Thursday November 12th 2026
Newtongrange Community Garden
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Community gardening groups across the Lothians and Scottish Borders have been recognised for their efforts to improve local green spaces, encourage biodiversity and bring communities together.
Groups from Midlothian, East Lothian, Edinburgh, West Lothian and the Borders were among those celebrated at the annual Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network event, organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.
The awards ceremony took place at Stirling’s Albert Halls on Tuesday, November 10, bringing together around 200 people representing community gardening groups from across Scotland.
Among the Midlothian successes was Newtongrange Community Garden, which received three special award commendations.
The group was highly commended in both the NatureScot It’s Your Neighbourhood Pollinator Friendly Award and the Keep Scotland Beautiful Community Award for Community Engagement. It was also runner-up in the Community Award for Sustainable Gardening.
The Volunteer Gardeners at the National Mining Museum Scotland were also recognised, with both Midlothian groups achieving Level 4 – Thriving in the It’s Your Neighbourhood programme.
East Lothian also enjoyed success, with Glorious Gullane in Bloom achieving Gold in the Beautiful Scotland competition, winning the Coastal Village and Coastal Town category award and the New Entrant Award.
Gifford Community Group also secured Gold in the Small Village category, while Dunbar in Bloom received a Silver Gilt award.
Dunbar was additionally recognised with the David Welch Memorial Award for Something Special, for The Ridge, while East Lothian Council received The Caley Award for its work in the town, jointly with Aberdeen City Council.
Among East Lothian’s community gardening groups, Growing Matters achieved Level 5 – Outstanding and a Certificate of Distinction. Aberlady in Bloom and Our Community Kitchen were rated Level 4 – Thriving, while Cuthill Community Garden achieved Level 3 – Advancing.
In Edinburgh, the city’s entry, Edinburgh: Inspiring Capital, received Gold in the Beautiful Scotland City category, alongside the Horticultural Heritage Award and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Wright Sustainability Award.
A number of community groups across the capital also achieved recognition.
Friends of Campbell Park took first place in the NatureScot It’s Your Neighbourhood Pollinator Friendly Award, while Friends of Starbank Park was highly commended in the same category and received a Certificate of Distinction.
Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Ferry Road Allotments, Inverleith Allotments Association and Warriston Allotments also received Certificates of Distinction, with each achieving Level 5 – Outstanding.
Other Edinburgh groups achieving the Outstanding level included Bridgend Farmhouse and Friends of Morningside Cemetery.
In West Lothian, Murieston Community Garden achieved Level 4 – Thriving and received a Certificate of Distinction.
The Vennie Community Garden also achieved Level 4 – Thriving, while Bathgate Community Development Trust received a Certificate of Recognition.
The Scottish Borders also had several successes, with Keeping Duns Blooming Marvellous securing Gold in the Beautiful Scotland Small Town and Medium Town category, alongside the Jim Murdie Award for Sustainability.
Earlston in Bloom received a Certificate of Recognition, while five community groups were recognised through the It’s Your Neighbourhood programme.
Burnfoot Community Futures, Coldstream Community Larder, Greener Peebles and Lauder in Bloom all achieved Level 5 – Outstanding, with Burnfoot Community Futures also receiving a Certificate of Distinction.
Greener Peebles was named winner of the Keep Scotland Beautiful Community Award for Gardening for Health and Wellbeing.
Paxton House Kitchen Garden achieved Level 4 – Thriving.
The annual awards bring together participants in both the Beautiful Scotland competition and the It’s Your Neighbourhood initiative, celebrating the work of volunteers to improve their surroundings and support nature.
Juliette Camburn, senior community initiatives officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Congratulations to our Midlothian groups for all their success at this year’s ceremony.
“To every community gardening group who received a certificate or award today, we’re equally proud of your efforts and commitment to improving your spaces.
“You are all doing so much across the country to restore nature and biodiversity to make our country and communities a better place for all and it’s wonderful to be able to celebrate everyone’s hard work together at our annual ceremony.”
Heather Anderson MSP, Scottish Environment LINK Nature Champion for Community Green Space, also praised the volunteers.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be your Nature Champion for Community Green Spaces with Keep Scotland Beautiful.
“I want to thank all the volunteers today for all the work they do keeping Scotland beautiful, and keeping our open spaces looking great.
“I want to celebrate the fact that this work has been going on for 60 years – here’s to the next 60 years; let’s get this job done!”
Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network brings together more than 200 community groups across Scotland, working to make communities more nature-friendly.
The initiative supports the Scottish Government’s Public Engagement Strategy for Climate and Nature, which aims to involve people across the country in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss.
The awards ceremony was supported by The Abbey Group, while the It’s Your Neighbourhood initiative is supported by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Community groups interested in joining the network can find out more about free support and resources at keepscotlandbeautiful.org/climate-and-nature-friendly-communities-network.
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