Friends of the Upper Wye | Ffrindiau’r Afon Gwy Uchaf
Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 14/03/2022 To 13/03/2023
Registered Number: 1198234
Objectives and Activities
Friends of the Upper Wye (FOUW) was set up in July 2020 originally as an unincorporated association to start a programme of education and research in the form of river water quality monitoring, as a response to the changes in the way that algal blooms are affecting the River Wye, which straddles the English/Welsh border and meanders through both countries before reaching the Severn Estuary at Chepstow.
On 14/3/2022 the Committee of Friends of the Upper Wye resolved to begin dissolution of the old association and form a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) of the same name.
This report gives the reader insight into FOUW’s activities since incorporation, and how we have both raised and spent the funds maintaining our network of volunteer citizen scientists, and furthering the general objectives of FOUW for the pubic benefit, which are:
1) to conserve, protect and improve the river Wye and tributaries for the benefit of the wildlife and the public, and
2) To educate the public to aid understanding of the importance of river quality for biodiversity, economic and social activity.
During the year to March 2023, the Trustees have run a programme of both river water quality monitoring, through a network of trained and well-resourced volunteer monitors, and run public outreach events at which our work and the results of our efforts have been disseminated more widely. We also maintain a website with general information for the public and interested potential volunteers. In order to deliver this public benefit, the Trustees have had due regard for the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on such public benefit.
Building the river water quality monitoring network
Following on from the initial stages of the citizen science monitoring programme development carried out before FOUW became a CIO, since March 2022 FOUW has continued to maintain and build its network of citizen science monitoring volunteers. Using funds that we raised through a crowdfunding appeal over Christmas 2021- January 2022 we supported Radnorshire Wildlife Trust to allow them to employ a project administration coordinator who was intended to look after much of the background organisational work that is needed to run a network of volunteer data collectors. This post was filled in May 2022 and the occupant was able to help us briefly before a change in circumstances led to his resignation.
From November 2022 we were able to secure the services of a temporary administrator and the Trustees continued to assist in the overall running of the FOUW programme. Trustees also resolved to raise more money in order to employ a new citizen science coordinator with closer attention paid to the recruitment and management.
Over the year the number of test sites in the network rose from around 60 to over 100, and the proportion of test sites using a more accurate method of testing for phosphate (the “Hanna checker”) also rose.
Data analysis and portrayal
It became obvious that FOUW was unable to make full use of the data, such was the volume that was being generated, but fortunately one volunteer, Michael Carpenter, within the network had some experience of large scale data analysis and portrayal and using our open source dataset has built an online dashboard which can be used to look at catchment maps of the data in a variety of ways and time periods, or focus down on one or two points and make comparisons, and so on. The Trustees were delighted when he accepted our invitation to become a Trustee so his valuable insight into what the data could tell us, and his skill in turning tables of data into interactive graphs, maps and charts. The current version of the WyeViz dashboard can be found here:
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/mcarpenter/viz/WyeVizWyeAllianceCitizenSciencedas hboard/START
Outreach and educational events
An early focus from March 2022 was to plan and run a public event in Hay on Wye, over the second weekend in July. ‘Lift the River’ was part of a wider group of events (called Wye July) being held simultaneously by other organisations to highlight the plight of the River Wye through pollution and land use pressures. Lift the River itself was a huge success – fine sunny weather ensured public interest in it was abundant, and we had a series of stalls and displays manned by Trustees explaining the maps and the work done so far to understand how diffuse agricultural pollution might be affecting the catchment’s river water quality. Special interest was shown in the large scale maps that a collaborator, Mott MacDonald plc, had kindly supplied, showing data from our testing plotted alongside the data on poultry shed locations in the catchment (with credit to Christine Hugh-Jones and Alison Caffyn for producing those comprehensive data). Another event was held in Hereford as a forum for the discussion of experiences of citizen science monitoring organised by several NGOs including FOUW across the whole of the Wye catchment.
