Group so delighted

Brighter Bothwell

Brighter Bothwell were delighted to return from the Britain in Bloom awards ceremony with a Silver Gilt award in the Small Town category.

Much to their surprise and delight, Bothwell also picked up two discretionary awards. Discretionary awards are special awards presented to finalists who demonstrate genuine excellence in a particular area of the judging criteria. These awards are given to the best overall from the almost 80 finalists.

The first one they picked up was the ‘Involving Children and Young People.’

They were recognised for their efforts in engaging with, supporting and inspiring younger members of the community.

The judges commented on how well Bothwell involved the community. They said: “The judges applauded Bothwell’s entry as an outstanding example of how to engage children and young people in horticulture as a way to help them learn about nature, growing and the environment.”

The second award they received was ‘Gardening in a Changing Climate’.

This award was given for recognising sustainable environmental practices in horticulture, incorporating the key recommendations from the RHS Gardening in a Changing Climate report.

The judges said: “Bothwell Community Garden, Scotland was singled out by the judges for its commitment to the advice in the RHS Gardening in a Changing Climate report, just some of the practices Bothwell Community Garden include: the wide use of renewable energy, water conservation and the reuse of materials.

“In addition, the garden has an all-organic policy, reuses its green waste and also keeps bees.”

Marjory Robertson, chairperson said: “The four of us who represented Brighter Bothwell at the 2017 Britain in Bloom Finals were delighted with the awards that Bothwell received. I would like to thank everyone whose support, in various ways, has helped us to achieve this notable success. Special thanks go to our local South Lanarkshire Council Grounds Services team, who work with us throughout the year to help keep Bothwell bright

“We were also delighted to be at the ceremony with the seven other Beautiful Scotland groups, all of whom achieved success with their awards.

“Particular congratulations to our friends and neighbours in Uddingston Pride on achieving a Gold Award.”