Bloomin’ great
Group finally get ‘outstanding’grade
A community group who have helped improve the environment around Burnside are celebrating after finally being awarded a top grade by Keep Scotland Beautiful.
Burnside in Bloom had been classified as ‘thriving’ by the environmental charity for the past four years.
But last week they found out they had finally managed to reach the level of ‘outstanding’, the highest grade any project can get.
The assessor praised the group’s community engagement, saying: “This wellestablished group have great connections with the local schools, businesses, council and rotary club.
“The relationship with local businesses is evident throughout the whole town with businesses taking on hanging baskets and providing sponsorship and funding of various projects throughout the town.”
They also highlighted the work Burnside in Bloom do with local schools and the relationships with the Scouts, Rutherglen Rotary Club, Burnside Community Council and South Lanarkshire Council’s land services, who have all contributed to their success.
In terms of environmental responsibility, they have organised litter picks, planted wildflowers, tried to encourage natural habitats with piles of old wood, ran a successful dog fouling campaign and improved the streetscape as well as natural areas.
The final cri t e r ia, gardening achievement, saw them lauded for hanging baskets, railway planters, barrels at the station, adopting the raised beds at Tesco and the planting of 342 daffodil bulbs.
On the planting of wildflowers, the assessor said they were “adding real character to the feel of Burnside.”
Burnside in Bloom secretary Malcolm Piggot was delighted with the grade and said the group had made a concerted effort to achieve it.
He said: “Every year we do this we have been ‘thriving’, just missing out on ‘outstanding’ but this year we have finally made it. It would appear patience is its own reward.
“We made a special effort this year with things like the wildflowers and planters.
“What we do is a partnership, a lot of people put in a lot of effort and this shows up with the reward.
“I would hope we are making people take a bit more pride in their environment and that is never a bad thing.”
Burnside in Bloom was launched as an offshoot of Burnside Community Council in 2011.
It has organised a range of events and initiatives and runs an annual gala day for the community.
For more information, go to www. facebook.com/burnsideinbloom or www.