Success for Scottish groups at UK awards
22 October 2024
We're extremely proud to be celebrating the success of groups part of our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network at a UK awards ceremony.
On Monday 21 October we attended the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom finals at Old Trafford Centre in Manchester.
In a fantastic event we were delighted to see Forres in Bloom win the Town category and win a Gold Medal Certificate. Lauder in Bloom and North Berwick in Bloom also received Gold Medal Certificates, while Bonnie Dundee received a Silver Gilt Medal Certificate.
Furthermore, five groups from our network were nominated to the UK level of the new Community Awards after winning at the Scottish level.
Of those five groups, three – Inverclyde Shed, East Haven Together and Ninewells Community Garden – were winners in their respective categories. Inverclyde Shed won the Community Engagement Award, East Haven Together won the Gardening for Wildlife Award and Ninewells Community Garden won the Gardening for Health.
And to top off a brilliant day of success, Community Champion Awards were given to North Berwick in Bloom's Alex Hutchinson and Forres in Bloom's Barry Ashby.
Each group is part of our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network, working hard to improve their local community and environment. All four groups were successful in last year's 2023 Beautiful Scotland competition and were nominated by us to represent Scotland for this year’s finals, a landmark year in which the Britain in Bloom competition celebrates its 60th anniversary.
RHS volunteer judges visited 52 groups across the UK over the summer, evaluating their efforts across three pillars: horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation.
Juliette Camburn, our Senior Officer, Community Initiatives, said: “It’s wonderful to see all of our amazing groups recognised for the incredible work they do across Scotland.
“All of our Beautiful Scotland and It’s Your Neighbourhood groups are committed to climate and nature action and the preservation and enhancement of their neighbourhoods and do so much spectacular work in their communities. Our four Scottish finalists and Community Award winners are so appreciated and it’s fantastic to see their work recognised on a wider scale.
“I’d like to congratulate all our groups for being selected to represent Scotland at the Britain in Bloom finals, a wonderful achievement that is fully deserved.”
Beautiful Scotland and It’s Your Neighbourhood, part of our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network, are run in association with the Royal Horticultural Society, and feed into the annual Britain in Bloom competition.
If you or your group are interested in joining, find more information here.