St Nicks

What St Nicks does

St Nicks (legally Friends of St Nicholas Fields, registered charity in England, Charity No. 1153739) is a York-based environmental charity founded in the 1990s that converts a former landfill site into a 24-acre Local Nature Reserve, designated as such in February 2004. From this site it operates an integrated portfolio of community-facing environmental services: kerbside and business recycling collection using electric vehicles and load-bearing tricycles under contract with City of York Council; landscape-scale habitat management and conservation volunteering via Green Corridors York across the Ouse and Foss river corridors; a Nature-Based Wellbeing programme delivering ecotherapy, green social prescribing, and peer support groups; environmental education (Nature Adventurers, school visits, Urban Wild Youth Group); workplace mental health delivery via the Thriving at Work programme (part-funded by the EU European Social Fund); citizen science surveys; corporate volunteering days for 5-15 person teams; and venue hire of the £300,000 Environment Centre opened in May 2000.

The charity serves a diversified local customer base segmented into York residents (recycling and reserve visits), York businesses (commercial recycling and CSR volunteering), schools and educational institutions (outdoor learning), corporate organisations (team-building volunteering), and individuals seeking mental health support through nature-based interventions. Underlying operating technology is non-software and non-AI: it is the physical 24-acre reserve, the sustainable-built Environment Centre, electric vehicles and tricycles tuned to hard-to-reach city routes, and a small staff complement of 11-50 led by a CEO and Board of Trustees. Technical differentiation resides in energy and resource efficiency (electric fleet, sustainable building design) rather than any digital platform.

Its business model is a hybrid non-profit mix: a tiered recurring membership programme (£5-£50/month) provides a small but stable revenue base; contracted recycling services from City of York Council supply commercial-scale income; restricted grant funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, the European Social Fund, Aviva Climate Action Funding, and Nominet underwrites project-specific work; corporate volunteering days, venue hire, and donations/membership fees round out the income stack. The model depends materially on grant renewal cycles and on the durability of the single council recycling contract, with no public revenue disclosure.

Name

St Nicks

Legal name

Friends of St Nicholas Fields

Website

https://stnicks.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Nicks is a York-based environmental charity (Friends of St Nicholas Fields) managing a 24-acre Local Nature Reserve and delivering kerbside recycling, conservation volunteering, nature-based wellbeing, and education services to local residents, businesses, and schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental and Community Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Education & Community Programs (Junior Ranger, Citizen Science, School Programs) (THAAAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Municipal Solid Waste Collection (Residential/Commercial) (IMAIAFAA)

Keywords

• Nature reserve management
• Recycling collection services
• Nature-based wellbeing
• Environmental education
• Community conservation volunteering

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: Charitable donations from supporters and monthly/annual membership fees from individuals who want to support the organization's work.
2. Recycling Services Contract: Contracted by City of York Council to collect kerbside residential recycling from hard-to-reach areas, as well as commercial recycling services for businesses.
3. Environment Centre Hire: The Centre is available for hire for meetings, seminars, workshops and community events.
4. Corporate Volunteering Sessions: Organizes corporate volunteering days for teams of 5-15 individuals with activities fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility objectives.
5. Government and Lottery Funding: Grant funding from National Lottery Community Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, European Social Fund, and other government bodies for specific projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St Nicks is a registered environmental charity that operates a 24-acre Local Nature Reserve on a former landfill site in York, UK. It delivers kerbside recycling collection services (residential and commercial) using electric vehicles and tricycles for hard-to-reach areas under contract with City of York Council, and runs a portfolio of community programs including nature-based wellbeing, environmental education, corporate volunteering, and citizen science.

