At this year’s AGM we welcomed two new Trustees, said goodbye to two long standing members of staff, Sue Brain and Glynis Powell and welcomed a new leader, Oliver Pickering.
350 years is a long time for a garden to exist, ironically change and renewal are all part of keeping a garden consistently healthy and refreshed. Since the Governance Review in 2023-2024 the Trustee Board has been able to continue developing and strengthening its skills and relevant experiences in order to meet the Gardens Trust’s current and future ambitions. This year we welcome two new Trustees: Mike Ruff and Ellie Lovell. Their experiences will be of great help to us… Please see below for more about them
Since the last AGM, two of the long serving staff members have also stepped down. Sue Brain, for more than 20 years the face, dynamo and ‘soul-keeper’ of the Gardens stepped down and retired in November.
For most volunteers and many visitors, Sue Brain has been a ‘constant’ and the ‘go to’ fount of knowledge at the Gardens. The original problem-solving-mother-figure, no task was too small nor too inconvenient for her to take up and implement. Quietly and consistently concerned for everybody’s wellbeing, she made sure everyone was remembered and supported. She set the tone for the rest of us; if a task needs doing, just do it.
Although originally given the title of Administrator, Sue has been so much more to the Gardens, she really has been the person who has kept it going; day to day and year by year… for decades. She is missed but we know she deserves her retirement…
Completing the transformation this year is the news that Glynis Powell, General Manager for the last 14 years, is stepping away into retirement and Oliver Pickering, who for the last four years has been the Parkland and Outdoor Families Manager has been promoted to be the new ‘CEO’ for the Trust.
In its 350 year history these gardens have been looked after and nurtured by many hundreds of individuals. The range of roles fulfilled by those ‘history and nature stewards’ since the 1980s, when this Charitable Trust was formed, is surprisingly varied. Those with gardening skills have always been with us of course and in this century, the need for fundraising, management and audience development and visitor service skills has crescendoed.
During my mere 14 years here, it has been my pleasure and privilege to steer and guide the overall management development and wider opening up of the Gardens. Thank you for allowing me to be part of the life of this absolutely wonderful project. We know that everyone falls in love with Gardens and I’m no exception to that and I’m grateful to have been part of its story and hope that I’ve added to both its long-term survival and to the enjoyment of the people who work, play and visit here.
When I arrived in 2014 I ‘inherited’ a most amazing restoration and was, every day, grateful for the thirty years of expertise and graft that had already been expended on the protected nationally significant garden. That Garden was also accompanied by a bunch of dedicated, loyal and skilled volunteers and members. Then as now, the one could not survive without the other.
However, back then, less attention had been paid to the longer-term sustainability of the business model, who the audience should and could be and how to get them to come and visit. In an early presentation I made to the Parish Council, I recall showing a photo of a beautiful, but empty garden and followed by a photo of a family picnicking here. Picnicking and families in general seemed to be regarded with suspicion and largely frowned upon at the time.
I am pleased to have succeeded in reversing that attitude and in the process, we have gone from around 7000 visitors to now regularly welcoming over 21,000 users and visitors each year. Since 2018 we have not had the benefit of regular, year on year, grant support, so our financial sustainability heavily relies on visitors their spend and their loyalty.
But it’s not all about money, we realise that sharing the beauty and benefits of this green space also builds loyalty, love and care from all our neighbouring communities and strengthens our position as a tourist attraction regionally to boot. I am proud, and continue to be in awe, of the staff and the volunteers who, imbued with the innate ‘spirit of the gardens’ really has created a strong and open place of welcome to all.
I know that under the new leadership this warm and welcoming approach will continue – the hashtag we use as a subline says it all #wegrowtogether.
Those who may have dipped into the Annual Reports over the years will notice that cracking the finance nut is still pretty tough. I arrived in 2014 on the understanding that there was three years funding for my post alongside a small regular grant from Solihull Council to support the work. I thought managing a four-year turnaround would be sufficient. However, ten months into the post I was told that the funding wasn’t forthcoming after all. So, fundraising became a much larger part of my workload. In my time here, with a lot of help from many others, we have brought in over £1.2 million of grants and donations to support the work.
Naturally, it’s still not enough and raising funds is definitely getting tougher. With the plans for extensive new buildings both revenue and large capital fundraising campaigns will be needed, it will be tough but Ollie alongside, our freelance fundraiser Rachel, definitely have good plans for the future and I’m confident Gardens are in good…and much younger and energetic…. hands
In conclusion I will quote from Nicholas Serota, who recently stood down as head of the Arts Council, it surprisingly parallels my own experience.
Paraphrasing: “over the last decade we have navigated periods of significant change and uncertainty including a global pandemic, economic challenges and shifts in the way people engage with culture. Through it all, the creativity, resilience and ambition of the sector have been extraordinary.”
Talking of his successor Serota says which I will also echo “I’m confident that under his stewardship the organisation will thrive, and the sector (Gardens) will flourish.”
New Trustees
Ellie Lovell
Ellie has deep family and childhood connections to Castle Bromwich and still lives close by. With a long history in marketing and communications in the education and non-profit sector she also has experience in strategic oversight and change. Coupled with knowledge and love of the outdoors she hopes to bring her collaborative and solutions focussed approach to support the Trust’s governing Board.
Mike Ruff
Mike is an HR specialist with high level and varied operational experience across a number of local companies. Most recently he has been part of the Solihull based Family Care Trust, basing himself at their Care Farm at Catherine de Barnes. Joining our Trust at a time of change and forward development, his experience will support new management structures and policy environments that the Trust is entering.