2010 The story of...

www.northfieldecocentre.org

0121 448 0119

Contents

1. Introduction

Quaker Ethos

2. Our Work

Groups

3. Gardening

Sewing & Crafts

Friends of...

4. Family Hour

Events &

Workshops

5. Ecocentre

Outreach

6. Energy Advice

Group Visits

7. Education

Volunteers

8. Environmental

Impact

9 & 10. Finance

Quakers have long held a testimony to equality

and simplicity; over 200 years ago the Quaker

John Woolman wrote against the over-

exploitation of the world’s resources. The

Quaker message was that we urgently need to

reduce our consumption of the world’s

resources and to protect the planet for future

generations.

Introduction

2010 has seen exciting

developments and huge

growth for Northfield

Ecocentre. Our groups went

from strength to strength due

to the hard work of our

groups and events manager

Jane Baker. We took on two

new members of staff for our

energy advice service funded

through Birmingham Councils

Working Neighbourhood

Fund. Later in the year In

October our manager went on

maternity leave, leaving Luke

to take the steering wheel

until she returns.

As 2010 was our second year

in operation we’ve been

continually developing our

Services, adding a loans

library, free home energy

advice audits and a family

crafts group. We also set up a

Friends of Victoria Common

group, developed our fact

sheets and web site, set up an

internship program and

started running a regular

Swap It!

Contained within this

document is the story of 2010.

We hope you find it

enlightening.

1

Quaker Ethos

Acting

manager

Clerk of the

management

committee

Northfield Ecocentre is owned by Central England Quaker Meeting of

the Religious Society of Friends under registered charity 224571.

Our Work

90247 282 316 317 333

818

1077

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200Ecocentre Activity 2010 vs. 2009

2009 contacts2010 contacts

A number of groups meet

regularly at the Ecocentre

designed to help people

share and develop skills for

sustainable living. The role

of Jane Baker as Groups

and Events Manager was

continued after her initial

Transformation funding

finished as we felt the

groups had become an

integral part of our work.

Groups

2

2010 was our first full

operational year and it saw

us continue developing and

diversifying our services

specifically concentrating on

energy advice, groups and

outreach. Contacts made

through these activities

were largely responsible for

an overall 70% increase in

contacts made throughout

the year.

We increased our staffing

levels with two energy

advisors and kept on our

groups & events manager

as we felt it was a crucial

part of our work.

The gardening group has

been very active this year

making a bottle green

house and cold frame,

planting fruit trees and

bushes and developing our

organic food garden. We

also have some very fat

pigeons so a scarecrow is

next on the list!

‘I really enjoy the

gardening group, it’s a

laugh meeting new people

and having fun’ - Terry

Sewing & Crafts – Friday 10am – 12pm

membership with new

people joining all the time.

People often bring their

own projects but we also

have patterns and

materials available along

with sewing machines,

needles and other useful

items.

Friends of Victoria Common

Victoria Common is

Northfield’s secret garden

behind the Ecocentre. We

decided to help set up a

‘Friends of’ group with the

support of the park

manager so it could be

better maintained and

developed, despite

potential funding cuts.

The group meets regularly

and run events in the park

throughout the year. Check

our web site for more

details.

The Sewing & Crafts group

now has a regular core

3

‘I love sewing &

doing it with other

people, this group

also gives people the

chance to overcome

loneliness’ - Ankaret

Gardening – Thursday 10am – 12pm

192 attendances

for gardening

209 attendances for

Sewing & Crafts

Family Hour – Thursday 3.30pm – 4.30pm

Family Hour was a new

group in 2010. It is all

about getting families

together to make things

out of the rubbish we

usually put in the bin. This

has led to some very

imaginative ideas such as

pirate ships from milk

bottles, kites from plastic

bags and bugs from bottle

tops.

