APPENDIX 1 oscr per start date MLXth Ye¥ Penod end dale Year tsrch 2026 Day From To Olfi¢è ol the Scottish Charity Ragulatty Reference and administration details CharSty nam• Other namv ¢h•rity l• known by Roglster•d charlty numb•r Charlty's prlnclwl •ddm• FMnds of merkih L(Kal Nature Reser¥ SC037131 30 Grant Str1 Invefness Pt¢od• IV3 88N Company R•glstrntlon No. SC285673 Nim•s of th• charlty tru$t••8 on d•te ol approval ol TruJt•os' Annu•l R•port of y•rwn (or body) •nlJtl•d lo •ppolnt lJwt•• Ill• Ollk• (Il•ny) Alistsir Locke Chair Martin PiArArr.ini Christian Chrisc#Joubu-Davw8 Anne Sulhedand Trea$uw Dk4na Cole VKe Chair Donald Show 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20
APPENDIX 1 Reference and administration detalls Nam of all other charity trust••s durtn9 th• perlod, rf any. (for •xampl•. thoBe resigned part way throu9h th• financial p•rlodl None Structure, governance and management Type of gov•rnlng do¢um•nt Constrtuthin Tru•t•• r•¢rultm•nt and appolnlm•nt IA4)rd ol muth cv advertismg wrthin the tral cThnmunty I1 rwi$lett•r vtsn required. Objectives and activities Charfl•bl• purpo T pro)Klti) and dent c4 the Merkinch L81 Nature Reserve. Summary of th• maln actlvllhes In r•lation to th•6• obJts Carying rJl the routine Ca and maintenance of the Merkinch Local Nature Rvr¥¢ lo protect and preaerve the thal environment to Create p*e where people and wikllrfe Collextsl to each other'$ mu31 bénèfit.
APPENDIX 1 Achievements and perfomance Summary of the main achievements of the charity durlng th• flnanclal p•riod See Trustees Repcvt
Financlal review Brlèf statement of thg charity's policy on reseples No reserve5 are hekj. Dgtalls ol any d•ncll Donatsd f*cllll1 •nd urvlc•• {If any) None APPENDIX 1 Other optional inforniatlon
Friends of Merkinch Local Nature Reserve Trustees Report 2025-26 During the repcvting period wé d¢li¥ered pTo3rammes - Nature Volunteer prOjt and the Youth Rangers programme. Nat re Vol rPr The aim5 and purpose ol Ihe project were". Increase the number ol volunteers taking part in activities in the Nur¥ Reserve. Increased learning opkrtUnrts for volunteers by providing access lo a rar of short lIseS such as First Aid and strimming. Grow and d¢v¢lop o¥ on organisetion through 1rtroa experiertt OF managing volunteefé. dealing wf(h Ghallenges and managing people wrth varying levels of skilL8 and ¢apa¢ty. Continue lo maintain and enhance thè Merkin¢h Local Nature Reserve lor the benefrt ol the local communty, thereby giving pecple access lo a green spa¢¢ whth is safe and well after. This wll atso raise the profil8 of our community in the wKlw Inme$S area. as VP are a wmmunty which hist1cal has suffèred from discrimination and stlgmatisation. It will •n9•nd•r a $•n$• of prwh and own•rÈhip for 11x1 people. The aim was to d¥v&ksP our volunteering offering to as hKJh • standard as possib lo ensu that Ouf volunteers have the mo$1 posrtive and valuable experCe with us whh will be benefla1 to other aspects of their lives. We particularly wanted to focus on re¥hing pe¢pte who are marginaltsed, experieThciw k)ng temi health conditK)n8 and are suffering from k)nelingss and social tsolation which wè know has a very detrimental 8fft on ppIe,$ h08tth. We focussed partICurIY on young pecyle aged 18 10 24 arS and pewje over SO YrS as feedback from our lo¢¥1 Job Centre Shows that currentw ¢ohorts afe experiencing hKJh levels of unempkJym&nt and mental htth issues. During the rwrting pfrr delNered wo8kty semi$. on Tuesdays oTrJ Thursdays fvom 10.008m lo l.00pm. All activities were delNered in th• Nalure Reservè by a quaIffd and exFerienced project leader working on 8 sell- employed basis. A¢tivrtits8 included.. Maintaining and exlendiro Ihe me•Jow, orchard aThJ fl¢wer beds Planting and lookiThJ after native Irtse speCS Tf8nspl8nlino saolings and Installing tree oug(d8 Painting ben¢h&s and picnK tables Remov81 of invasive