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 merki￿h L(Kal Nature Reser¥
SC037131
30 Grant Str￿1
Invefness
P￿t¢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 I￿1 rwi$lett•r
v*tsn required.
Objectives and activities
Charfl•bl• purpo
T￿ pro)Klti) and d￿￿￿ent c4 the Merkinch L￿81 Nature Reserve.
Summary of th• maln actlvllhes
In r•lation to th•6• obJ￿ts
Carying r*Jl the routine Ca￿ and maintenance of the Merkinch Local
Nature Rv￿r¥¢ lo protect and preaerve the thal environment to Create
p*e where people and wikllrfe Collextsl to each other'$ m￿u31 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 prOj￿t 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 N*ur¥ Reserve.
Increased learning opk￿rtUnrt￿s 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 In￿me$S area. as V*P are a wmmunty which hist1￿cal￿ has suffèred from discrimination and
stlgmatisation. It will •n9•nd•r a $•n$• of prwh and own•rÈhip for 11x￿1 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$1 posrtive and valuable exper￿￿Ce with us wh￿h will be benef￿la1 to other aspects of their lives.
We particularly wanted to focus on re¥hing pe¢pte who are marginaltsed, experieThciw k)ng temi health conditK)n8
and are suffering from k)nelingss and social tsolation which wè know has a very detrimental 8ff￿t on p￿pIe,$ h08tth.
We focussed partICu￿rIY on young pecyle aged 18 10 24 ￿arS and pewje over SO Y￿rS as feedback from our lo¢¥1
Job Centre Shows that currentw ¢ohorts afe experiencing hKJh levels of unempkJym&nt and mental h￿tth issues.
During the rwrting pfrr￿ delNered wo8kty semi￿$. on Tuesdays oTrJ Thursdays fvom 10.008m lo l.00pm.
All activities were delNered in th• Nalure Reservè by a quaIff￿d and exFerienced project leader working on 8 sell-
employed basis.
A¢tivrtits8 included..
Maintaining and exlendiro Ihe me•Jow, orchard aThJ fl¢wer beds
Planting and lookiThJ after native Irtse speC￿S
Tf8nspl8nlino saolings and Installing tree oug(d8
Painting ben¢h&s and picnK tables
Remov81 of invasive species such a$ $n¢)%thry. Michaeknas daisy and tsnsy
Maintaining th8 ne￿rk of paths IresurfacirvJ. filling In potholes. repairing thg edging, Cutting back
en¢ioaching Vegetal￿1￿)
Slrimming in all oras$￿ artas nfthft
Maintaining and repairiNJ thè wrthen Bowthvalk
Lrtter P￿kS
Cleaning and maintaining tcds and fjquyment
Carrying c4Jt boach ¢lean$
Quarterly meetings ol the working group sel up to cons¥Jèr opti￿5 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￿$S1￿j anti4ocial issuey in the Reserve
- drug dealing, motor bikes Inotse arKI speeding) and vandalwn.
A lot81 of 35 volunteers took part in weekty Sess￿n$ 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 m￿geMEnt 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 chaI￿r￿JeS in their lives

