## **NITH LIFE**
## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT**
We were approved as a charity by O.S.C.R. on July 27[th] , 2024. We are Charity No: 53508.
The purposes of our organisation are
- A) Environmental protection and improvement
- B) Arts, heritage, culture and science
- C) Education
Contact Address : Longbank, Dunscore, Dumfries, DG2 0TD
## E-mail : hello@nithlife.co.uk (manned by volunteers)
At July 2024 our trustees were John Wheeler (chair), Jakob Kaye (treasurer), and Sue Walker.
The board meets quarterly.
Our **Working Group** currently comprising 11 members meets monthly.
Website address : https://nithlife.co.uk
Over a gestation period of several years a group of individuals all with an affinity to the river, environment and culture in Dumfriesshire coalesced around the themes of advancement of environmental protection, arts, heritage, culture science, and education: these now form the purposes of our constitution.
During that early period, we were inspired amongst others by James Rebanks’ ‘English Pastoral’ which led to the Eden Rivers Trust providing invaluable guidance. We were also fortunate to be a recipient of the benefits provided by The Stove Community and Arts Organisation in Dumfries as part of what they called their Open Hoose Project. This project purposefully nurtured community organisations, particularly those following a sustainability theme. We have a Memorandum of Agreement with the Stove.
Our other invaluable supporter, proved to be the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, who have supported us with free administration time, facilities, publicity, and massive moral support.
All this has carried us to this point on a shoestring budget, and we are currently actively researching the most effective possibilities for funding to consolidate an enhanced administrative ability and extend the reach of our efforts.
This lack of funds and manpower has held back development of our social media offering and promotion of our activities. We are striving to address this.
## **Below is our record of Monthly Public Meeting Activities held from July 2024 to July 2025.**
**Nith Life Public Meeting Activities 2024**
|**Date**|**Time**|**Location**|**Meeting type**|**Topic/Speaker**|**Number of**
**Attendees**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|30th July
2024|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Presentation on
Bats by Freda
Sneddon|26|
|24th Sept
2024|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Presentation :
Dr. Michael Muir
University of
Glasgow|27|
|29th
October
2024|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Presentation:
Spiders - Malcolm
Haddow SWSEIC|29|
|26th
November
2024|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Presentation:
Antione Le Mair,
The Glenmidge
Burn Project|24|
**Nith Life Public Meeting Activities 2025**
|**Date**|**Time**|**Location**|**Meeting type**|**Topic/Speaker**|**Number of**
**Attendees**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|28th
January
2025|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Presentations:-
RAW Restoring
Annan Water -Peter
Dreghorn & Down
by the River - Brian
Walker|25|
|25th
February
2025|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Speaker no-show.
General discussions|11|
|25thMarch
2025|5.30-
8pm|The
Stove|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Anna Austin, Estate
Manager: Presentat
ion by Caerlaverock
Estate Restoration|23|
|29thApril
2025|5.30-
8pm|The Tam
O Shanta
Dumfries|Nith Life Group
Public Mtg|Anna Griffin
Presentation on
SEPA|10|
|24th& 25th
May 2025|All
day
24th
&|Sanquhar|Sanquhar Arts
Festival|Organised by David
Rushton MERZ &
Marion Milliner|40|
||25th
May|||Nith Life
participation||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|27thMay
2025|6-
9pm|Barjarg|Nith Life Group
Public Event|Barjarg History Walk
- organised by Ben
Hobman|12|
|21stJune
2025|6-
11pm|Ellisland|Nith Life Group
Public Event|A Midsummer’s Nith
Life Dream, Ellisland
Organised by Ben
Hobman|11|
|29thJuly
2025|5.45-
8pm|New
Cumnock|Nith Life Group
Public Event|Lagoons Walk, New
Cumnock.
Organised by
Abigail Galton|14|
Planned for up-coming months
- The Wild Goose Fest, perhaps in conjunction again with D&G Museums. Present Larry Griffiths’resume of his research
- Nithraid a community wide boatrace and toon-centre environmental event
in which we would support Eco-art.
- Possible planting of trees and hedgerows on the Laggan-side Glebe land with D G Woodlands.
We believe that we have punched above our weight in spreading the word over our time in existence and aim to continue to do so. Numbers attending our meetings, field visits and talks have normally seen 20 or more people in attendance and knowledge passed on during these events has been immeasurable. If there is one regret it is that our group tend to be in the older generations and one of the objectives of a development officer should be to encourage more younger participants.
Collaboration with other groups such as The Glenmidge Burn project, Dumfries and Galloway Woodlands and Glasgow university have further enlightened both our group and those we have interacted with.
Our group has had the benefit of wisdom or input from film makers, teachers, students, poets, storytellers, musicians, hydrologists, peatland specialists, foresters, doctors, fishermen, farmers, fly tiers, archivists, historians, architects and naturalists from all avenues from botany to ornithology.
We aim to continue to give this extremely diverse view of the Nith catchments a platform to inspire and enlighten many more of the people of the area within the watershed.
Our way forward sees our securing funding which could enable us to develop the themes which were highlighted in the report of the Ketso which was researched throughout the catchment in 2023.There is the possibility to add projects which align with our constitution purposes in the support of these environmental themes.
We have a vibrant membership who are impatient to help with the development of our ambitious group.
## **Trustees’ Annual Report – Treasurer’s Statement**
**Reporting Period:** _1st August 2024_ to 31[st] July 2025
## **Financial Review**
## During the reporting period, **Nith Life carried out no financial activity** .
In particular:
- The charity received **no income** from any source, including grants, donations, subscriptions, or trading activity
- The charity incurred **no expenditure**
- No funding applications were made or awarded
- No financial transactions took place
- As a result, the charity had **nil income and nil expenditure** for the period.
## **Banking, Assets, and Liabilities**
During the reporting period:
- Nith Life **did not operate a bank account**
- The charity held **no cash, reserves, or financial assets**
- The charity had **no liabilities or financial commitments**
## **Financial Position**
At the end of the reporting period, the charity’s financial position was as follows:
- **Cash at bank and in hand:** £0
- **Total assets:** £0
- **Total liabilities:** £0
The charity therefore had **no unrestricted or restricted funds** at the period end.
## **Financial Controls and Procedures**
As no financial activity took place during the period, no financial controls or accounting systems were required to be operated. The trustees were aware of and approved the charity’s dormant financial status throughout the reporting period.
## **Statement of Responsibility**
The trustees acknowledge their responsibility for keeping adequate accounting records and for preparing accounts which comply with the **Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations** . Given the absence of financial activity, no receipts and payments account was required beyond this statement.
## **Treasurer’s Declaration**
I confirm that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, this statement is **true, accurate, and complete** , and correctly reflects the financial position of Nith Life for the period stated.
**Signed: Jakob Kaye Treasurer and Trustee, Nith Life**
**Date:** 21[st] April 2026