for the Period Ended 31 December 2024
| Directors report | |
| Balance sheet | |
| Additional notes | |
| Balance sheet notes | |
| Community Interest Report |
Directors' report period ended
The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the period ended 31 December 2024
Directors
The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from
1 January 2024
to
31 December 2024
The director shown below has held office during the period of
29 May 2024
to
31 December 2024
The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions in part 15 of the Companies Act 2006
This report was approved by the board of directors on
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
As at
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| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year: | 5 |
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The notes form part of these financial statements
The directors have chosen not to file a copy of the company's profit and loss account.
This report was approved by the board of directors on
and signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
The notes form part of these financial statements
for the Period Ended 31 December 2024
Basis of measurement and preparation
Tangible fixed assets depreciation policy
Other accounting policies
for the Period Ended 31 December 2024
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for the Period Ended 31 December 2024
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for the Period Ended 31 December 2024
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In early 2024, Trash Free Trails developed the way we report on impact, making it more tangible to demonstrate how the company’s activities benefit the community. 1. Connected communities - We have fostered an independently active community, who care passionately about their trails and feel equipped to take action to enhance them. We have an ever growing network of Community Hubs (140+), across the world and 40+ ambassadors (A-TEAM). Each Community Hub is paired with a local A-TEAM member, who assists that community in the delivery of Trail Clean events. A total of 7 digital training events or conferences have been delivered to these communities - in many cases other external groups were also involved - empowering and enabling these communities to deliver their own events independently of TFT HQ’s support. Over the last 5 years, we have been able to demonstrate that engagement in our citizen science methodology, and participation in these kind of trail cleans with the right training and tools at their disposal, our community has been able to increase nature connection and by extension overall wellbeing. Furthermore, the delivery of in person training events for the A-TEAM, alongside opportunities to participate in any number of the 17 outdoor race events TFT has been present at, has developed passion amongst the A-TEAM to the point where they have delivered more trail cleans with more people than ever before. This has proved to be contagious, with more community hubs and more individual volunteers conducting trail cleans and participating in Citizen Science than ever before, directly translating to the aforementioned improvements in nature connection and overall wellbeing being realised by our community. 2. Healthy trails - We have protected and restored trail ecosystems, through the removal of single-use pollution, and the reduction of ‘littering’ behaviour. Thanks to our world’s first research into the impacts of single-use pollution, we are able to demonstrate scientifically the negative impact that it can have on recreational trails across the world. We are also able to demonstrate scientifically that experiencing single-use pollution on recreational trails can negatively affect people’s enjoyment of those places. Thanks to the efforts of our community, in 2024 we removed over 250,000 items of single-use pollution from over 5600km of trails. Whilst impossible to state whether these trails remain ‘Trash Free’, they were for a time, and as these trails have all been cared for by our connected community, we are confident that the trails are healthier as a result, as are the people that enjoy them - both those that have actively taken action to improve those places, and those that have no idea any of this has happened - people who enjoy recreational trails more broadly. In several locations, thanks to our ‘These Are My Trails’ activation, we have been able to demonstrate sustained reductions, thanks to positive messaging and behaviour science informed signage encouraging responsible trail use. These have been documented to increase the enjoyment of these places in our community. We have also begun a project to reduce the amount of a number of specific items found on recreational trails. Energy Gel sachet ‘ends’ are a particular example, and our awareness drive of this product as an area for action has given members of our community a tangible action and outcome they can have a role in. 3. Happy trail users - We have improved the overall wellbeing of participants through improvements in nature connection, physical fitness and social responsibility. 88% of participants that submit data to our Citizen Science research project - the SoOT Report, say that their connection to nature improves as a result of taking part. At the same time, it is becoming more widely understood in academia and human experience that improvements in nature connection and physical activity can directly improve overall wellbeing. Over 3800 people have taken part in our work in 2024. These benefits, whilst difficult to track at this level are at the very least available to each and every member of our community, and we can prove that 88% of them (3344 people) have improved their wellbeing and can infer through understanding of research that most if not all improved their wellbeing as a result. Sometimes, however, the link between nature connection, physical activity / fitness, social responsibility, Citizen Science and self transcendence in the pursuit of wellbeing can be tenuous and anecdotal at best. Whilst we have been able to demonstrate this through case studies, lived experience and anecdotally, the scientific underpinning that is vital to the success of our mission has been lacking. Recently, we have confirmed a research project with Edinburgh Napier University that will seek to understand all of this, while providing our community for opportunities to engage and contribute throughout - something we have proven to be beneficial to our community, improving their wellbeing and strengthening connections to people, place and self. 4. Citizen science powered - We have an academically robust citizen science SUP monitoring programme that harmonises with aquatic programmes and contributes to an increased global understanding of the causes, impacts and potential solutions to single-use pollution. There are 9 communities in the UK that have taken specific ownership of a section of recreational trail that is important to them, reporting back to TFT HQ periodically with the impact that various items of SUP have had on those places. They collaborate with a number of stakeholders including landowners and managers alongside other trail users, to ensure benefits to themselves, the stakeholders and the wider community. Our broader research - the SoOT Report - is now more robust than ever with the recruitment and initiation of a fully qualified and experienced data management officer. The way data is submitted and analysed allows integration with other eNGO’s in a way that has not been possible until now. Being able to demonstrate that the efforts of our community, big or small, have an impact on the global stage in collaboration with significantly larger organisations is incredibly humbling. It encourages people to share the work with their community, for them to engage more and reap more of the benefits available through this participation - increased nature connection, physical activity, social responsibility and as a result - overall wellbeing. 