Keep Scotland Beautiful Award Ceremony

Community groups, local authorities and businesses from across Scotland gathered on Wednesday 14 September at the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom to celebrate the 50th annual Beautiful Scotland Awards, organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful.

A ceremony which celebrated 50 years of Beautiful Scotland and one where East Lothian towns scooped key awards.

• NorthBerwick in Bloom scooped the prestigious top award, the Rosebowl for the third time, (more information separately posting)  in recognition of its work in almost every corner of the town. The group also received a Gold Award and was named as the Coastal Town Category overall winner. North Berwick in Bloom’s initiatives have been highly commended. From taking steps to be more environmentally friendly to actively involving the wider community and supporting the business community. As a result there is widespread recognition locally of the benefits that the group brings to the local area and the economy.

Other East Lothian award winners were:

• Blooming Haddington – Gold Award
• Dunbar in Bloom – Silver Gilt Award

East Lothian Council also received the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Trophy recognising its ongoing work to improve the quality of the environment for visitors and residents alike.

At the ceremony there were twelve category winners, with additional Discretionary Awards and the overall Rosebowl Award, at the ceremony. All entries were assessed against the three core pillars of the Beautiful Scotland campaign – Horticultural Achievement; Environmental Responsibility and Community Participation.  The full list of Beautiful Scotland awards winners is available on the Keep Scotland Beautiful website

The event, which brought almost 300 delegates from across Scotland together in Aberdeen to receive their awards, from George Anderson Honorary President of The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.

Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, commented:
“I would like to congratulate all of the Beautiful Scotland 2016 award winners. Quality local environments are vital to vibrant communities and good for business – helping to nurture respect for local places and improve wellbeing.  “All our Beautiful Scotland entrants have committed a lot of their own time and energy to make sure that Scotland’s outdoor spaces are kept clean, green and beautiful. The Beautiful Scotland awards ceremony provides the opportunity to showcase the role that they have played in making a difference. It is vital that we reward their efforts and celebrate their achievements.”
David Knott, President of The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society said:
“The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society is delighted to support the award to the local authority that demonstrates the highest quality of horticultural standards in public open spaces. I have seen for myself the quality of the horticultural displays across East Lothian, they create a wonderful feel good factor and have such positive benefits on the health and well-being of local people and visitors alike. This award is well deserved and recognises all the time, effort and skills that council staff, working in partnership with teams of volunteers, put in to create these wonderful displays.”
Beautiful Scotland is managed by Keep Scotland Beautiful, a member of the RHS Bloom Federation. Entrants are judged by a team of expert volunteer judges on their year-round achievements. Awards are presented to a range of local authorities and communities who have achieved the highest scores in their categories, with Discretionary Awards given to those who demonstrate excellence in their commitment to the campaign. Some of the winners will go on to represent Scotland in UK RHS Britain in Bloom in 2016.