Annual Report and Accounts October 2023-March 2025
14 April 2025
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Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31[st] March 2025
Knowetop is a 15 acre site in Castlehill, Dumbarton West. Once a community farm, it is now managed by Knowetop SCIO, a Scottish charity, for a combination of horticulture and wildlife conservation, as well as community amenity value. Set up by the charity, Alternatives Community-based Recovery, 2024 saw the end of a three-year pilot as part of that charity and the start of the next five-year development phase as a standalone charity. A new board of directors is in place with continuity of staff and key volunteers, and grant applications will hopefully ensure adequate capital and revenue resources for a sustainable future.
Chair’s Report
This annual report is the first since we left the umbrella of Alternatives, to become a standalone charity. I am privileged to have been elected as Chair for this past year and am extremely proud of our achievements to date. Success going forward will depend on securing core funding, followed by the development of a range of post-based projects accompanied by their funding. The work on site continues apace and there will never be a shortage of valuable work to do, in the three areas of horticulture, nature conservation and community integration. We sit within various local networks, as a valuable and valued contributor to the area and we are also doing our bit for the planet. I look forward with optimism and enthusiasm to the next year.
Knowetop SCIO gratefully acknowledges the help of:
Alternatives Community-based Recovery, notably Anne Dyer and Ashlay Brown
Our funders and donors: Corra Foundation, The National Lottery Awards for All West Dunbartonshire HSCP, The Robertson Trust, West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services (WDCVS), West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) Communities Team, WDC Education Services, The Mushroom Trust, The Banister Charitable Trust, McConnell, McTaggart Construction, the family of George Elliott
Others who have helped:
Corra Foundation Community Co-ordinator, People in Place
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Board of Trustees
Manager Registered Office 1/3 Quay St, Dumbarton G82 1LG Bankers Bank of Scotland, 94/102 High St, Dumbarton G82 1PQ
Independent Accounts Examiner Accounting Reference Date: 31/03 Charity Number: SC 052876 Company Number: CS 006564
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Our Vision
“Knowetop is a place to go, a place to grow and a place to breathe, a good place for people and a good place for nature.”
Our Mission
Knowetop becomes a valued, well used and safe community space, where people of all ages have the opportunity to engage with nature, improve their mental and physical wellbeing, and grow food for themselves and the wider community.
Our Aims in the delivery of our charitable purposes
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manage the majority of the site for nature conservation, improving natural habitats as appropriate to the setting;
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develop and manage a horticulture operation as a training, therapeutic and work placement venue and as the producer of organic fruit, vegetables and herbs for local consumption
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work with local groups on site, as a means to introduce them to horticulture and nature conservation;
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secure sufficient funding from a variety of sources, to make the SCIO financially sustainable;
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deliver a range of appropriate projects on site to ensure its ongoing improvement and success;
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broaden the range of site users,
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develop and maintain a suitable and appropriate range of inter-organisational relationships, for the benefit of the site and its users and to ensure a steady supply of volunteers, trainees, user groups and projects; and
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have a strong and engaged Board of Trustees.
Our Values
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Professionalism and responsibility;
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Integrity, trust, honesty, openness and transparency;
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Inclusion, accessibility, equality and equity for all, treating everyone with respect; and 4. Passion for our subjects.
We will embody professionalism and act responsibly for people and the planet, displaying a passion for our project and treating everyone with respect.
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Annual report – October 2023 to March 2025
Staff
During this time the staff team at the project has included:
– Manager – 28 hrs per week
– Project Assistant to 31 December 2024 – 16 hrs per week
- Wellbeing Project Worker – October 2023 to December 2023 – 16 hrs per week
– Wellbeing project worker April 2024 to March 2025 – 16 hrs per week
Work Placements funded by WDC Working4U, managed by Alternatives & hosted by Knowetop:
October 2023 to June 2024 – 24 hrs per week
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October 2023 to June 2024 – 24 hrs per week
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● April 2024 to October 2024 – 24 hrs per week
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November 2024 to March 2025 – 6 hrs per week
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● December 2024 to March 2025 – 12 hrs per week
all worked at the project when it was part of Alternatives, with being the manager from the start of the pilot in 2021. become employees of Knowetop SCIO in July 2024.
Volunteers
Our volunteers are at the heart of the work we do. Though not large in number yet, they regularly give their time supporting the practical work on site and our activities programme, the project would not have advanced as far as it has without their efforts.
The trustees also give their time on a voluntary basis, attending board meetings, providing advice and guidance to staff and contributing to the development of strategy, policies and financial management.