5. Equitable collaboration - We have contributed significantly to changes to policy, practice and culture, that will reduce single-use pollution, increase nature connection and promote the value of our trails and wild places. We have fostered meaningful relationships with a number of high profile organisations in the eNGO space - Marine Conservation Society, Surfers Against Sewage, Keep Britain Tidy and ReLoop, as well as smaller organisations like Black Girls Hike, Wanderlust Women, Muslim Hikers and the Adaptive Riders Collective. Many of our community share the visions of organisations such as those mentioned as well as our own. Being able to demonstrate meaningful collaboration with these groups be it through sharing SUP data, on standalone projects, shared communications or simply ‘getting involved’ with each others activations shows our community we share those passions, and their donation of time, talent and passion to our causes has a reach far greater than our mission alone. Through this, more of our community are more engaged with our work, and therefore able to benefit from the mission - furthermore, aligning in solidarity with social interest groups increases the potential for more people to experience our work, the outdoors, and the benefits that can come with it. 6. Everyone is welcom(ed) - We have created a community that welcomes everyone, by delivering accessible activations with marginalised communities in the UK, contributing to an increase in the diversity of trail users. “No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they haven’t experienced” - David Attenborough. In other words, if we don't improve access to the outdoors, welcome more people through the provision of targeted and specific opportunities with diverse and marginalised communities, we will never achieve our mission, and the number of people within and outside our community that are able to benefit from our work will always be limited to those who are already benefitting from it. Through our Community Hubs programme, we have welcomed over 800 people into the outdoors that have never had this kind of opportunity before. Either on bikes or on foot, they worked with our Community Hubs to remove single-use pollution, foster nature connection and improve their wellbeing. Through this work, we have not only been able to expand our community and therefore the amount of people that can directly benefit from it, but also benefit the experiences of those already involved - the individuals involved in the delivery of these activations all received bespoke training and in some cases in person assistance from the TFT HQ Team to assist them in their role. The expansion of knowledge through the provision of inspiration, information and tools has enhanced their experience in a way that is far greater than the sum of its parts - not only have they been able to have a real world impact on a new community, but they are now ableto do this over and over again.
Trash Free Trails works with a number of stakeholders - , Community Hub volunteers, permanent volunteers, regular volunteers, the wider trail user community, approximately 40 corporate partners, grant funders, research partners, steering group members and landowners/ managers. Community Hub / Permanent (A-TEAM) / regular volunteers Our community is structured so that our most important stakeholders - our volunteers - have the most opportunity for feedback, and whose feedback is taken into account at the highest level of importance. Both Community Hub volunteers and A-TEAMers are directly representative of their trail communities and the regular volunteers within. We consult with our A-TEAM at least weekly, and Community Hub network monthly to consider their needs and how they might be able to enhance the benefits available to them. We then constantly envelop that feedback into the project delivery of the moment. Corporate Partners Depending on the level of their support, partners are consulted on TFT’s activations at regular 3 or 6 monthly intervals. Usually, the majority of partners are happy to support our work whatever it looks like, and we provide them with bespoke impact reports on request. Occasionally, these consultations require more direction, and in these cases bespoke projects are developed with the partners aims and objectives at the forefront of planning and delivery. Towards the end of the year, we will conduct further consultation with all partners to ensure alignment to their aims and objectives for the year ahead, and create projects and programmes that meet the needs of all stakeholders. Grant Funders Grant funders are consulted at the point of application, with some requiring interim reports and all requiring a final report. Usually there is no further need for consultation, except in situations where the original application needs to change. In these situations an alteration request is submitted via a formal channel, and has always been approved in our case. All funders tend to be understanding of the changing landscape, and happy to accommodate requests. Research Partners We currently work with 2 Universities on specific projects. The nature of these is that the University Supervisor works very closely with the TFT employee, so they are constantly consulted about the nature of the project and work, with any feedback being acted on immediately due to the constant nature of the interaction. Steering Group Members The steering group have been a little dormant in 2024, with only one consultation. The management team presents the plans for the year ahead to the team in an intended bi annual meeting. Feedback is considered at the moment and the plans are revisited with the feedback taken into account. In 2025 and beyond, a more formalised process to involve the Steering groups input has been developed. Landowners / Managers Landowners are vital in the delivery of our work. Without their consent and buy in, it would be very difficult to achieve our mission! We are lucky in that we have excellent relationships with the largest landowners in the UK - Forestry England and Natural Resources Wales. With these large landowners, we are able to consult with them in a broad, mission focused nature that they are usually co operative with. In situations where they are not, we simply have to adapt our projects in a way that works for them and us. There are of course smaller landowners that we need to consult on project delivery. This is usually through a direct request for permission that that we need to adhere to. Permission is either granted or it is not, so they often dictate the nature to which projects are delivered.
Provided full details in our accounts
No transfer of assets other than for full consideration
This report was approved by the board of directors on
14 July 2025
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name: Richard Breeden
Status: Director