At Avon Needs Trees, we are committed to protecting your privacy and to being transparent about how we collect and use your personal information. We process your personal information in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and other relevant privacy legislation, respecting your individual rights.
The privacy information on this page will be reviewed periodically to ensure its compliance with legislation and best practice. If such changes fundamentally alter how we process your personal information we will let you know.
How do we collect personal information?
We collect personal information directly from you when you contact us, register with us, enquire about our activities, make a donation, participate in an event, apply to volunteer or work with us or otherwise provide us with your personal information.
We may also receive personal information indirectly from you, for example through companies carrying out work on our behalf, such as surveys or event bookings, or website and social media platforms which you use to engage with us.
What personal information do we collect?
Under the lawful basis of legitimate interest:
- Visiting our website: When you visit our websites, we collect information about how you use our website and track which pages you visit when you follow links from our emails.
- Volunteering: When you register to volunteer with us we will collect your name, contact details, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, disability and information about your skills and location. For relevant roles we will also perform background checks. During the course of your volunteering with us we may take photos which you’ll be told about at the time so you can opt out of these as desired. Where we are processing special category data (such as information relating to gender, ethnicity and disability) we will ensure we use additional conditions to safeguard this information and not disadvantage you in any way.
- Donating: If you donate to us online the platforms we use may collect information about you to process the payment.
- Feedback: We may ask you to complete a survey about your experience with our services, which will be completely optional, which you may choose to associate with your name or contact details.
- Joining our Woodland Skills Training Programme: When you apply to the programme we will collect your name, contact details, information about your background, location and your personal demographics (such age, employment status, and collections of groups you may identify with). In line with the aims of the programme we will assess your application against strict criteria, which include prioritising under-represented groups. Applying to this course is optional, but if you do apply this information is mandatory. During the course we may take photos which you’ll be told about at the time so you can opt out of these as desired. Where we are processing special category data (such as information relating to ethnicity and disability) we will ensure we use additional conditions to safeguard this information.
- Working with us: When you apply for a job with us we will collect your name, contact details and information about your work history and skills. We will perform background checks. We will also ask questions about equalities to ensure we are attracting a wide range of applicants, and not excluding any groups from our work, but these will not be passed on to those carrying out the shortlisting. Further information will be collected as part of our contractual obligation with successful candidates.
We may collect the following under the lawful basis of consent:
- Newsletter: When you opt-in to hear about what we’re doing.
- Monitoring and reporting: When you provide us with equalities data for statistical purposes to ensure we’re achieving our equalities ambitions and those of our funders.
Under the lawful basis of legal obligation:
- Accident reporting: If you are unfortunate enough to have an incident when engaged in our activities we will need to collect your contact details.
Where possible we use anonymous or aggregated data that does not identify you.
How do we use personal information?
We use your personal information for a number of purposes, including:
- Communication: Emailing you relevant updates about our services, products and activities. You will be given the option to unsubscribe from these emails with every email which is sent out
- Volunteering: Processing your application to volunteer with us, matching you to relevant opportunities, and for supporting you as a volunteer
- Donating: Processing donations we have received from you
- Promotion: Promoting Avon Needs Trees on our website and social media platforms through photos, comments and data about your engagement with us, as appropriate
- Feedback: Inviting voluntary participation in research or surveys, and processing and other formal or informal feedback you give us
- Improving what we do: Analysing, managing and improving our services, products and information
We will also process your personal information as required by law or regulation.
How do we keep your personal information secure?
We adopt appropriate technical and organisational measures to make sure your personal information is secure, and protected against unauthorised or unlawful processing, and accidental loss, destruction or damage, from the point of collection to the point of destruction.
Access to your personal information is restricted to those people who are required and authorised to process it. Appropriate background checks and training take place for our people who need to process your personal information.
Your personal information will only be shared with another organisation, acting on our behalf, if they agree to ensure sufficient safeguards are in place to protect your personal information.
We will not transfer personal information to countries outside the European Economic Area unless appropriate safeguards are in place, your individual rights are enforceable with effective legal remedies and you are informed.
How long do we keep your personal information?
While you are actively engaged with Avon Needs Trees we will retain your personal information. Beyond that, we will generally keep your personal information for up to four years. We will remove your personal information earlier if it is no longer required, we no longer have a lawful basis for processing it, or you ask us to remove it. We will keep it longer if we are legally required to do so.
As an employee a minimal level of personal information is required by law to be kept for up to seven years.
If you unsubscribe from e-newsletters, minimal personal information will be kept on a suppression list to ensure you do not receive such communications in the future.
Do we share your personal information?
We will never sell your personal information to any third parties.
Information that we may share with the public will be to promote Avon Needs Trees in print, online and in the media. You will be given the option to opt-out, or restrict the use of, of any such publicity.
We may share your personal information with our partners when appropriate and you will be informed of this at the time.
Your information will be shared with third parties acting on our behalf only when strictly necessary.
We will share your personal information when legally required to do so.
What do your rights look like in practice?
Your personal information belongs to you. You have rights over how we use your personal information:
- the right to be informed
- the right of access
- the right to rectification
- the right to erasure
- the right to restrict processing
- the right to data portability
- the right to object
At Avon Needs Trees we don’t carry out any automated decision making or profiling.
For further information about your rights, and when they apply, see the Information Commissioner’s Office website: ico.org.uk/your-data-matters
If any of your details change or need correcting, or you would like to request to see personal information we hold about you please email contact@avonneedstrees.org.uk
You may unsubscribe from Avon Needs Trees electronic communications at any time, by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails or responding with an “unsubscribe” email response.
If you are unhappy with our use of your personal information, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would encourage you to contact us (see below) in the first instance so we can attempt to resolve any concerns.
Contact us
If you have any questions, comments or feedback about how we use your personal information, or would like to exercise your rights, then please contact our Data Protection Lead on contact@avonneedstrees.org.uk
This privacy information was issued in September 2023, and has a review date of September 2024. This information will still apply beyond the review date, until the next version is issued.