‘she really enjoys the

family sessions, it’s a nice

chance for us to spend time

together making fun items’

- mother

4

Events & Workshops

Throughout the year we

run events and workshops

designed to highlight

environmental issues and

teach people how to live

more sustainably. Events

this year included:

Christmas fayre

Make your own

cosmetics

Seed swap

Regular SWAP IT!

Nature trails

Nappuchino

Film screenings

The Big Lunch

Photography

competition

Election husting

356 attendances

to Family Hour

5

Ecocentre – Public Opening Thurs & Fri 10am – 5pm

We are continually

developing the Ecocentre

and the services it

provides. We now have

over 50 fact sheets

available on topics ranging

from solar PV to fair trade.

We have renewed all of our

displays and set up a new

Loans Library allowing

people to borrow items

such as energy monitors

and books.

We have also developed our

web site, giving it a

completely new look, over 50

pages and a regular blog.

Check it out at:

www.northfieldecocentre.org

Web site receives

800 hits a month

317 people visited

the Ecocentre for

public opening

Outreach

Alongside handing out

leaflets, light bulbs and

power downs, we often do

craft activities such as tetra

pak wallet making to

encourage children and

families to reuse waste.

55 outreach

events attended

1567 people

talked to

We’ve attended many fairs,

fêtes and community events

throughout the year, giving

advice and raising awareness

in the community of what the

Ecocentre offers.

6

Energy Advice

155 home energy

audits

378 people spoken

to about energy

efficiency

Since March 2010 we have

been running a free advice

service to help people save

money and reduce their

carbon footprints. We have

trained advisors who

perform an energy audit of

the clients’ homes either at

the Ecocentre or in another

community space. These

enable our advisors to

suggest ways to make both

their building and their

behaviour more energy

efficient.

Our knowledge of relevant

government schemes,

companies and other

related ‘green’ issues

means our clients get the

best advice possible.

"I found the energy audit

very useful; I was also

given an energy monitor

which saved me money.

When I finished with it I

passed it on to other

members of the

community who also

saved money on their

energy bills." - Yvette

Group Visits

The Ecocentre also caters

for group visits from

schools, community

groups and any other

interested parties. We do

tours of the building,

quizzes, presentations, Q

& A sessions and craft

activities amongst other

things. We tailor our

services to individual

groups to ensure they get

the most out of their visit

and go away inspired to

help our planet!

121 people visited in

a group a session

3

7

Education

Volunteers

This year we started an

internship program to

help people gain

experience of working in

the environmental sector.

The 3 month placements

have been very successful,

in part due to the high

calibre of our interns.

We also have upwards of

20 regular volunteers who

help with groups and the

general running of the

centre. 4 of our regular

volunteers have come

through initial work

placement schemes then

have stayed on.

I’ve really enjoyed working

as a Winter Intern at the

Ecocentre... I met some

lovely people and gained

valuable work experience,

all in all hugely rewarding!

- Sam

6 internships

92 people on our

volunteers list

302 people took

part in our

education service

172 children participated in

our role play activity

‘Greenville-on-sea’ run by

volunteer Harriet Martin. In

this activity they design a low-

carbon community and learn

how they can live more

sustainable lives through a

series of energy related

games and role play.

A variety of youth groups

have also come to explore

the centre and take part in

craft activities. Luke visited

three year 6 classes in a local

school, taking their lessons

on climate change.

8

Environmental Impact

CO₂ emissions

from energy use:

1.56 tonnes

CO₂ emissions

saved due to heat

pump and solar

hot water heater:

1.89 tonnes

Waste generated:

107.5kg

Recycled: 46.4%

Composted: 27.9%

Total waste saved

from landfill: 80kg

Energy Usage

The Ecocentre is an all electric

builing. It supplements the

electricity with a solar water

heating panel which preheats

our water. An air source heat

pump warms the building and

our water. It is about 2.5

times more efficient than

direct electric heating.

Our yearly electricity use is

given below. 2009 figures are

shown in red.

