www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Annual Report 2012

1www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Overview

Contents1. Overview2. Year in Numbers3. Aim 15. Aim 27. Aim 39. Environmental Impact10. Finance

“The produce of the Earth is a gift from our gracious creator to theinhabitants, and to impoverish the Earth now to support outwardgreatness appears to be an injury to the succeeding age”John Woolman, 1772 (from Quaker Faith & Practice 25.01)

We would like to start by saying thank you to everyone who has supported the Ecocentreduring 2012; whether by attending events, working with us on our projects, donatingyour money, volunteering your time and all the other ways you’ve been involved. Wehave had a fantastic year and are starting 2013 with an amazing, motivated and skilledteam to continue delivering high quality community work that reduces carbon emissionsand makes Northfield a better place to live, work and visit.

Our energy advice services developed dramatically in 2012 with two local homeownersreceiving free solid wall insulation as winners of a competition we ran. We alsocompleted the process of becoming an accredited Green Deal Advice Organisation.

Our Northfield’s Orchards project has been reallypopular. During 2012 we planted 729 trees, creating10 community orchards. We started an exciting projectIncredible Edible Northfield in 2012 seeking to developcommunity skills, and confidence as people learn togrow and harvest food locally including a communityharvest project and starting work at MasefieldCommunity Garden and Allotments in September, with179 people working on site in the autumn and wintermonths.

The Ecocentre is honoured to have won the BestCommunity Project category in Birmingham City Council’s Recycling Awards. We havehad a fantastic year and are really excited about 2013. Read more about our work in thisreport and please do come to visit us.

Judith Jenner - Clerkto the ManagementCommittee

Georgia Stokes -Ecocentre Manager

2www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Year in Numbers

Our website has grown in sophisticationand use considerably from our beginningsin 2009. In 2012 it had over 22,000 visits

Our mailing list grew20% over 2012, fromabout 900 to 1133.

Contacts through our EnergyAdvice services dramaticallyincreased, up to over 800advice sessions in 2012, fromaround 200 in 2011.

Over 2012 our services have evolvedand grown in new and exciting ways.Energy advice, group work &outreach remain the largest elementsof our work with overall contactsreaching more than 3,500 people.Group

work includes our regularGardening and Sewing & Crafts groups

that happen on a Thursday & Fridaymorning. Look out for our community

gardening projects in 2013!

2012saw us running more

advice sessions in local librariesand community spaces as part of ouroutreach. We also attended 8 local

fairs, farmers markets andcarnivals throughout the

year.

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Strategic aim 1: to be recognised as an example ofgood practice across the city of Birmingham

Developing People: Without the hard work and dedication of our fantastic teamof staff, volunteers and supporters the Ecocentre would not be the success it istoday. This year we have:

Provided work experience placements forlocal secondary school pupils and run an

internship programme to develop the skills ofthose seeking employment in a related sector.

Team away days saw usvolunteering at aPermaculture farm in Walesand visiting the Centre forAlternative Technology.

A member of staff did a onemonth placement at theUniversity of Warwick and onemonth with AESS in Italy.

Our staff team grew with the additions of Kara –Fundraising and Marketing, Sunny – EnergyAdvisor, David – Energy Advisor, Eileen –Cleaner, Jackie – Community Food Coordinatorand Damien – Community Food Apprentice.

“Hello everyone, I work on the community food growing project Incredible EdibleNorthfield and assist with the current day to day running of the office. I’m thoroughlyenjoying my time here as it is a wonderful work environment and the staff are alwaysfriendly and welcoming.

With the food growing project at Masefield Community Garden I help local volunteersfind out how to grow their own food and I help out with the Thursday gardening groupat the Ecocentre as well. Since working at the Ecocentre I’ve gained a First aid certificateand a City & Guilds qualification in Energy Awareness.”

Our first apprentice: Damien

This year members of our team haveachieved City & Guilds qualifications inEnergy Use, first aid qualifications, ISOauditor status and Domestic EnergyAssessor qualifications.

4www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Ecocentre Manager, GeorgiaStokes, was invited to joinBirmingham’s GreenCommission to develop aCarbon Roadmap for the city.

Our monthly newsletter has a circulationof over 1,000 individuals , our web site hasbeen viewed by more than 13,000 uniquevisitors over 2012 and we increased oursocial media presence. We also featuredon BBC WM, BBC Midlands Today and hadarticles in Birmingham Mail.

Communications, Media and Marketing

Achievements & Recognition

The Ecocentre was delighted toreceive the award for Best CommunityProject category in Birmingham CityCouncil’s Recycling Awards 2012.

Ecocentre staff and volunteers have met an array of high profile people includingHRH Prince Charles, Ed Davey MP Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change,Greg Barker MP Minister of State for Climate Change, and welcomed ShadowMinister for Climate Change, Luciana Berger MP to the Ecocentre.

