Aberdeen to host national awards to celebrate community environmental improvements

08 September 2016

The 50th Beautiful Scotland Awards, organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, will take place in Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom next week (Wednesday 14th September).

The ceremony, to be hosted by Aberdeen City Council, is designed to recognise the hard work of communities, local authorities and businesses in improving the places they care about across the country.

The event, which will see hundreds of people from across Scotland congregate in the city, is a pivotal part of the annual environmental calendar and celebrates the work of people the length and breadth of Scotland who work tirelessly to clean up, green up and beautify the country.

Award delegates will receive a tour of Seaton Park or Aberdeen city centre’s green spaces and experience an exciting ceremony presented by George Anderson of the BBC’s Beechgrove Garden.

Aberdeen Lord Provost Councillor George Adam said: “In Aberdeen we take pride in our parks and other green spaces and Aberdeen City Council places a lot of value in this award scheme.

“Aberdeen has competed every year for half a century and has won the top award - The Rosebowl - 21 times including in the first year and most recently in 2005. The city has represented Scotland in the RHS Britain in Bloom completion five times in the past decade, having won the Beautiful Scotland category.

“We are taking part in both competitions this year which is a tremendous accolade for all the hard work carried out by council staff and community groups.

“It is an honour to welcome representatives from other towns, cities and villages from around Scotland to Aberdeen for the Awards event and we hope they will enjoy their time in the city.”

Beautiful Scotland is a competition run by Keep Scotland Beautiful in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Participants from Scottish towns, villages and cities can enter a range of categories and be assessed for their achievements in three core pillars - horticultural excellence, environmental responsibility, and community participation.

With 13 different award categories, including Small Village, Urban Community and Business Improvement District, each entrant is set to receive is set to receive a gold, silver gilt, silver or bronze plaudit with the top scoring entrant from each category receiving a winning award. The prestigious Rosebowl Trophy will be presented to the overall award winner and a number of Discretionary Awards will be made. A selection of this year’s winners will also be nominated to represent Scotland in RHS Britain in Bloom 2017.

Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “All year round communities, local authorities and businesses across Scotland are doing their bit to ensure that local spaces are kept clean, green and beautiful. However, all too often this hard work is overlooked. Beautiful Scotland provides the opportunity for us to support what they do and celebrate their achievements.

“Quality local environments are key to vibrant communities and good for businesses - helping to nurture respect for local places and improve wellbeing. It is vital that we reward the efforts made by volunteers and local authorities in cleaning up and greening up local spaces for us all to enjoy.

“The Beautiful Scotland awards ceremony will help to showcase the role that Beautiful Scotland groups have in making a massive difference to Scotland - and we are delighted to celebrating in Aberdeen which has been an avid supporter for the past 50 years.”

The 50th Awards Ceremony is supported by Aberdeen Inspired and sponsored by Balmoral Group Holdings Ltd and Amberol Ltd.

Further information can be found at: www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/beautifulscotland