The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 November 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued in January 2015.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
Wild Things Environmental Education in Action offers a variety of inspiring wilderness and nature experiences for all ages and abilities, regardless of learning challenges, physical or financial difficulties. Our aims are to:
Provide socially inclusive opportunities to access the natural environment;
Inspire and motivate people to take pride in and ownership of their natural heritage;
Improve the health and wellbeing within communities by therapeutic activities and interaction with nature;
Deliver skill to increase environmental responsibility and change behaviour;
Offer a new approach to learning for young people struggling in mainstream education that builds confidence, skills and self-esteem;
Provide accredited training that empowers others to deliver outdoor and environmental learning in their own professional and personal contexts;
Provide learning opportunities, inspiration and routes for people to get involved in natural heritage and conservation volunteering.
2023 has been a record-breaking year for Wild Things in which the organisation has rebounded from the various challenges of the cost-of-living crisis and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Typically, Wild Things reaches approximately 1,000 - 1,200 participants per year, however, in 2023, the organisation set a new record of over 1,700 participants. Despite this, we are well aware of the continuing challenges faced by our communities, particularly with regard to exacerbated levels of poverty, lack of access to activities for young people, lack of transport and widespread funding cuts to public sector bodies. All this has increased community reliance on charitable work taking place in our communities and Wild Things is proud to have scaled-up its work to meet the increasing demand for our services.
As in previous years, Wild Things work has focused on the delivery of the Silver Saplings project,a suite of intergenerational and community-focused health and wellbeing programmes, encompassing all age-groups in communities across the north-east of Scotland. This project has enabled us to work with primary and secondary schools, adult wellbeing groups, older people living independently as well as the residents of care homes.
In addition to this, Wild Things has continued to deliver its rewilding project, restoring large swathes of the lower Findhorn River and bay by removing an acute infestation of invasive non-native species, including giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed. This work continues to make significant improvements to the habitat and we have documented a myriad of native species recolonising the riparian woodland and creating a more biodiverse habitat for the insects, plants and animals at the foundation of a rich ecosystem.
In line with this important restoration work, Wild Things partnered with the Findhorn Watershed Initiative to deliver a wide range of community outreach programmes designed to engage local communities with the river ecosystem from source-to-sea, improving nature-connectedness and wellbeing.
In 2023 we continued to develop our accredited training services, creating a new website and further developing the eO-learning functionalities we had designed in previous years. Wild Things has since converted its popular Woodland Activity Leader Training course into a hybrid online and in-person course. In addition to this,Wild Things began work on the development of new e-learning training courses to develop our suite of online training courses. Wild Things training courses continue to empower educators and environmental enthusiasts alike to gain qualifications, confidence and inspiration to deliver more outdoor and environmental learning in their own contexts.
During the year, the following activities were carried out between 1/12/22 - 30/11/23:
Adult wellbeing programmes: 631 participants
Growing Wild and Well for Teenagers: 97 participants
Little Saplings outdoor programmes for
children: 1,007 participants
Accreditations provided: 100 certifications
John Muir Awards issued: 223 awards
During the year the charity received funding, donations and participant income totaling £368,076. Total expenditure for the year was £290,187, which resulted in a net surplus for the year of £77,889. This surplus is accounted for, primarily by the purchase of two new vehicles, a new accessibility minibus and a van, both of which contributed significantly towards the organisation's assets.
The Management Committee has examined the charity's requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the organisation. There is currently £27,053 of unrestricted reserves. Our aim is to build a reserve fund equal to 6 months' core running costs for the charity, which we estimate to be approximately £60,000.
In 2023, Wild Things financial oversight maintained robustness through quarterly Finance Committee meetings as well as ad hoc support from committee members as need arises. This enabled Wild Things to anticipate and respond more effectively to matters of financial management when and as they arose.
In 2024 Wild Things will continue its mission to provide inspirational environmental education programmes for children, teenagers and adults across the North-East of Scotland. Wild Things already works extensively with older demographics through our Silver Saplings care home and daytrip programmes and will continue to build upon its growing reputation for providing accessible, inspiring and enjoyable nature-experiences for people of all ages and abilities.
Wild Things plans to deliver an exciting schedule of accredited training courses including the development of all new online and in-person training. Wild Things is excited to develop its new e-learning services which enable educators to experience our highly regarded training irrespective of geographical barriers, whilst at the same time making our courses more affordable and accessible. Accredited training provides Wild Things with invaluable unrestricted income but also helps us to increase our charitable impact,empowering others to gain invaluable outdoor qualifications and skills. Further development of the website is also anticipated, as we continue to modernise Wild Things' digital influence.
