Watchtree Nature Reserve

The story from Anne Cunningham, of Enterprising Communities

Anne Cunningham, the Enterprising Communities’ Development Worker supporting Watchtree, describes her involvement with the group as follows:

‘I first became involved through a request from Bill Knowles. As with all potential social enterprise groups, I evaluated the group in terms of their proposed purpose and support needs from Enterprising Communities. 

‘In 2003, Watchtree Liaison Group was the first group that Kris Brennan and I took through a series of four group development workshops, which we were piloting on behalf of the team and that were based upon Plunkett Foundation research.  We wanted to achieve the best for Watchtree and at the same time needed to evaluate the materials, the process and our delivery in order to refine the workshop process for the benefit of participants and optimise what they could get out of the experience. 

‘I was determined to take a very positive approach and to define stages and set milestones. We always recognised that the process should enable a group purpose to emerge and shared aims or differences to be identified and discussed as ideas developed.  There is always the possibility that group failure would occur in the event that emerging differences proved to be insurmountable . This group learned a lot from the materials generated and each others’ different thoughts and viewpoints and only became stronger and more determined to continue.

‘In June 2003, I agreed to assist the group with the development of a business plan as well as legal formation.  The group then undertook a great deal of hard work and negotiation with DEFRA to develop their plan and become incorporated, carefully selecting the most appropriate legal entity.  Although the group now commanded a great deal of respect from DEFRA, the group also recognised the potential to strengthen itself further through inviting individuals to join who possessed the relevant areas of specialism in environment and land management, making it easier for DEFRA to choose the local but qualified group with whom to negotiate the lease.

‘The six members of the original core group were joined by six interested individuals as trustees of the organisation.  In March 2004 I agreed to go through the workshop process once again with this combined group, in order to achieve a shared vision.  I felt at this time that the group was now in a strong position to negotiate with DEFRA, but that ultimately they still had an enormous task to persuade a Government department to change previous patterns and work with them.  Use of all contacts, including influential political contacts in support of the group’s aims, was invaluable at this crucial time.  Watchtree Nature Reserve Limited became incorporated as a Private Limited Company in August 2004.

‘I have continued to provide ongoing support to the group and I agreed in September 2005 to arrange a meeting with St Joseph’s School about website development (now ongoing), to facilitate a session on strategic development and to assist with funding information for applications.    The strategic planning opened up new options for long-term further development of the site, and the group now has relevant information on potential funders for specific development work to be undertaken. 

‘The group signed the lease in early 2006 and is extremely fortunate to now enjoy the full support of DEFRA.  DEFRA have subsequently used this as a model to work with other community or local groups, and to develop and manage other sites.’

Anne notes the intensity of support offered in her role as Development Worker. ‘Watchtree is approximately 35 miles away from me geographically, so travel to the site was kept to a basic minimum.  Workshops took three hours each, with travel time one hour each way, preparation of workshop materials and planning agendas, etc., two hours, and writing up workshop notes three hours.  Communication in between workshops was usually by email.’

An estimate of hours of support given is as follows:

  Workshops Other meetings Other work Total hours
In 2003 40 20 70 130
In 2004 30 30 15 75
In 2005 10 15 5 30
In 2006 0 5 5 10
In total 80 70 95 245

The cumulative time spent by Enterprising Communities working with Watchtree over the past three years works out at approximately 33 days or 245 hours of support .

Anne highlights certain moments in her work with the Group as follows. ‘High points include my first meeting with them.  It is always invigorating to experience the determination and vision of a new group.  In this particular case there was also a great deal of apprehension about actually visiting the site because of its associations with the trauma of the past.  It was then essentially perceived as a bad place, but I never felt that.  I picked up feelings of intense sadness, but also of the possibilities for development and change, communicated by the strong desire  in the group to represent the local community, determine their own way forward and unlock the potential for future generations.

‘The workshops were scary because this was new to us and we were dealing with something so very important to this community.  We approached the task with professionalism and excitement and felt the familiar ‘buzz’ and adrenaline rush working with groups of people so keen to take charge of their future.  We were humbled by the individuals’ enthusiasm and dedication and always remembered to thank and praise them for their additional volunteer time and participation.

‘The occasion when I was most proud of the group was in March 2004 when the 12 potential trustees met with officials of DEFRA, including DEFRA’s lawyer.  This involved a full day’s grilling to see if the group was up to the task.  Because of the work we had done and the knowledge the group had gained, they were well prepared, and able to answer every question fired at them.  In fact when there was a discussion of the preferred legal entity with which DEFRA would like to negotiate, group members knew more about social enterprise and the reasons to incorporate as a company limited by guarantee than the lawyer himself!  I was asked to be present in a supportive role on this occasion and only needed to observe the group, who all performed really well.  I felt the sort of burning pride that a parent feels when their child performs something excellently in public, which they know they have worked really hard to perfect and are nervous about.  Then to know that the group had achieved the seemingly impossible – that they would be the preferred option for DEFRA, was a very special moment.  I got a real sense that these people’s dreams were achievable. Other high points include participation in open days and seeing the natural development of the site, the greenness and things growing…  Obviously the signing of the lease was monumental and I was proud to be invited along with my new baby to the event.  The group was kind enough to thank me for my work.

‘Low points only occurred in the early days, when I was still gaining an understanding of the terrible circumstances and how it had touched and affected individuals, and honestly wondering how far this group could get.

‘I feel a special closeness with this group and to certain individuals within it. I intend to become a friend of Watchtree, so that I can maintain my interest in the future.’

Asked to compare her own approach with that of a ‘more traditional’ business advisor, Anne comments: ‘The main constraint to a mainstream business adviser is the limited time available.  Also, they generally focus on hard outputs, and so would not necessarily be so interested by the possibility of one new business and the employment of a mere one or two people.  However, the nature of our funding support enabled us to develop the social aspects of community-focused ideas.  In this case they have enormous social, economic, environmental and ecological impacts.’

Anne notes three other important differences:

‘Enterprising Communities allowed us to take our support to the groups when necessary and work with them in their own environment.  This makes the groups feel valued and comfortable with the process, and also willing to participate to the maximum.  However, this made things more difficult for us in terms of operational issues and room planning, etc.’

‘Second, Enterprising Communities is effective due to its flexibility. ‘We also had a very flexible and adaptable approach and were sensitive to groups’ different needs and issues.  If a group had a particular problem, we would spend time unravelling and de-personalising it and in planning effective solutions.  With Watchtree, we could offer a double workshop process because of the scale of change in membership.  There was always a fine balance with getting through the workshop materials and allowing time to debate differences and pertinent issues.  We were flexible enough to change the format as required and move some tasks into the next workshop or meeting.’

‘Third, the team approach was all-important. ‘Enterprising Communities benefited from the wealth of different experience within the team, and its contacts.  This added strength to what we were able to offer – the fact that we could bring in other team members with their relevant experience when appropriate. Initially as a group we undertook a mapping and learning of the sector and engaged with others on different levels to advance this.  This is why our combined experience and understanding of the sector can be regarded as specialist.’