Product overview

St Nicks is a charitable organization ('Friends of St Nicholas Fields', Charity No. 1153739) operating as the 'green heart of York' from a former landfill site turned Local Nature Reserve. The organization offers an integrated portfolio of environmental services rather than a unified software product: Recycling Collection Services (residential and business recycling using tricycles and electric vehicles); Nature Reserve Management of a 24-acre site; Environment Centre hire; Green Corridors York conservation volunteering; Nature-Based Wellbeing programs (ecotherapy and green social prescribing); Education Programs (Nature Adventurers, school visits, youth groups); York Energy Advice (home energy efficiency partnership); York Open Eco Homes (retrofit case studies); Precious Plastic York; Thriving at Work (workplace mental health); The Green Heart of York Podcast; Citizen Science surveys; and Corporate Volunteering programs. The portfolio is unified by the mission to make York more sustainable, connecting wildlife conservation with community wellbeing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recycling Collection Services Residential and business recycling collection using load-bearing tricycles and fully electric vehicles, contracted by City of York Council for hard-to-reach areas of the city.
• Local Nature Reserve Management Management of a 24-acre Local Nature Reserve on a former landfill site, including habitat management, wildlife conservation, and public access.
• Environment Centre Hire The St Nicks Environment Centre, combining many green features, is available for hire for meetings, seminars, workshops, and community events.
• Green Corridors York Landscape-scale habitat management and conservation volunteering project connecting green spaces across York, including river corridors (Ouse, Foss) and beck systems.
• Nature-Based Wellbeing Ecotherapy and nature-based activities including group sessions, green social prescribing, peer groups, and skills and learning groups for mental health and wellbeing.
• Education Programs Nature-based education services including Nature Adventurers and Holiday Clubs, school visits and children's clubs, and Urban Wild Youth Group.
• York Energy Advice Partnership project with York Community Energy providing impartial advice to York residents on reducing energy bills and making homes more energy efficient.
• York Open Eco Homes Project showcasing energy-efficient home upgrades through open door events and case studies, demonstrating eco-retrofits from simple draught-proofing to major building works.
• Precious Plastic York Plastic recycling initiative that transforms waste plastic into new products, part of a global network of plastic recycling workshops.
• Thriving at Work Workplace mental health support program providing one-to-one mentoring and SME employer support, part-funded by EU European Social Fund.
• Citizen Science Program Community science surveys including Grassland Quality surveys, Freshwater Invertebrates sampling, Riparian Mammal surveys, and Invasive Non-Native Species reporting.
• Corporate Volunteering Corporate team volunteering days offering conservation activities for 5-15 individuals with team-building experiences in nature.
• Terracycle Drop-In Sessions Collection sessions for items that typically cannot be recycled through council services, including cables and hard-to-recycle materials.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• City of York CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partner for recycling services contracted by the council. The council also provides support through gazebos and other resources for events. St Nicks helps the council fulfill its environmental obligations.
• Better ConnectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead organization for Thriving at Work project, part-funded by EU European Social Fund and Dept. of Work & Pensions. St Nicks delivers one-to-one mentoring and employer support as delivery partner.
• Groundwork UK (New to Nature Programme)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperates New to Nature programme providing 12-month paid traineeships for people from underrepresented backgrounds in the environmental sector.
• York Community EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for York Energy Advice project and York Open Eco Homes initiative, providing impartial advice on energy efficiency to York residents.
• Tansy Beetle Action GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership working to protect and encourage tansy beetles through habitat management along York rivers.
• River Foss SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in river conservation efforts along the River Foss corridor.
• Yorkshire Wildlife TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on river corridor management and wildlife conservation across York.
• Natural EnglandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in understanding York wildlife sites and corridors.
• Environment AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in river corridor projects including Hull Road Park restoration after weir removal in 2020.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Wildlife Trusts: National umbrella body coordinating 46 regional wildlife trusts across the UK. Broader incumbent that overlaps with St Nicks' conservation mission but operates at federation scale across many geographies.
• WRAP: UK charity working on waste reduction, recycling, and resource efficiency across government and industry. Adjacent policy-and-programme incumbent relevant to St Nicks' recycling and Precious Plastic activities.
• Biffa: Major UK waste management company and named sponsor of the 'Collection Crew of the Year' award won by St Nicks in 2023. Industry incumbent reflecting the commercial scale of the waste collection market St Nicks operates in.
• Keep Britain Tidy: Major UK environmental charity focused on litter, recycling behaviour change, and local environmental quality. Overlapping mission in waste education and community engagement with St Nicks' recycling work.

Direct peers

• Cumbria Wildlife Trust: Regional wildlife trust operating multiple nature reserves with education, volunteering, and wellbeing programmes. Comparable operating model and revenue mix (membership, grants, contracts).
• Yorkshire Wildlife Trust: Yorkshire-based wildlife charity operating multiple nature reserves and conservation programmes across the region. Direct comparable to St Nicks given shared geography, mission alignment, and documented partnership on river corridor projects.
• The Conservation Volunteers (TCV): UK-wide charity mobilising volunteers in practical conservation and green space management. Directly comparable to St Nicks' volunteer-led habitat management and Green Corridors delivery model.
• London Wildlife Trust: Operates urban nature reserves (e.g. Camley Street Natural Park) combining conservation with education, volunteering, and community programmes. Direct comparable business model for an urban reserve-based charity.
• Groundwork UK: National environmental charity focused on community-led environmental improvement, including energy advice, recycling, and conservation volunteering. Direct peer given its role as a New to Nature delivery partner and aligned community-environment mission.

Others

• Sustrans: UK charity enabling sustainable transport, active travel, and green corridor projects. Thematically related through Green Corridors and active-living missions but not a direct competitor in reserve or waste operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StNicksFields
• Facebookfacebook.com/stnicks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-nicholas-fields

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Nicks