Annual Report and Accounts April 2025 – March 2026
11[th] May 2026
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Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31[st] March 2026
Chair’s Report
It gives me great pleasure to note that the Knowetop Project is now firmly embedded in its community and delivering a range of outcomes to benefit both people and nature.
Its value has been recognised by the community, leading to successful collaborations and practical support, due in no small measure to our very able Manager.
We continue to require external grant aid to survive and to develop, with variable success in attracting funding to date. With many grant applications submitted and results pending, we remain hopeful of consolidating our position for blocks of three years at a time into the future.
‘Our wee bit of the planet’ remains a wonderful place to visit, to join in, to breathe the air and to recharge one’s batteries.
I look forward to continued success for the site and its projects.
Chair of Trustees
Knowetop SCIO gratefully acknowledges the help and support 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 & Volunteer Services, West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) Communities Team, Cicely Transport, The Co-Op.
Others who have helped: Andy Devine WDC Community Greenspace Officer, Kevin McElroy, Janice O’Connor, Corra Foundation Community Co-ordinator, People in Place.
| Board of Trustees | Steve Callaghan, Chair |
|---|---|
| Mylene Colquhoun, Treasurer | |
| Morag Jardine, Secretary | |
| June Hopkins | |
| Mike Fitzpatrick | |
| Robert Dalgleish | |
| Manager | Claire Travis |
| Registered Office | 1/3 Quay St, Dumbarton G82 1LG |
| Bank | Bank of Scotland, 94/102 High St, Dumbarton |
| G82 1PQ | |
| Independent Accounts Examiner | Kevin McElroy, Management Consultant |
| 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 – April 2025 to March 2026
Staff
During this time the staff team at the project has been:
Claire Travis – Manager – 28 hrs per week
Mark Davies – Wellbeing project worker – 8 hours per week
Brodie MacKay – Children’s activities session leader
Work Placements managed by Alternatives & hosted by Knowetop:
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Michael April 2025 to end May 2025 – 6 hrs per week
-
Becky January 2026 to March 2026 – 4 hrs per week
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.
Volunteer Scotland have calculated that weekly formal volunteering provides a social value of approximately £1,000 per person annually. Using their method for calculating economic value the 1866 hours of practical volunteering delivered by individuals and groups at Knowetop in this period was the equivalent of 1.2 FTE, and has an economic value of £32,000.
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 are working to create a space where that is possible.
Our staff team is small, supplemented by freelance workers, work placements and volunteers to support delivery of tasks on site and our activities programme.
The ‘business as usual’ practical volunteering sessions and wellbeing group sessions continued this year. A reduction in funding meant the Wellbeing Group went down to one session a week. Activities tried by the group this year included working with a professional mosaic artist to create a mosaic table top, needle felting a variety of animals, working on the willow dome, creating folk-art and canal ware inspired art. Group members report an improved sense of wellbeing because of attending the sessions and enjoy being involved in deciding what activities they try.
We increased the amount of corporate volunteering that took place this year. Working with Chivas Brothers for the second year running, this time over 2[1/2 ] days and hosting 86
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employees who helped plant wildflowers, bark chip paths, weed and mulch the orchard. We also had Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Rangers in for a day and they created a dead hedge in the market garden, and put in the posts for the hammock hangout area.
The efforts of our volunteers have again been recognised by Keep Scotland Beautiful’s ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ scheme. We obtained a Level 5 – Outstanding for the second year in a row, and received a Certificate of Distinction.
Alongside the practical work and events and activities programme we have reached some milestones in a strategic sense for the project this year. We launched our website www.knowetop.org.uk in March, and relaunched our Crowdfunder. Thanks to funding from The Robertson Trust we were able to commission a local filmmaker to capture the project and what it means to the people that come. Filming took place during the summer and had input from our volunteers, wellbeing group members, the public and Tullochan. The short version is available on our Facebook page, and the longer version on the website.
Here are the numbers involved in some of what we accomplished:
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97 practical volunteer sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, totalling 650 volunteer hours contributed to the project, with one volunteer exceeding 300 hours;
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46 Wellbeing in Nature sessions on Thursdays;
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9 days of children’s activities during school holidays, we have had an uptake level of 87% for our children’s activities, and we increased capacity for the 6 days of summer activities to meet demand;
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4 free public events attended by 83 people, including a summer open afternoon, farm memories evening, scything workshop, and a Christmas wreath making day;
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48 weekly work sessions for Community Pay Back Women’s Team, totalling 715 hours of community pay back order time;
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22 sessions with Tullochan as part of their Green Skills programme for young people, with 168 hours of work contributed to the project by attendees gaining work and horticulture skills;
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2 half-day pond restoration workshops and 2 half-day pond creation workshops in conjunction with Froglife ;
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3.5 days corporate volunteering by 101 people contributed 333 hours of time to the project; and
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3 Community Payback Order placements provided for individuals.