Fctussed on leaming ab)ut Mthinch L￿al Nature ReseNe, green spa￿. nature and the environment
Buikling skills and confidence. create 8ttematNe leaming cyportunit￿S and increasg destin*'on$ lor
margin81ised young people.
Improving heatth and Well-￿in9- thèrè 4$ a grcythng rTwtsI heath crists and a need for prOgr￿me$ which
improve both rrentsl and physrAI ￿arth for young pec¢$￿.
Developing awareness and understanding - many young people are swnpty not aware of bcal greenspa
and the cpportunrt*s and beneffts they can bn.￿J.
Project activrties look pia¢e weekty on Wednesdays from 10.CK)am lo 1.00pm durin9 lemi tmo.
A lotsl 0132 young people twk part in the project durin9 Ihe reportirtg pwiod.
Activities Included..
Biids and animals- id&ntfying wildlrfe u*ng t￿line resources and reference book$, recordirvJ wldlrfe $ighling$,
looking for animal tracks aTrJ si9ll3
Removal and management of invasNe $pe¢ies. printyalty Mthelmas daishw and snchvberry
Planting and loc*ing 8ftw a onge of native trees
Managing the wiklflower meadow
Leaming atr*)ut biodiveisty and imwIan￿ of bc*ing after OUT environmgnt 9rfjgn spaces
Rernovlng Imier so inai rt ttoesnl Polluie or cause Injury To numans an￿Or wlkll
Astronomy- intrc#JuctKJn to the nght sky. tides. etc.
8iokJgy- lrfecyd&$. h&)Itats, clas5ifrAtion of spec
Some thoughts from ow Lead Project Wots..
A huge success over the last year 1$ the Intr￿j￿¢t1￿ of the Maintenance Team to Merkinch LNR, born out of the nead
lo comp￿te basi¢ $eNi¢ing on the reserve {e￿aring Palh￿paintIng 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 Ik*ng-tsm unempby•Jlre¢o¥ery frcm
addi¢tionln*ntal heatth Issues} with a C￿ar contracl to tsk¢ part in on-srte training and experience. lèading to with
certification in First Aid and Brush cutterslstrmm•rn. The Iraining wès foll￿ed up by practul experience on a weekly
basis.
All four participanls passed th• troinin9 hgv• new vahjable certthcates for thair CV plus over a y￿r,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 $pe¢ies
Continued developmènt and Improvemtnl ol habitats
Continued improvement in genwèl m8in1enar￿e of the Reserv
)01$
Volunteers took part in training courses- strynming, marine suNeyirvJ and 8eagrass survey event.
volunt￿r•
Funding was achieved to delwer an athIrt*￿I *eekty voluntew setssion., i*rJ SeSs￿n$ per week were delw8rgd
Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Partnèrshlp worklng
H￿3h￿nd CouTr¢il
Naturescol
Network Rail
Poli￿ Scotland
Inverness High School
Grc￿ing 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•
ToL*l 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
I￿1•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￿ Tr￿1•• r•mun•rat6on
Authorily undoi *hkh
Cab Tru•t•• r•mun•r•t60n.
d•tsl
L4• Intyt•• •xp•rn
ccffipkn ￿cl￿4b)
C4b Trwts• •xp•nM•.
d•thi
nr•
r￿11£>
CO Tr*nMtllons wmh tru•tw¥
and conneGted Per￿
¢6 Ollwr onl0m￿tIOn

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 ￿n￿lI￿lIdfv￿d4
x*w
ti4id
Tr4n*rn*J¢tsThithJnd•

SC•JT*J1

APPENDIX 3
OSCR
Cthrrty Regu￿1[￿
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Report to the Chtynaff
trustteglmembern of Fnends of Mertinch Local Nature R•se
RegSst*r•d charlty 8CgJ71J1
nuM￿r
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 In￿sIM￿nI (Scotlandl 2005 Act and the
trust0￿ •nd •umln•r Ch¥wil*s Accounts (Scotlandl RegubtK*ns 2￿6 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 le￿r¢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$t••8 conc•m*ng any #uch mgtl•rs. Th•
procedures undertaken do not proV￿e 811 the ￿lden￿ that would bè required in an audit
and, consequently. I do express 8n audit cpinion ¢)n th& ¥c¢ounts.
Ind•p•nd•nt •Mmln•rf¥ In the course ol my examinat￿. no matter has come lo my attention Iclher Ih¥n that
stat•m•nt doclos•d on IM ¥tta¢hed p&381
which gives me reasonabk cause lo bel￿* that in any matgrial respect the
requiremenl$'
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
Regvlat*Jn 9 of the 2006 AcC￿nIS 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
"P￿aSe de*te the ¥￿5 ¥fty. doapK4y. 881tyJlllthe rrth5wtrh 10 ywratterrfkn i
fdknMrvJ p89e

APPENDIX 3
Disclosure section
Only Comp￿ts rfthe examiner needs to highlight nthiwl prOb￿M5.
Gbv• h•r• tsri￿ dgtsil? of
any St8m* that th•
•xamlner wishes to
disclose