Wild Things' local conservation activities in 2023 will build and expand on our habitat restoration project on the lower Findhorn River by working in close partnership with the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative. By working with community members and groups to remove invasive non-native species threatening local biodiversity, we aim to increase recreational use of the local landscape and rejuvenate this nationally important local nature reserve and SSSI ecosystem. This essential work will continue to enable native plant species to return, creating a positive knock-on effect for local wildlife and insect populations which have recently added a white-tailed eagle to their number.
The board would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of our generous funders and volunteers, without whom Wild Things would not be able to deliver our many charitable programmes.
Some programme highlights of the coming year include:
Silver Saplings: Health and Wellbeing in Nature
Silver Saplings: Wild and Well is a collaborative multi-year project based in Moray and the Highlands that will place older people at the center of a nature-based, intergenerational programme that reduces isolation, enhances mobility and improves mental and physical health and well-being. In our final year of delivery, this project will continue to provide an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to bring nature and people from different generations together to increase physical, geographical and social mobility through the appreciation and exploration of the North of Scotland's natural heritage.
Our Silver Saplings programmes engage whole communities and include:
Little Saplings - Health and wellbeing focused Woodland and Coastal Classrooms for primary age children.
Growing Wild and Well - Health and wellbeing focused interventions and support for vulnerable teenagers and adults, particularly those with mental health or behavioral challenges.
Silver Saplings Adventures - Outdoor daytrips for mobile older people, facilitating access to some of Scotland's most beautiful and vulnerable habitats to those who would otherwise be unable to enjoy them.
Silver Saplings Care Homes programmes - We engage with care homes to deliver exciting and educational experiences for older people in care homes and supported residences.
Website development and E-Learning
Wild Things will continue to build on its refreshed website with new functionalities and new E-learning training courses.
Environmental management
Wild Things aims to grow its portfolio of managed habitats. Currently, our longstanding habitat restoration programme on the lower Findhorn River is our primary conservation site, however, Wild Things intends to work in partnership with Moray Council and other stakeholders to increase the number of conservation sites it currently works on. If successful, Wild Things will be in a position to merge the community programmes which have largely defined our work with the habitat restoration programmes that make a genuine difference to the habitats we aim to restore and protect.
Governing Document
The charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee, which was incorporated on 24 June 2003. The charity was established by a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charity, and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the charity being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1. The most recent version of the Memorandum and Articles of Association was registered at Companies House on 10 February 2015.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act2006. At each Annual General Meeting, one-third of the trustees (or the nearest number upwards) retire from office and are eligible for re-election. Of the trustees, the ones to retire at each Annual General Meeting are those who have been longest in office since their last election or appointment. Additional trustees, who have the necessary skills and experience, are appointed as and when required.
Organisational structure
The trustees meet quarterly and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. The Company Secretary does not sit on the Committee.
Day-to-day responsibility for the running of the charity rests with the Chief Executive Officer and the Wild Things staff team. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the services specified, and that key performance indicators are met.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Wild-Things! Environmental Education In Action for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 November 2023, which are set out on pages 6 to 22.
The charity’s trustees, who are also the directors of Wild-Things! Environmental Education In Action for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The 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 financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
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 financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, 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 financial statements.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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 financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Wild-Things! Environmental Education In Action is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is The Findhorn Village Centre, The Old School, Church Place, Findhorn, Forres, Moray, IV36 3YR.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.
Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Luke Strachan received remuneration of £28,800 in the financial year.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Wilderness Skills:
This fund is used to provide wilderness living skills courses for vulnerable 'at risk' teenagers and adults, where an appreciation of the wild and natural world is taught in a unique and stimulating way.
Coastal and Woodland Classroom:
The fund is used to run sessions for Primary School children and teaches them to appreciate their local woodland and coastal environment.
Fixed asset fund:
This fund has been used to purchase fixed assets. Each year this will be reduced by allocating the depreciation on the grant funded proportion of the fixed asset acquired, to the appropriate programmes.
Transfers between funds
A transfer from general funds has occurred at the year end to cover the deficits on certain restricted funds.
There were also transfers made during this financial year between restricted and unrestricted funds to reflect the revised treatment of Leader Training as an unrestricted, designated fund.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Leader Fund:
The fund is used to run training courses to equip young people and adults with the skills and confidence to explore, discover and conserve their wild and natural places.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none)