- 3326 (1903) kWh was used by the air source heat pump which produced 7535 (4293) kWh of heat (a conversion ratio of 2.25).

- 1745 (1092) kWh was

used for lighting and

appliances.

- 5071 (2995) kWh used in

total.

The energy use is dependent

on the programme of the

centre. Since the building

was opened to the public in

March 2009 the numbers of

staff, volunteers and visitors

have considerably increased.

The rise in kWh during 2010

corresponds to the increase

activity shown in the ‘Our

Work’ section.

As one of the prime

functions of the centre is to

encourage the public to

save energy and other

resources, we trust that

our overall impact on the

environment is positive, i.e.

the resources we use will

be more than compensated

by the actions taken by the

people we advise.

Garden

During the year our garden

has developed and become

much more productive

than last year. Most of the

things grown have been

edible, resulting in good

food with negligible “food

miles”. We grew all food

organically and designed

the garden to support local

flora and fauna.

The Ecocentre’s work and

funding expanded significantly

in 2010 which has led to an

increase in our financial

activities. Some of the funding

we received in 2010 was

restricted income for work in

2011 which is why there is an

increase in our reserves. Our

reserves policy also requires us

to keep a reserve of roughly 6

9

Northfield Ecocentre Annual Accounts 2010

2010 2009

£ £

Current Assets:

Debtors 2,705 490

Short term deposits 27,802 33,890

Cash in bank and in hand 15,219 3,003

Total current assets 45,726 37,383

Current Liabilities (due within 1 year)

Creditors due 1,161 1,222

Net Current Assets 44,565 36,161

Creditors due after 1 year 0 0

Reserves as at 31/12/10 44,565 36,161

The funds of the charity:

General Fund 27,223 36,161

Projects Funds 17,343 0

Total Funds 44,565 36,161

Balance sheet as at 31st December 2010

months running cost. This

accounts for the

remaining monies.

The Ecocentre is in the

process of seeking funding

to continue the work

started in 2010 as the

funding for our High

Street Energy Advice

project ended in March

2011.

10

2010 2009

General Projects Total

INCOMING RESOURCES £ £ £ £

Grants from Trusts 23,500 23,500 29,250

Central England Quakers 23,655 23,655 10,716

Project Funding 90,529 90,529 12,301

Donations from Members & visitors 1,919 1,919 1,964

Bank Interest & other 83 83 280

Total Income 49,157 90,529 139,686 54,511

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Employment costs 38,151 24,745 62,896 34,392

For project partners 37,101 37,101

Operating costs: 19,122 12,162 31,284 6,523

Building restoration & Furnishing: 0 7,312

Total Expenditure 57,273 74,008 131,281 48,227

Income less Expenditure -8,116 16,521 8,404 6,284

Balance Brought Forward at 1/1/10 35,339 822 36,161 29,877

Balance Carried Forward at 31/12/10

27,223 17,343 44,565 36,161

Consolidated statement of financial activities

for the year ended 31st December 2010.

Northfield Ecocentre’s accounts are independently

examined. They are then included into the annual

accounts of our parent organisation, Central England Area

Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

(Charity no. 224571).

Northfield Ecocentre

53 Church Road

Northfield

B31 2LB

Tel: 0121 448 0119

www.northfieldecocentre.org

enquiries@northfieldecocentre.org

This report can be downloaded

from our web site

Management Committee

Judith Jenner (Clerk)

Stuart Masters (Assistant Clerk)

Tom Greeves (Treasurer)

Peter Ullathorne (Assistant Treasurer)

Peter Carter Maud Grainger

Stephen Holt Harriet Martin

Duncan Miller

Staff

Georgia Stokes Luke Olly

Jane Baker Stuart Bowles

Luke Pearson Anne Dasgupta

General public

opening times:

Thursday & Friday

10am – 5pm

2nd Saturday of the

month 10am – 1pm