species such a$ $n¢)%thry. Michaeknas daisy and tsnsy Maintaining th8 nerk of paths IresurfacirvJ. filling In potholes. repairing thg edging, Cutting back en¢ioaching Vegetal1) Slrimming in all oras$ artas nfthft Maintaining and repairiNJ thè wrthen Bowthvalk Lrtter PkS Cleaning and maintaining tcds and fjquyment Carrying c4Jt boach ¢lean$ Quarterly meetings ol the working group sel up to cons¥Jèr opti5 and futu¥e plans fr)r rgplacinglukyJiadin9 the existing wooden bo8rdwalk structure and the adja¢enl se8wall path. Meetings with a range ol organisalKJns and agencies focussing on *Id$S1j anti4ocial issuey in the Reserve - drug dealing, motor bikes Inotse arKI speeding) and vandalwn. A lot81 of 35 volunteers took part in weekty Sessn$ during the reporting Feric•J. Vduntfjer dgmographic$'. Retired Long temi un8mployed Long temi physical ¢ondition$ Mental heatth issues Addictions Our long tem pla# for the Reserve is to train up local peop in all aspecis of the mgeMEnt and maintenance of the serve, thus ensuring the sustainabilrty of Ihis valued and well used rèsource. Youth R Pro The aims and purpo$è of the project We.. Dèlivering actIVrt for yourg people aged 12 to 16 year5 wdent in the Merkinch area who were experiencing dsadv8lltwJes and chaIrJeS in their lives
Fctussed on leaming ab)ut Mthinch Lal Nature ReseNe, green spa. nature and the environment Buikling skills and confidence. create 8ttematNe leaming cyportunitS and increasg destin'on$ lor margin81ised young people. Improving heatth and Well-in9- thèrè 4$ a grcythng rTwtsI heath crists and a need for prOgrme$ which improve both rrentsl and physrAI arth for young pec¢$. Developing awareness and understanding - many young people are swnpty not aware of bcal greenspa and the cpportunrts and beneffts they can bn.J. Project activrties look pia¢e weekty on Wednesdays from 10.CK)am lo 1.00pm durin9 lemi tmo. A lotsl 0132 young people twk part in the project durin9 Ihe reportirtg pwiod. Activities Included.. Biids and animals- id&ntfying wildlrfe ung tline resources and reference book$, recordirvJ wldlrfe $ighling$, looking for animal tracks aTrJ si9ll3 Removal and management of invasNe $pe¢ies. printyalty Mthelmas daishw and snchvberry Planting and locing 8ftw a onge of native trees Managing the wiklflower meadow Leaming atr)ut biodiveisty and imwIan of bcing after OUT environmgnt 9rfjgn spaces Rernovlng Imier so inai rt ttoesnl Polluie or cause Injury To numans anOr wlkll Astronomy- intrc#JuctKJn to the nght sky. tides. etc. 8iokJgy- lrfecyd&$. h&)Itats, clas5ifrAtion of spec Some thoughts from ow Lead Project Wots.. A huge success over the last year 1$ the Intrj¢t1 of the Maintenance Team to Merkinch LNR, born out of the nead lo compte basi¢ $eNi¢ing on the reserve {earing PalhpaintIng benchewboardwalk repair etc.} whilst supporting people who a lor•3-lem unempk)yed lo moi• into work wrth a scaw wproa¢h to skills leamin9 Four participants were chosen lo tske in thi5 employabilty 81gm•nt Ikng-tsm unempby•Jlre¢o¥ery frcm addi¢tionlnntal heatth Issues} with a Car contracl to tsk¢ part in on-srte training and experience. lèading to with certification in First Aid and Brush cutterslstrmm•rn. The Iraining wès folled up by practul experience on a weekly basis. All four participanls passed th• troinin9 hgv• new vahjable certthcates for thair CV plus over a yr,8 VKJrth of practical •yrien¢e of slrwnmiNJ wrthin • lth¥n in a publr setting. Our hope Is Ibat we ¢an bring mre participants on to t wnpbYa.1ty le in fvture with our current members acts'ng a6 mgntor6 to now participant6. Olher achwèments include.. Continued reduction in invasive $pe¢ies Continued developmènt and Improvemtnl ol habitats Continued improvement in genwèl m8in1enare of the Reserv )01$ Volunteers took part in training courses- strynming, marine suNeyirvJ and 8eagrass survey event. voluntr• Funding was achieved to delwer an athIrtI eekty voluntew setssion., irJ SeSsn$ per week were delw8rgd Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Partnèrshlp worklng H3hnd CouTr¢il Naturescol Network Rail Poli Scotland Inverness High School Grcing Together chanty
