**Trustees Annual Report** From 1[st] January 2024 to 31[st] December 2024 **Charity Name** : Wild North Trust **Charity Registration Number** 1197300 ## **Charity Governance** Wild North Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, whose only voting members are its charity trustees. So far there are four trustees, Gale Blackburn, Jessica Britch, Joanne Coley and Sarah Roe, who have been involved from the outset. Any new appointments of trustees would be agreed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees, with due regard to the skills, knowledge or experience for the effective administration of the CIO. ## **Objectives and Activities** The objects of the CIO is to promote for the benefit of the public, the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in Northern England, including by promoting biological diversity, and to advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment, in particular by: 1. Promoting good practice, raising awareness and educating the public of the benefits of rewilding as a tool to promote biological diversity. 2. Facilitating projects for other community groups and landowners to increase rewilding on land managed by them. 3. Looking for possible leases of land for the Trust to carry out its own rewilding initiatives. ## **Achievements and Performance** From Jan to March 2024, the Trusts’ volunteers established a rewilded area roughly the size of one third of an acre, in St Mark’s RC Primary school grounds in Swinton, Greater Manchester. We partitioned it from the mown areas by erecting a natural fence line, made of upright poles from willow, hazel and birch trees, and woven branches. We added log piles to the area, and habitat piles of brash, to attract invertebrates. We also planted some green willow twigs near the living fence, to allow them to take root and create a more natural barrier once the natural fence has decayed. We dug a hole for a pond and added liner, approximately 6 x 2 metres, in one corner of the field, which is naturally wet in winter anyway. We built a fence using stock fencing to safely partition it from the rest of the field, and used the spoil from the diggings to create a habitat bank, covering with extra logs and brash, to have some safe space for amphibians. At a later date, wildlife plants were added to the pond, including hornwort, flote grass, marsh marigold and water soldier. Advice was then given to the school on how to maintain the space for wildlife. Once the area was free from mowing, a variety of grasses and flowers developed and animals began to use it. We have recorded about 40 species of moth, 8 of butterfly, grasshoppers, 12 species of bird, foxes, and deer. We have shared our results with the school, and pupils have been using the space as part of their education. The top two pictures below show the volunteers at work on the project. On the left the newly dug pond, on the right the willow fence partitioning the wildlife area from the playing field. The bottom two pictures show the results three to six months later. **----- Start of picture text -----**
We also had several participants in the Cross Bay walk, which has raised the profile of Wild
North Trust.
We were also given a generous donation from Animal Friends Insurance, and the Trustees
have had discussions on how best to use it. We have been liaising with Salford Council to find
land upon which current leases have lapsed, to investigate the possibility of takeover for the
purpose of rewilding, and also continue to liaise with other schools and landowners. A further
10 schools in Little Hulton area of Salford were contacted by us with a view to allow some of
their land to be rewilded, we await future collaboration.
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Review / Statement of Accounts A large donation came from Animal Friends Insurance. Trading Activities include the income from the walks led by Guide Over Sands Trust Outgoing included materials for rewilding project, outlay for Guide Over Sands walk, and donation to animal rescue charity. Start of year: £1351 Donations £10,000 Income from other trading activities: £481 Outgoing: £1318 End of year= £10,514