2024-12-31-accounts

Kent Men of the Trees CIO

Trustees Report for year ended 31 December 2024

were accepted from the KMOTT Trust Fund from 1 January.

 Membership transition and recruitment

Administrator to support our members making changes to their bank payment standing orders, as well as updating our membership and gift aid documentation. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, during this process a number of our existing members decided, for understandable reasons, not to continue their support for the charity.

We have had some success in encouraging new membership; with 4 new personal members and 4 corporate members signed up to join in January. We are hoping to re-build the corporate membership list through a new project…more on which later.

We will be encouraging guests to our activities

 Activities

There were 4 very well-attended day visits in Kent last year, to Sandling Park, Hole Park, Palmstead Nursery and Knole Park. Our annual long trip – to Somerset – was a great success and included visits to a number of very interesting estates as well as to the national Oak collection. In Somerset we met with representatives from Dorset Men of the Trees, where a discussion around their schools project was the spur to consider a new approach to engagement with schools in Kent - more on this later.

Two talks were set up for the Winter season – Elm Reintroduction project and Challenges of Fruit Farming, to which non-members were invited.

 Finances

direction of travel is still unacceptable and your Trustees have the situation under constant review. Some notes:

• the year 2024 membership fee income was a�ected by the discounts o�ered to members on transition to the CIO to reflect the move to a consistent annual renewal date (January) from any other historical renewal dates .

• We have sought funding to support our tree gift costs. The Tree Council Branching Out Fund has approved a grant of £858 which was paid in April 2025 and a donation of £150 from HGPS for the additional trees that were provided.

• We have submitted a Gift Aid claim for £577 which we hope will be supported by HMRC and a claim will be repeated annually reflecting the donations received during the year

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sustainable financial basis going forward.

 Looking Forward

2025 looks to be an exciting year ahead; all the “normal” activities are in planning or announced. We have the following new projects which we hope to launch this year:

• Tree of the Year – a competition where the suggestions / submissions are received from membership, the public and local communities for the best tree in Kent meeting predetermined criteria.

• Schools project - working in partnership with a Community Interest Company near Aldington , we would o�er 2 or 3 primary schools in the Ashford / Folkestone & Hythe Districts Council areas the opportunity for environmental education on site and the opportunity for the children to grow a seedling tree through their first 6 years at school.

 Social Media

It is time that Kent Men of the Trees took to publicising our activities on social media – specifically Facebook and Instagram.

All the projects discussed above are designed to bring our charity more into public focus and hopefully attract more membership or visitors / guests to our activities.

With your support the charity will continue to thrive and to bring pleasure education and appreciation of trees across a much wider audience.

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