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Financial Review
Financial Information as at 31 March 2026
Incoming Resources 2025 – 2026
| Unrestricted funds | Restricted funds | Total funds | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own funds at start up | £8,667.41 | £38,860.33 | £47,527.74 | |
| Grant Aid | £10,000.00 | £30,407.60 | £40,407.60 | |
| Donations | £1,964.25 | £500.00 | £2,464.25 | |
| Other | £228.31 | £1,231.20 | £1,459.51 | 1 |
| Total | £20,859.97 | £70,999.13 | £91,859.10 |
Note
- Other income from payment of invoices, and gift aid
Resources expended
| Charitable activities | £60,149.95 |
|---|---|
| Other | 0 |
| Total | £60,149.95 |
Total funds as at 31 March 2026
- £ 31,657.38 Cash at Bank £ 51.59 Petty cash £ 31,708.97 Total funds
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Charitable activities
| Charitable activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Activity | Expenditure | Note |
| Core costs | ||
| Rent | ||
| Insurance | £1,193.20 | |
| Utilities & Comms | £287.28 | 1 |
| Bank charges | £106.61 | |
| Digital & Media | £3,306.40 | 2 |
| Governance | £150.00 | 3 |
| Health & Safety | £62.56 | |
| Salaries & Staff costs | £25,894.10 | |
| Temporary & Freelance staff | £15,583.00 | |
| Projects | ||
| Annual events & activities | £2,262.30 | |
| Volunteers | £104.80 | |
| Wellbeing Group | £738.68 | |
| Community Plots | £8,009.76 | 4 |
| Materials | ||
| Biodiversity | £500.30 | |
| Landscaping/ construction | £1,577.35 | 5 |
| Cleaning & hygiene | £14.45 | |
| Stationery | £- | |
| Damp management | £- | |
| Batteries | £- | |
| Fixings | £25.91 | |
| Tools & Equipment | £48.57 | |
| Fixtures | £234.68 | |
| Contractors | £50.00 | |
| Incidental | £- | |
| Total expenditure on charitable activities | £60,149.95 | |
Notes
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1 . Mobile phone costs and fuel for heater in cabin.
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Film, domain name, and website build and hosting costs.
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Advert for new trustee / Board chair
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Funding from HSCP for infrastructure and equipment, polytunnel purchased with funds from Corra.
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Purchase of materials for fruit cage and timber to complete Logspan cabin.
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Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 March 2026
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 | £ 0 | |
| Debtors | £ 0 | |
| Cash at bank | £ 31,657.38 | |
| PettyCash | £ 51.59 | |
| Total current assets | £31,708.97 |
Liabilities
| Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current liabilities | Value | Note |
| Creditors falling due within 1 year | £ 0 | |
| Creditors falling due after 1 year | £ 0 | |
| Total liabilities | £ 0 |
Total assets less current liabilities £81,708.97
Notes
- 1 Portacabin, shipping container, polytunnels x2, timber office/ garden room, fruit cage, Stihl strimmer & blower.
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.
Signed:
Name: Steve Callaghan, Chair of Trustees on behalf of the Trustees Approved by the Trustees on 11[th] May 2026
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Analysis of grant aid & donations received
Six grants were received during the period. These were:
| Grant funder | Restricted /Unrestricted |
Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corra Foundation Micro Grants |
Restricted | Contribution to Project Manager salary year 2 of 2 |
£20,000 |
| The National Lottery Community Action Fund |
Restricted | Contribution to Project Manager salary year 1 of 4 |
£5,668 |
| The Robertson Trust |
Unrestricted | Contribution to costs, year 2 of 3 | £10,000 |
| Corra Foundation – System Changers |
Restricted | Poly tunnel for Community Plots | £2,368.10 |
| Corra Foundation – System Changers |
Restricted | Children’s Holiday Activities summer 2026 |
£1,385.50 |
| WDCVS Climate Hub Seed Fund |
Restricted | Pond restoration and creation workshops with Froglife |
£986 |
| Total | £40,407.60 |
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Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Knowetop SCIO
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2026. These are set out on pages 6 - 10.
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.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review 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 items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the Trustees concerning 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 examiner’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,
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the requirements:
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to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and
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to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
have not been met, or
- to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn, in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: Name: Kevin McElroy, Management Consultant Address: : 96 Coillesdene Avenue, Joppa, Edinburgh EH15 2LG Date: 11[th] May 2026