The ceremony recognised the dedication of volunteers working across the country to improve the places they care for. 38 groups received recognition, marking their achievements in creating places that are good for health, wealth and happiness.
Dumfries and Galloway won 4 awards –
- Small Village Trophy – Brighten up Kirkconnel (Dumfries & Galloway)
- Wee Village Trophy – New Luce Gardening Group (Dumfries and Galloway)
- Large Town Trophy – The People’s Project – Dumfries (Dumfries & Galloway)
- RHS Scotland Award for Overcoming Adversity – The People’s Project – Dumfries (Dumfries & Galloway)
The event saw more than 230 attendees gather to celebrate their success, including five new entrants to the competition. Awards were presented to 12 category winners and 13 discretionary awards.
The prestigious Beautiful Scotland Rosebowl award was collected by North Berwick in Bloom as the highest scoring entrant. The group has always set particularly high standards, having collected the Rosebowl four times previously. The group works across North Berwick making sure that the town is maintained to a high standard. From planters to local parks, the volunteers support the Council and the Scottish Seabird Centre – making sure that everyone in the local community is engaged in its wildlife and preservation.
Councillor Rob Davidson, Civic Head and Depute Leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council commented: “Dumfries and Galloway Council, along with our community partner The People’s Project, has been honoured to host the 2019 Beautiful Scotland Awards for Keep Scotland Beautiful.
“We understand, that to complement the great welcome that local people give to our visitors, we always need to be looking our best, and we know that to achieve a high-quality environment in whatever town or village you live, takes a lot of effort and a lot of working together – we’d like to congratulate all entrants for their efforts.”
Beautiful Scotland is one of our flagship initiatives which is managed in partnership 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.
RHS’ Head of Community Outreach, Andrea Van Sittart, said: “Congratulations to the 38 communities taking part in this year’s Beautiful Scotland Awards who always go all out to make their villages, towns and cities look stunning. Beyond blooms, it’s also great to see so many areas recognised for their tremendous environmental efforts, from planting and conserving habitats for wildlife to clean-ups and running campaigns to cut plastic waste.”
This year we nominated five Scottish winning entrants from 2018 to take part in the 2019 UK Britain in Bloom finals, which are run by the RHS. The RHS also selected Perth as a sixth competitor in this year’s Champion of Champions category. The competition takes place between the regional and national winners in 16 areas across the UK and the results of this will be announced on 25 October.
Our Chairman Lindsay Montgomery, who presented the certificates at the ceremony, commented: “All across the country, outstanding volunteers, local authority staff and businesses help to protect and maintain the outdoor places that are precious to us, and bring a wide range of benefits to local communities. Beautiful Scotland celebrates their achievements and provides the recognition that they deserve.
“Keep Scotland Beautiful praises every single entrant for their fantastic work. It is thanks to their efforts that local spaces continue to be maintained to a high standard.”
Premier Awards
- The Rosebowl – North Berwick in Bloom (East Lothian)
Category Award
- City Trophy – Aberdeen Communities Together (Aberdeen City)
- Business Improvement District Trophy – BID St Andrews (Fife)
- Small Village Trophy – Brighten up Kirkconnel (Dumfries & Galloway)
- Small Town Trophy – Brighter Bothwell (South Lanarkshire)
- Large Village Trophy – Coupar Angus Pride of Place (Perth and Kinross)
- Medium Town Trophy – Forres in Bloom (Moray)
- Coastal Village Trophy – Inspiring Innellan (Argyll and Bute)
- Wee Village Trophy – New Luce Gardening Group (Dumfries and Galloway)
- Coastal Town Trophy (The David Kerr Coastal Resort Trophy) – North Berwick in Bloom (East Lothian)
- Residential Community Trophy – Powis Residents Group (Aberdeen City)
- Large Town Trophy – The People’s Project – Dumfries (Dumfries & Galloway)
- Urban Community Trophy – Uddingston Pride (South Lanarkshire)
Discretionary Awards
- Keep Scotland Beautiful Award – Bonnie Blantyre (South Lanarkshire)
- David Welch Memorial Award for Something Special – Flourishing Forth (South Lanarkshire)
- Jim Murdie Trophy for Sustainability – Forres in Bloom (Moray)
- Community Involvement Award – Inspiring Innellan (Argyll and Bute)
- Haddington 700 Award – Lanark in Bloom (South Lanarkshire)
- Garden for Life Biodiversity Award – Lauder in Bloom (Scottish Borders)
- New Entrant Trophy – Meldrum Amenities Improvement Group (Aberdeenshire)
- VisitScotland Award for Tourism – Milngavie in Bloom (East Dunbartonshire)
- Community Horticultural Award – North Berwick in Bloom (East Lothian)
- Young People Award – Powis Residents Group (Aberdeen City)
- RHS Scotland Award for Overcoming Adversity – The People’s Project – Dumfries (Dumfries & Galloway)
- Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Award – Aberdeen City Council
- The Wright Sustainability Award – Dundee City Council