Our thanks go to everyone who has contributed their time and energy to help keep Knowetop growing.
Achievements
We strongly believe in the mental and physical benefits to health & wellbeing of spending time getting your hands dirty in natural surroundings, for everyone, regardless of your age, gender, background or physical ability. We work to create a space where that is possible.
Barriers to people accessing good quality, locally grown fruit and veg, and to accessing nature and nature based activities very often include finance. We remove this by providing our produce, events and activities for free. We also offer to reimburse volunteer travel expenses.
Our staff team is small, supplemented by freelance workers, work placements and volunteers to support delivery of tasks on site and our activities programme.
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For a small and relatively new organisation our achievements to date include:
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139 practical volunteer sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, totalling 1095 volunteer hours contributed to the project, with one volunteer exceeding 600 hours
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110 Wellbeing in Nature sessions on Mondays and Thursdays
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15 days of children’s activities during school holidays, involving 75 children. We have had an uptake level of 75% for all our children’s activities, and for those for P1 to P7 an uptake level of 101%, having increased capacity in some of our sessions to meet demand.
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4 free public events, including a family picnic, Halloween, and Christmas wreath making days, attended by 85 people in total
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55 weekly work sessions for Community Pay Back Women’s Team, totalling 583 hours of community pay back order time
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45 weekly gardening and landscaping work sessions with Tullochan, with 338 hours of work contributed to the project by attendees gaining work and horticulture skills
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2 Corporate Volunteering days, attended by 9 people who repaired paths and planted trees
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Establishment of the community orchard – over 250 trees planted out with help from the Community Pay Back teams
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Joined the Keep Scotland Beautiful ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ scheme and improved the project evaluation from Level 2 - Improving in 2022 to Level 5 - Outstanding in 2024
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Set up of communal food growing space on ‘no-dig’ principles
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Funding secured for delivery of events and activities, development of community plots, and the project manager post.
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Development of community plots
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Creation of outdoor classroom / group spaces
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Management of fly tipping and loose litter on site
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Wildflower planting and woodland management
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Member of Dumbarton West Partners Group, a collective of organisations working in Dumbarton West and supporting the Community Action Group
What people have said about us:
“I suffer with mental health problems and was a bit nervous of going at first. This group has boosted my confidence and helped me to get out of my house and make friends. I’ve been along to the volunteer sessions too. Both these groups have helped me with my mental health.” Wellbeing group participant & volunteer
“The wellbeing group has made a great difference to us. My adult daughter has autism and life can be very difficult at times. Her behaviour has improved, she’s very calm at the group and really enjoys her time there. It’s helped my anxiety too.” Wellbeing group participant.
Feedback from parents of children attending our sessions:
“Both boys have really enjoyed the experience. Hopefully see you all again.”
“My son loved it!” “My four kids enjoyed themselves.” “My daughter had the best time.”
“I have been meaning to email you earlier. Thank you for a fantastic opportunity, all 3 children were lucky to have an additional day added on as well. They learned lots and really loved their time in nature which I really struggle to provide for them. They are still talking
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about this, and if possible could you let us know of any further programmes. I will keep an eye out on your Facebook page.”
Feedback from our volunteers
“Being able to come here and volunteer is really important to me, I get such a lot out of it.”
“Attending Knowetop has given me the belief in myself again that I can be useful.”
