Community Consultation - Where Next for Andover Trees?
Saturday July 11th saw thirty people of all ages come together at Landale Wilson Hall, Enham Alamein to discuss what the next stage in the development of Andover Trees United could and should look like. Interests and backgrounds varied, but all shared a common goal - how to develop the work of the charity for maximum benefit for nature, for people and for community.
The day was facilitated by Charles O'Malley, founder of C3 Labs and an internationally respected facilitator specialising in collaboration, leadership and environmental change. Charles had also facilitated our previous consultations (2016, 2020), and we were delighted to welcome him back.
Following icebreakers designed to introduce participants old and new to each other, all were invited to add their memorable moments - good and bad - to the charity’s timeline covering 15 years, 2011 to now.
Working groups were formed, ideas shared, recorded and developed - including contributions from those who couldn’t be there on the day - and the groups’ priorities began to emerge. Following a delicious lunch, generously prepared and donated by longstanding volunteer and friend Linda Bagnall, work continued into the afternoon.
With nature at the heart…
A further three overriding priorities were identified:
Young people, the charity’s core beneficiaries
The development of a clear message with which to better engage and involve the Andover and villages communities
Building capacity through volunteer recruitment, developing sustainable funding streams and managing precious resources
In the weeks that have followed…
A number of participants have generously signed up to continue the process over the coming months. This will involve agreeing a number of targets for each of the four strands and melding them into a 5-year programme and business plan, the basis for additional and ongoing funding.
If you were unable to take part on the 11th but would like to contribute to the future development of the charity, we would love to hear from you. Please address offers of help to Wendy at wendy.davis@andovertrees.org.uk
