Beautiful Scotland judging begins in Aberdeen City
30/07/10
Two communities in Aberdeen City are preparing as their day of judgement nears in the prestigious Beautiful Scotland campaign.
21 highly experienced judges will be travelling the length and breadth of the country, from Monday [2 August] until Tuesday, 17 August, to discover which communities have been most successful in improving the attractiveness, cleanliness and sustainability of their town, city or village.
In Aberdeen they will visit Forrit Brae at 12.30pm on Monday, 2 August and Peterculter at 2.30pm on Tuesday, 10 August.
During the judging, each community will be assessed on: horticultural achievement (eg the design, quality and standard of maintenance of horticultural displays); sustainable development and biodiversity initiatives (such as projects to conserve energy, protect wildlife and habitats, the promotion of green transport, initiatives for waste minimisation, recycling, re-use and composting); environmental quality (for example the absence of litter, dog fouling, graffiti, fly-posting and weeds); and community involvement.
Winning communities will be presented with their awards at a ceremony in the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes on Wednesday, 22 September. The overall winners will receive the sought after Rosebowl Trophy and Best Village Shield, and there will also be discretionary awards for outstanding performance in a specific area, such as biodiversity, tourism, and sustainability. A selection of the winning communities will also be nominated for entry into the 2011 Britain in Bloom competition.
Groups who have entered the It's Your Neighbourhood campaign this year, will also be assessed during August. The assessors will be looking to see how the groups are faring with their environmental improvements and will also hand out hints and tips. This year there are 90 It's Your Neighbourhood groups.
Anne Strachan, Beautiful Scotland Coordinator said, "This is a very exciting year for the campaign. We have lots of groups from all over the country entering for the first time this year and we are looking forward to seeing the results of their efforts. Just the other day I was talking to one of these new entrants, Irene Wallace from Kilconquhar in Fife, and she told me that even before the judging takes place she can see that being part of the campaign has made a difference to the community where she lives.
"Entering Beautiful Scotland has already brought about a huge feel-good factor in Kilconquhar. Everyone smiles as they walk past the areas that we have planted up, and they are putting out pots and tubs to support us. One group of neighbours has also started re-vamping an overgrown area of ground next to where they live. This has all been sparked off because we became involved in Beautiful Scotland."
For information on how to join in next year's campaigns and see similar benefits in your community, contact Anne Strachan at anne.strachan@ksbscotland.org.uk or call her on 01786 477 171.