Community groups, local authorities and businesses from all across Scotland came together to celebrate the annual Beautiful Scotland Awards.
Organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, the event was held in Haddington.
The ceremony, hosted by East Lothian Council, supports the achievements of entire villages, towns, cities, residential communities and Business Improvement Districts Scotland-wide in helping to improve the places they care for – with 51 groups receiving awards in 2018.
The event brought over 250 delegates from across Scotland together to celebrate their success and during the ceremony awards were presented by a range of dignitaries, including George Anderson from the BBC’s Beechgrove Garden.
In 2018, 11 new entrants joined the competition. 13 category winners and 13 discretionary awards were presented on the night, alongside the prestigious Beautiful Scotland Rosebowl award, which was collected by St Andrews in Bloom as the highest scoring entrant.
St Andrews in Bloom previously won the Rosebowl in 2013, when it was jointly awarded to four groups. The group was commended for its continued commitment to keeping the standard of planting, local environmental cleanliness and greenspace in the town at a high quality all year round. The volunteers were also praised for their innovation and artistic flair, with the judges noting that their success was attributable to the level of community participation and support.
The full list of award winners can be seen here.
Keep Scotland Beautiful 2018 Winners
Pete Leonard, operations director, of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: ‘Now in its 52nd year, Beautiful Scotland continues to celebrate the achievements of Scotland’s outstanding volunteers, local authority staff and businesses, and recognises the tireless efforts of communities across the country who work to clean up, green up and beautify Scotland’s villages, towns and cities.
‘Keep Scotland Beautiful is delighted to celebrate and reward the dedication of all of our committed entrants. I would like to commend all of the groups for their fantastic work. It is thanks to their efforts that the local spaces and places they treasure are maintained to such high standards.’
Beautiful Scotland is managed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, a member of the Bloom Federation run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). All entries are judged by an expert team on their year-round achievements and the awards are presented to those who achieve the highest scores in each category. Discretionary Awards are also given to those who demonstrate excellence in their commitment to the campaign.
Andrea Van Sittart, RHS Head of Community Outreach said: ‘Congratulations to this year’s Beautiful Scotland winners whose dedication and commitment to keeping their communities clean and green is incredible. Some of the creative ways that Scottish groups have improved sustainability by recycling and reducing waste, got children involved in the growing and embraced wildlife-friendly planting have really shone out – they are an inspiration.’
Further information can be found at: www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/beautifulscotland.
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