A new government intitiative aimed at helping households save energywas launched in Oct 2012, called the Green Deal, involving theinstallation of energy saving measures. The process starts off with anindependent assessment. This can now be offered by the Ecocentre whobecame a Green Deal Assessor Organisation after going through theaccreditation process in 2012.

Still from BBC Midlands Today

5www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Strategic aim 2: to be a trusted, independent hub foradvice to promote environmentally sustainable living.

Building on previous years experience we now offer a range of services to individualhouseholders, including Energy Performance Certificates, behaviour assessments,advice on switching tariffs and energy efficiency assessments. We have worked ona variety of energy advice projects this year:

Local Energy Assessment Fund: Through this government fundedintiative the Ecocentre was able to offer over one hundred energyassessments and run a competition for two local homeowners toreceive a home energy makeover. Both these propertiesreceived solid wall insulation through our partners theEnergy Saving Cooperative and The Jericho Foundation.

Working with the Energy Saving Cooperative: BetweenMarch and December the Ecocentre worked with theEnergy Saving Co-op on a Green Deal pilot scheme inBirmingham with Ecocentre advisors conducting advicevisits to 171 households locally. Many of these propertieshave gone on to have work done either with the Co-op orwith other Green Deal Providers.

Northfield Community Energy Saving Programme:working with Carillion Energy Services on behalf ofBirmingham City Council, the Ecocentre delivered homeenergy assessments to 450 households. The majority ofthese households had solid wall insulation fitted to theirproperties dramatically improving the energy efficiency.

Case Study: Irene is a resident in Northfield who will receive freeexternal wall insulation as part of the above project run by Carillion.Irene received a free home energy audit from Northfield Ecocentre.She has this to say:“The project is fantastic and I am pleased I might finally be able to getinsulation after being told previously by other companies they couldnot insulate my walls. I am a very eco minded person around thehouse and it’s great that I can make the house more efficient. I lookforward to a warmer home.”

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EcoTeams: In partnership with Optima Housing and GlobalAction Plan we delivered 10 EcoTeam sessions to 100 people.These sessions worked with groups on activities around energyefficiency, water saving, travel and recycling encouragingdiscussions and idea sharing.

Other projects included:Working with Housing Associations tohelp their tenants reduce their fuelbills, delivering bespoke home energyvisits to vulnerable adults through theCouncil’s Stay Warm Stay Wellscheme.

Birmingham Energy Savers: this flagship scheme forBirmingham City Council is in the third phase, rolling out theGreen Deal to households across Birmingham. At the end of2012 the Ecocentre successfully bid to deliver communityengagement work and Green Deal assessments with thisproject.

Non-Domestic Energy Services: It’s not just our homes that have an impact on theenvironment and the Ecocentre has been working hard to develop affordable energyadvice services for community and third sector organisations. During 2012 wedelivered assessments on buildings as diverse as Quaker meeting houses, librariesand community centres.

Case Study: MuseumsWe’ve been working with a range of musuemsacross the West Midlands, helping them reduce theirenvironmental impact. For the Samuel Johnson BirthplaceMuseum we have helped them reduce their fuel bills by 30%through tariff assessments and advice on heating controls.

Look out for our new energy services in2013:

● Domestic & Non-Domestic Green DealAssessments

● Domestic & Non-Domestic EnergyPerformance Certificates

● Non-Domestic Display EnergyCertificates & bespoke environmentalimpact assessments

7www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Strategic aim 3: to build strong, sustainablecommunities working with partners wherever possible

We launched Incredible Edible Northfieldin autumn 2012 to bring together all ourcommunity food growing projects.

Northfield’s Orchards: during 2012 wedesigned and planted 243 fruit trees and 486broad leaf whips, creating 10 communityorchards.

This project brings lasting benefits to ourcommunity: reducing carbon emissions,improving air quality, providing habitat forwildlife, increasing bio-diversity, contributingto food security and providing fresh nutritionalfood to encourage healthy eating. Masefield Community Garden and

Allotments: 2012 saw the excitingbeginning of our community gardenproject where we’re renovating unusedcommunity land to make it accessiblefor the community.

We will be creating allotment plots, aforest garden, a wildlife area, anoutdoor classroom, an orchard, andraised beds – all permaculture inspired.Look out for our workshops coveringtopics such as gardening for beginners,composting, permaculture, buildingplastic bottle greenhouses and loadsmore. We also hold regular workdaysfor anyone to come and get involved.

Other Incredible Edible Northfield initiatives in 2012 included; a Community Harvestingproject with partners Urban Harvest, a Grow Zone where 5 ladies helped each other growfood in their gardens, and the Ecocentre Garden which continues to flourish under thewatchful eyes of our regular gardening group on a Thursday.