Declaration The trustees d•clar• that thèy have approved the tnMtees' report abo¥e. Signed on behalf ol thè charfty's t••$ Signaturnl$l Full nam•l•l Alistair Ewan Locke PosltSon l•.g. Ch•lrl Chair D•t• -6-20zG
SC037131 OSCR R•c•l and mont8 accounts Stctitsn A Staternent of receipts and payments Ezwnd• ToLl fund# A1RK 417 ,417 A>P4yriMIK• lJ• GM1 Ind 3S,lJ• *4J• 14M7> J67
APPF¥tMx? Friends of Merkin¢h Local Nature Resetve Section 8 Ststernent of balances SC037131 b1 thihfur J6• 11.492 I1•2 31AOts D*i•r T(411
APPENDfx2 Friends of Merkin¢h Local Nature Reserve SC037131 Section C Notes to the Accounts C1 IlatLn and purpow al lundb Im8yb8 t)rt analysis ollunds workslwts) Typo ol Ociivity Oi piojecl $iippDrted HC W•rd Rob•rtsoTr Trwt He II•ttw• Totsl c Tr1•• r•mun•rat6on Authorily undoi hkh Cab Tru•t•• r•mun•r•t60n. d•tsl L4• Intyt•• •xp•rn ccffipkn cl4b) C4b Trwts• •xp•nM•. d•thi nr• r11£> CO TrnMtllons wmh tru•tw¥ and conneGted Per ¢6 Ollwr onl0mtIOn
Frfends of Alerklnch Local Naturt Reserve SC037131 Additional analysis111 T60 Tth 2 Grnr48 HC Wwd Il•t7 JJN17 241
Friends of MerklrKh Local NaturE Resorve SC037131 O nlIlIdfvd4 xw ti4id Tr4nrn*J¢tsThithJnd•
SC•JT*J1
APPENDIX 3 OSCR Cthrrty Regu1[ Independent examiner's report on the accounts Report to the Chtynaff trustteglmembern of Fnends of Mertinch Local Nature R•se RegSstr•d charlty 8CgJ71J1 nuMr On th? accounts ofth• ¢harSty for th• p•rlod P•r#)d Stsrt dale perTh ond date Month arch Year 2025 To 31 2026 Sèt out on p•g•s 2 R•sp•ctl¥• The ¢h8rty's Iruslees are responsibl• fry the preparation ol th8 a¢¢4unls in accordan r•gponslbllltle¥ of with the lems ol the Charilies and TnJst8e InsIMnI (Scotlandl 2005 Act and the trust0 •nd •umln•r Ch¥wils Accounts (Scotlandl RegubtKns 26 The chanty twstees ¢onsKlar that the audrt reqvirement of RegulatKyn 10(11 Idl of the Accounts Regulations dog$ not apply tt is my responsibilty lo exanine the accounts as required under section 44111 (¢1 of the Act and to state whether part¢ulaT matters have come to my attention. B•l• of Ind•p•nd•nt My examinalion is carwd out in aceudance with 11 of the Charities •x•mln•rfs st•t•m•nt A¢¢ounls IScotLAndl RegulatKms 2LK6. An ex8mination includes a review ol the g¢counling ler¢I6 kept by the chanty and a cfjmparls of the a¢eount5 presented with those recofds. It also includes ¢onsideratKin of any unusugl items or diK1¢$u$ in the •¢coiJnts and seeks explanations from th• iru$t••8 conc•mng any #uch mgtl•rs. Th• procedures undertaken do not proVe 811 the lden that would bè required in an audit and, consequently. I do express 8n audit cpinion ¢)n th& ¥c¢ounts. Ind•p•nd•nt •Mmln•rf¥ In the course ol my examinat. no matter has come lo my attention Iclher Ih¥n that stat•m•nt doclos•d on IM ¥tta¢hed p&381 which gives me reasonabk cause lo bel that in any matgrial respect the requiremenl$' to keep accoLtnting rfjctyds in xcordance wrth 44111 lal of th• 2005 Act and RegulalK•n 4 01 ihe 2006 A¢¢cwnts Regulalhms, and to prèparè accounts which accord wth the aceounting records and crynpty wrth RegvlatJn 9 of the 2006 AcCnIS Regulat have not bgen met. or 2. to whth. in my ¢)pinion. attentw $Id be drawn in (wd•r to en8bl8 a proper understsnding of the accounts to re¥¢hed Slgn•d.. ).1 . Hc Date: 18,. T_ 102 Name: Donald Ian Hè Rel8vant prof•sslonal quallfTr¢ationlBI or body LhaELered Accounrant {If anyl-. Address: 121 Overton Avenue Inverness IV3 BRR "PaSe de*te the ¥5 ¥fty. doapK4y. 881tyJlllthe rrth5wtrh 10 ywratterrfkn i fdknMrvJ p89e
APPENDIX 3 Disclosure section Only Compts rfthe examiner needs to highlight nthiwl prObM5. Gbv• h•r• tsri dgtsil? of any St8m* that th• •xamlner wishes to disclose