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Proudly Supporting The Mersey Forest

Established in the early 1990s, The Mersey Forest is a long-term initiative committed to transforming the landscape and communities across Merseyside and North Cheshire. The organisation is one of 12 forests that come under The Community Forest Trust umbrella, and focuses on creating woodlands and green spaces, promoting sustainable forestry, and enhancing biodiversity.

Over the years, The Mersey Forest has grown into one of the largest and most successful community forestry programmes in the UK, planting more than 9 million trees, and contributes significantly to the local environment and economy.

Facing recruitment challenges amidst the early stages of the pandemic, and the dire need for reliable business support during a period of instrumental growth, they turned to SmartPA for help.

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“SmartPA has significantly reduced the time spent on our administrative tasks, allowing us to focus more on our core mission. This support has been crucial during our period of significant growth.”

Paul Nolan, Director of The Mersey Forest and the Chair of England's Community Forests

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The Challenge

In early 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the UK, The Mersey Forest faced a significant challenge. Their business support officer retired, and with the country in lockdown, recruiting a replacement became almost impossible. Despite the challenging circumstances, the organisation remained operational and in dire need of administrative support. Key tasks such as organising meetings, taking minutes, managing emails, and supporting ongoing projects were at risk of being neglected without a dedicated business support professional.

Why SmartPA?

With an expanding administrative burden and the inability to hire traditionally due to pandemic-related constraints, The Mersey Forest sought an effective virtual assistance solution.

Their search led them to discover SmartPA, which quickly stood out due to its positive reviews and responsiveness. Moreover, their cost-effective pricing was competitive and aligned with their financial considerations.

Ultimately, The Mersey Forest sought a solution to lighten their workload and ensure dependable remote support, making SmartPA the ideal choice.

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How does The Mersey Forest use SmartPA?

The Mersey Forest utilises SmartPA in several key areas:


Diary and Email Management: SmartPA manages calendars, schedules meetings, and handles email correspondence, including filtering out unnecessary sales pitches and responding promptly to enquiries and important communications on their behalf.


Database Management: SmartPA assists in maintaining and updating databases, ensuring that information remains current and accurate, alleviating their core team of this administrative burden.


Document Review and Organisation: SmartPA reviews documents and organises meetings, takes minutes, and provides support to the wider team on various projects.


This collaboration allowed The Mersey Forest to continue functioning smoothly despite the absence of an in-house business support officer.

The Results

Halton Bluebells The Mersey Forest

  • Time Savings: Handing over key admin tasks such as meeting organisation, email management, and database upkeep freed up considerable time for The Mersey Forest's internal team to focus on core activities.

  • Operational Efficiency: The ability to respond quickly to important emails and manage administrative tasks, paired with SmartPA's SmartPOD structure ensuring seamless support was always available when needed, allowed operations to continue smoothly and without disruption.

  • Support During Growth: SmartPA's assistance played a crucial role in managing The Mersey Forest's significant growth over the last few years, providing essential support to sustain and nurture this period successfully.

Tips for Other Businesses

Based on their experience, The Mersey Forest offers the following advice for businesses considering SmartPA’s services:

Identify Key Tasks: Start with one or two essential tasks that a virtual service can manage effectively and support them to integrate into your everyday operations and system. Once the basics are solid, look at where else you can expand the scope of services to free up even more time for your core people.

Evolve Gradually: Be prepared for an evolving relationship as both parties learn how to work together effectively. Focus on tasks that can be easily managed remotely and adapt as needed.

By following these tips, businesses can maximise the benefits of virtual assistant services like SmartPA, ensuring seamless operations even during challenging times.

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