Financial Review
Financial Information as at 31 March 2025
Incoming Resources 2023 - 2025
| 23– 25 | Unrestrictedfunds | Restrictedfunds | Total funds | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own funds at start up | ||||
| Grant Aid | £ 10,000.00 | £ 61,257.50 | £ 71,257.50 | 1 |
| Donations | £ 6,610.14 | £ 5,000.00 | £11,610.04 | 2 |
| Other | £ 0 | £ 328.99 | £ 0 | 3 |
| Total | £16,610.14 | £ 66,586.49 | £ 83,196.63 |
Note
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Includes donation/ transfer in February 2024 of £11,107.50, and in March 2025 of £2500 of restricted grant aid previously awarded to the project whilst part of Alternatives-WD
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Includes donation/transfer in February 2024 of £92.03 of unrestricted donations previously awarded to project whilst part of Alternatives-WD
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Income from invoices raised for reimbursement of funds spent
Resources expended
| Resources expended | |
|---|---|
| Charitable activities | £ 35,669.89 |
| Other | £ 0 |
| **Total ** | £35,669.89 |
Total funds as at 31 March 2025
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£ 47,520.95 Cash at bank
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£ 6.79 Petty cash
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£ 47,527.74
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Charitable activities
| Charitable activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Activity | Expenditure | Note |
| Core costs | ||
| Rent | ||
| Insurance | £ 843.05 | |
| Utilities | ||
| Bank charges | ||
| Salaries & Staffcosts | £23,862.21 | |
| Temporary & Freelance staff | £ 2,843.33 | |
| Health & Safety | £ 303.34 | |
| Projects | ||
| Annualevents & activities | £ 567.73 | |
| Volunteers | £ 69.18 | |
| Wellbeing Group | £1,222.28 | 1 |
| Community Plots | £ 11.09 | |
| Materials | ||
| Biodiversity | £1,429.45 | |
| Landscaping/ construction | £ 14.52 | |
| Cleaning & hygiene | £ 37.61 | |
| Stationery | £ 4.49 | |
| Dampmanagement | £ 58.70 | |
| Batteries | £ 13.98 | |
| Fixings | £ 38.36 | |
| Tools & Equipment | £ 316.39 | |
| Fixtures | £ 788.22 | |
| Contractors | £ 3,216.96 | |
| Incidental | £ 29.00 | 2 |
| Total expenditure on charitable activities | £35,669.89 |
Notes
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1 To be recovered from Alternatives as accrued against Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Funds awarded to project when part of Alternatives and not transferred to SCIO. £224.59 received in March 2025, remainder of £1221.20 outstanding at year end.
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2 Fuel costs for hire van
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Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 March 2025
Fixed assets
| Fixed assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fixed asset | Value | Note |
| Tangible assets – buildings; significant capital items |
£ 50,000 | 1 |
| Investments | 0 | |
| Total fixed assets | £ 50,000 |
Current assets
| Current assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current asset | Value | Note |
| Stock | ||
| Debtors | £ 2,721.20 | 2 |
| Cashat bank | £47,520.95 | |
| Petty Cash | £ 6.78 | |
| Total current assets | £ 50,248.93 |
Liabilities
| Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current liabilities | Value | Note |
| Creditors falling due within 1 year | £ 0 | |
| Creditorsfalling due after 1year | £ 0 | |
| Total liabilities | £ 0 |
Total assets less current liabilities £100,248.93
Notes
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1 Portacabin, shipping container, polytunnels x2, timber office/ garden room, fruit cage, stihl strimmer & blower.
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2 Invoices raised in financial period of report and not paid as of 31 March 2025. £1500 for provision of services and £1221.20 of recharge for wellbeing group costs
The Trustees have prepared accounts in accordance with section 398 of the Companies Act 2006 and section 44 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company. The notes on the following page form part of these accounts.
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Analysis of grant aid received
Eleven separate grants were received during the period. These were:
| Grant funder | Restricted /Unrestricted |
Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Banister Charitable Trust |
Restricted | Establishing the mindfulness garden, biodiversity improvements, site works, community plots development |
£11,107 |
| Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund (WDCVS) |
Restricted | Deliver of weekly wellbeing sessions April 2025 to December 2025 |
£6,190 |
| Corra Foundation | Restricted | Contribution to Project Manager salary year 1of 2 |
£20,000 |
| West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) - Community Soup |
Restricted | Volunteer travel reimbursement, volunteer refreshments and recognition |
£200 |
| WDC Community Soup-Biodiversity |
Restricted | Wildflower plugs | £150 |
| HSCP/Food network |
Restricted | Establishment of community plots | £5,110 |
| The National Lottery Awards for All |
Restricted | Events and activities programme | £12,000 |
| WDC Summer Shine |
Restricted | Delivery of nature based children’s activities during the 2024 summer holidays |
£1,500 |
| WDC Your Community 7 |
Restricted | Payment of sessional community gardener costs to provide support and learning to / for volunteers and plotholders |
£2,500 |
| The Mushroom Trust |
Restricted | Creation of a mindfulness garden | £2, 500 |
| The Robertson Trust |
Unrestricted | Running costs, year 1 of 3 | £10,000 |
| **Total ** | £71,257.50 |
Page11 of11 Examlner's Report to the Trustees of Knowetop SCIO I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. These are set out on pages 4 - 6. Respective responsibilities of Trustees and examiner The charity's Trustees {who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity Trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44{1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basls of Independent examlner's statement My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulab'on 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a rewew of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual rtems or disdosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the Trustees conceming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit. and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent examlner's statement In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect. i. the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations" and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulab"ons have not been met. or 2 to which. in my opinion. attention should be drawn. in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.