Contribution made by volunteers:
All of the citizen scientists who diligently and patiently sample their particular testing point in the catchment are also volunteers, and no doubt have busy lives outside of FOUW. The Trustees extend their warm thanks and appreciation for the hard work, dedication and perseverance that so many volunteers show to help us advance our purposes. Without them, the backbone of the work we do, the catchment wide and temporally dispersed dataset we are creating and continue to create together would not be possible. In this instance the sum of the volunteers’ efforts really is greater than the parts!
Achievements and Performance
FOUW has been playing an important role in the improving prioritisation of the river water quality and health in both local and catchment decision making forums such as the Nutrient Management Board, the councils responsible for their parts up and down the catchment, and with those in the agricultural industry and regulatory bodies. Our communications and outreach Trustees, Nicola Cutcher and Eamon Bourke, have worked tirelessly to amplify our work on social media and other public news outlets. Most recently, filming of FOUW outreach efforts in Hereford with the Thomas Cantilupe School school pupils took place for the BBC’s flagship rural affairs programme “Countryfile” and the episode was first broadcast on 19[th] March 2023.
As a result of our campaigning and efforts to tell the story of the pollution in the Wye, the interests of the river are being catapulted up the public’s agenda, and as a result we are seeing a slow but steady attitude change to the river’s situation. If this ultimately can drive river water quality improvement then we shall be proud of our achievements. The data that our citizen science network is producing is now finally being used by the Environment Agency to improve their response to pollution incident and to increase their own understanding of the pressures facing the Wye. Sadly to date Natural Resources Wales
(NRW) have been unable, in spite of numerous meetings, to make any use of the data that our network creates. The Trustees will continue to make the information available to NRW and hope that the internal resources can be found to make the best use of our offered collaboration.
The Trustees have also continued to successfully raise funds throughout the year to ensure we can both continue to provide equipment and consumable replacements to our network of volunteers, and also to ensure we can continue to employ a Programme Manager or Coordinator who helps the Trustees run the data collection side of the programme.
The Trustees have thereby created a community of river water quality monitoring volunteers who are getting to know each other and working together, creating stronger community ties and helping spread the benefits of a healthier river to the wider society. The volunteers frequently report being approached by the public to explain what they are doing and how what they are doing is being used and making an impact.
The Trustees are delighted that the specific issue of river water quality and particularly that of the river Wye has become such a widely discussed topic in 2022-2023.
Financial Review
Financial review: Position at the end of the period.
FOUW Trustees have been able to raise sufficient funds from a number of sources that has enabled the continuing and growth of the volunteer network. Through a crowdfunding campaign around Christmas 2022, donations from the public, and some generous grants made to us from grantmakers, we have secured funds to employ a 0.6FTE volunteer programme coordinator starting in May 2023, as well as maintain the volunteer network with consumables and new equipment that improves the accuracy of the phosphate concentration data that we collect. Further to that we have run large outreach event such as Wye July which have required further budgetary allocations.
As a result of donations and grants made throughout the year FOUW’s receipts to year end 31/3/23 were £42.2k.
Operating expenses for the year were £12.5k leaving a surplus of £29.7k (this surplus is mostly allocated to the future employment costs of the programme coordinator in FY 20232024).
The balance sheet funds (£34,995) is made up of the annual surplus combined with the assets (£5286) that were vested to FOUW by the former unincorporated association Friends of the Upper Wye in June 2022 as part of the dissolution and transfer of assets to the new CIO as per the consitution of the original unincorporated association.
Reserves policy:
FOUW Trustees would like to maintain, where finances permit, an amount in reserves that is equivalent to at least three months’ operating expenses.
Amount of reserves held currently:
£0
Reasons for holding zero reserves: Insufficient time of existence to allow the building up of reserve capital funds.
