partnership - Oxford Brookes University - Conservation Ecology Course - Oxford Botanical gardens - Local Wildlife Trust - BBOWT Long Mead Foundation Year end 31 March 2024