Case Study
Supporting and co-ordinating social enterprise with the Woodland Trust
We have been working with national charity the Woodland Trust since 2017, supporting the development of a social enterprise community at The Smithills Estate and carrying out evaluations on two National Lottery Heritage Funded projects.
About our work at Smithills
The Smithills Estate is beautiful. 1,700 acres of ancient woodland, heaths, ravines, and moors, rising up to the summit of Winter Hill, Bolton’s highest landmark.
The UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, the Woodland Trust, acquired the Smithills Estate in Bolton in 2015, the largest site in England to come under their protection.
The Trust then secured a grant of nearly two million pounds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, in order to halt the decline of this incredible wild space, preserve its rich industrial and social past, and enable the communities of Bolton to connect with their natural environment.
The project was divided into four key areas of activity:
- Conservation work to restore the landscape
- Increasing accessibility
- Engaging communities through events, education and volunteering
- Supporting the growth of social enterprise on the estate.
Over six years (from 2017 to 2023), we worked with the Trust on the fourth area, providing targeted support to increase social enterprise activity on the estate.
At the end of the project, we were also asked to provide evaluation services, creating a social impact report for the entire project.
Social Enterprise on the Smithills Estate
The Smithills Estate has great potential to support enterprises, providing a perfect venue for outdoor education, woodland enterprise, community workshops and team days in a safe and inspiring natural location.
At this unique urban fringe location, Woodland Trust wanted to test a range of different ways that businesses could use the natural and cultural heritage of the estate and commissioned Turn Up the Value to explore and develop these opportunities.
"I have seen my business continue to grow and thrive since beginning sessions at Smithills. The Woodland Trust team go out of their way to ensure we can be catered for and supported, and they have built a community of enterprises that can support each other and the Estate. "
Amanda Twigley, Forest Frontiers CIC
Building a vision
We worked with the Woodland Trust to create a vision for Social Enterprise and a prospectus to help market the opportunities provided by the estate.
The thriving enterprise community at Smithills is now built around a core group of social businesses who are licensed to use the estate on a regular basis.
The Estate is also proving popular with an ever-increasing number of organisations, including local schools, sports clubs, and photographers, who pay a one-off contribution every time they use the site. Every penny is reinvested in the upkeep and maintenance of the site, contributing to the sustainability of the estate.
Building capacity
Turn Up the Value has nurtured these collaborations to achieve maximum social value, bringing in additional funding to ensure activities at the site are made available to as many people as possible.
In addition to helping The Woodland Trust maximise their social value, each one of these partnerships provides an opportunity to deliver social value outcomes for small businesses, working within the context of The Trust’s supportive, nurturing social business environment.
This resulted in the creation of a new collaborative Community Interest Company, The Smithills Collective, who utilised capacity building funding from the Woodland Trust to deliver a pilot, ‘Wild Rest’ project, providing much needed wellbeing support through nature connection to participants during the Covid 19 lockdown of Winter 2021.
Karen and Turn Up the Value has been invaluable to our work here at Woodland Trust Smithills Estate. We started from a zero base with a great intention of building a social enterprise community. Thanks to Karen, we have managed the challenges, built a strong network of organisations who want to work on the estate to build business for good.”
Tracey Garrett, The Woodland Trust
"Karen has recently completed a thorough evaluation on a 5 year National Lottery Heritage Funded project for the Woodland Trust’s Smithills Estate. She has been working alongside the Woodland Trust to provide a robust and engaging evaluation which included a clear impact framework, detailed data collection, thorough analysis and strong conclusions and recommendations which have provided valuable learning points. I have especially appreciated Karen’s understanding and systematic approach that has unlocked meaningful feedback from multiple stakeholders and perspectives. I would have no hesitation endorsing Karen for similar work in the future "
Brione Slaney, Corporate Services Project Manager, Woodland Trust
The evaluation - demonstrating six years of impact
To demonstrate and celebrate the impact of this complex project for its funders and stakeholders, we produced an evaluation report for the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This was a complex project involving a wide range of stakeholders, ranging from schools and community organisations through to project partners such as Natural England and Greater Manchester Ecology Unit.
The evaluation combined research from a wide range of secondary sources including ecological surveys and visitor data, as well as introducing data from primary research conducted by Turn Up the Value.
This data was gathered using a variety of research methods including surveys, focus groups, 1:1 interviews and a videographer was commissioned to capture the impact stories of volunteers and community groups such as a mental health social prescribing group.
After six years, there was a lot of ground to cover. We’d worked with dozens of different organisations, ranging from schools and community groups through to project partners like Natural England and Greater Manchester Ecology Unit.
We’d conducted our own primary research throughout the project, using a range of methods that included surveys, focus groups and 1:1 interviews. We’d also commissioned a videographer to capture the impact stories of volunteers and community groups such as a mental health social prescribing group.
As well as our own research, there was also a considerable amount of secondary research material to include, with visitor data and even ecological surveys to show the full impact across all four project themes.
It was really rewarding to collate and communicate the outcomes and outputs of this wonderful project. As we’d worked so extensively on building social enterprise activity, it felt really good to conclude the report with some of the results we’d achieved, such as:
130,000 native broadleaf trees planted
13,900 attendees at all events
70 hectares of moorland restored
6250 social media followers
25 natural flood management interventions installed at 11 locations
80 community groups engaged
13 social enterprises utilising the estate
82 active volunteers
2 new community interest companies established
184 community events
8 people employed by social enterprises
I’ve loved working with the Woodland Trust
Building social value across an entire network of businesses on a long-term project has been great. Through the businesses, we have been able to reach out to different communities and introduce people to the unique beauty of the estate for the first time. Our legacy is a sustainable community of enterprises that will remain at Smithills for years to come. That’s been the real reward!