Uncertainties or concerns about FOUW continuing as a going concern: At this point in time the Trustees are happy that there is a comfortable 12 months of funded activities ahead
of the charity. However, more funds will need to be raised in 2023-2024 to continue funding the coordinator role and of course maintain the network’s test site volunteers and equipment.
For full information about the financial status of FOUW please refer to the accounts submitted alongside this annual report.
Structure, Governance and Management
FOUW is incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with a governing constitution that can be found on our website https://www.fouw.org.uk/s/FOUW-CIO-Constitution.pdf
As per the constitution of FOUW Trustees may be appointed as follows:
Appointment of charity trustees:
(1) Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.
(2) In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
In addition to the internal FOUW management structure, the Trustees also collaborate with other similar groups who are aligned in their purposes with the purpose of FOUW. Those groups are:
Friends of the Lower Wye Campaign to protect rural England (CPRE) Save the Wye Radnorshire Wildlife Trust Herefordshire Wildlife Trust Mott Macdonald plc River Action Wye Alliance
Additionally, during the year, FOUW formally co-founded the Wye Alliance in order to coordinate our activities and findings with other river protection groups and stakeholders, the agreement being signed on 22/9/2022.
Reference and Administrative details
Charity name Friends of the Upper Wye Other name the charity uses N/a Registered charity number 1198234 Charity’s principal address Bronheulwen, Glasbury, Wales, HR3 5LS
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|
| Eamon Bourke | |||||
| Nicola Cutcher | |||||
| William Bullough | |||||
| Christine Hugh- Jones |
|||||
| Karima Mould | Secretary | ||||
| Thomas Tibbits | Chair | ||||
| Michael Carpenter | 30/8/2022 | FOUW Trustees | |||
Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved
Director name
N/a
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year N/a
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
FOUW holds no funds as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Exemptions from disclosure
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
Other optional information
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Full name(s) Thomas N D Tibbits Position (eg Secretary, Chair of Trustees Chair, etc) Date 21/1/2024
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLANO AND WALES Recei tsand ments accounts CC16a Forthe p¢rfod from To Section A Receipts and payments Unrèstricted Restrtctsd funds funds ¢oth• n•arg•t £ tothe nwwt£ Endowment funds totho rtir•At E Total funds Last year toth• n•aroBt£ to the nearo8t E A1 Recel ts DtriaiK)ns Grants Bank InteTrst Funds fml FOUW wE4fwKya 22.190 t2,1&*) 20,000 16 16 AR) 47.492 47,492 an see table . n1rnent sa 47,492 47N92 A3Pa ents 9.122 1515 155 371 9.122 2.515 155 371 276 Evenlcosts Media In$ur8rKt Bank charge5 Sub total 11497 12N97 A4 Asset and Investmerrt Sub totsl 12.497 12.497 Net of re¢elpts/{payments) A6 Tran¥f&rs betw8•n funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash fvnds thls yearend 34.995 £££z 34.995 CCXX R1 xcounts ISSI 1110112024
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period un$1cled lund# n•rV4t£ Re%tricted Endowmefit giails B1 Ca•h fund• .99 To¢•1 ¢h funds J4.995 Unrn•trlct•d fundts Re•trlctsd fvDd• Endowment lund• 1£ tonMr•#£ to Fwdtsl Nch CurThni v•lu• 83 Inv•¥tm•nt PuDdt•¥Jhk* O•t•ll• Co•tloPI ¥wl 84 A•••ts r•taln•d for th• ¢harfty'• own us• Fwdto¥Jhlc BS Ll•bllltl Phnt Nom Oote of royal +trS 1188¥1 6uLlO CW R2 •¢tounts Issi 11101r1014
CHARITY COMMISSION, Independent examine5 FOR ENGLAND AND WALES report on tho accounts Serlw)nA 1thlEpEndenl EI4rnir*i s Rembrt Onl¢¢••ylIr 119BZ 2011 ftr•Acri Ind•p•TrJ•nl Pr&W£iL Np BL O¢tobor2918