Manor Farm Park Orchard: Daniel Bryson-Peart, Secretary of the Friends of Manor FarmPark explained the benefits of theircommunity orchard:“The orchard will provide somewhere for local

people to comeand get free fruit.Nothing will getwasted. The stuffthat isn’t collectedwill be used inother ways. Wehope it will be amajor success.”

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Travelling Sustainably: Weran a number of activities toencourage people onto bikes

including; working with Centroand SusTrans running bikemaintenance and bike abilitysessions and starting a regularsummer family bike ride to boostconfidence for new learners.

Harvest / Apple Day:working with Friends ofVictoria Common and 60amazing young peoplevolunteering on The Challenge we held arainy apple day celebration on the Common.

Green Christmas: This year we made paper lanternsand decorated the beautiful pine trees in the parkwhile singing carols. Back at the Ecocentre we enjoyedhot spiced apple juice and mince pies.

The Big Lunch: We helda Brazilian themedJubilee Big Lunch toraise awarenessabout the climatetalks in Rio andcelebrate the Jubileeyear.

Events

Green GenerationsOver 2012 we ran 4Nappuccino eventsdemonstrating the benefits ofreal nappies, and 9 EcoKidsevents during school holidays;teaching families aboutthe environment anddoing crafts usingrecycled materials.

Check out our website to find outwhat’s happening in 2013

9www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

We have maintained our ISO14001 accreditation andinstalled 11 Solar PV panels, 6 donated by EH Smith andinstalled for free by Eco2Solar. Thank you. These panelshelped the Ecocentre reduce our electricity consumption inthe latter part of the year and we hope to see a moresignificant reduction in 2013 as long as the weather isn’t toobad. Fingers crossed!

Environmental Impact

Waste

Our impact on the environment is complex. We continually try to measure theimpact of the Ecocentre building but have yet been unable to measure the muchlarger positive impact of the advice we give. This is something we’ll be workingtowards more in 2013.

In2012 we recycled or

composted 82.8% of our waste. Ourlandfill total was 65kg. We’ll be aiming

to reduce that further in 2013.

Statement of Financial Activities

2012 2011General Community Energy Total Total

Projects AdviceINCOMING RESOURCES £ £ £ £ £

Grants from Trusts 38500 38500 27500Central England Quakers 22500 22500 32500Project Funding, Grants, & Consultancy 27103 125731 152834 57226Donations from Members & visitors 9833 9833 8043Bank Interest & other 83 83 65

Total Income 70916 27103 125731 223750 125334

RESOURCES EXPENDEDEmployment costs 126470 70190Project costs 40445 24084Operating costs: 41450 18009Building restoration & Furnishing: 2402 0

Total Expenditure 210767 112283

Income less Expenditure 12983 13051

Balance Brought Forward at 1/1/12 57616 44565Balance Carried Forward at 31/12/12 70599 57616

10www.northfieldecocentre.org 0121 448 0119Owned by Central England Area Quakers, Registered charity no. 224571

Finance

BALANCE SHEET 31�� Dec 2012 2012 (£) 2011 (£)Current Assets:

Debtors 2585 5038Short term deposits 46868 41530Cash in bank and in hand 21146 11048Total current assets 70599 57616

Current Liabilities (due within 1 year)Creditors due 0 0Net Current Assets 70599 57616Creditors due after 1 year 0 0Reserves as at 31/12/12 70599 57616

Funds:General Fund 29409

Projects Funds 28208

Total 70599 57616

2012 saw anincrease in our work

programme andtherefore increased

financial activities.Some of our income

was restricted forwork in 2013. Weknow that in 2013our work load willincrease again so

we are seekingfunding to secure

this. Our accountsare audited

independently.

Find Us:

NorthfieldEcocentre

Northfieldeco

Northfield Ecocentre53 Church Road

NorthfieldBirmingham. B31 2LB

0121 448 0119www.northfieldecocentre.org

enquiries@northfieldecocentre.org

General Opening TimesTuesdays to Fridays 10am - 5pmFor group visits call to arrange

This report is also available to downloadfrom our web site

Thank You

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff, managementcommittee, financial supporters and everybody that volunteers for us. Withoutyour ongoing support and hard work none of this would be possible.

StaffGeorgia Stokes Luke Olly Stuart Bowles Anne DasguptaLuke Pearson Jane Baker Sunny Qayyum David ChapmanJackie Green Kara Moses Eileen Oakes Damien Bennett

Management CommitteeJudith Jenner (Clerk) Stephen Holt (Ast. Clerk) Harriet Martin

Peter Ullathorne (Treasurer) Tom Greeves (Ast. Treasurer) Peter CarterDuncan Miller Nigel Harris Ali Jeffrey Steve Wigzell