Background & Running of the Campaign
Beautiful Scotland is a programme of Environmental Campaigns (Scotland), trading as Keep Scotland Beautiful.
The "In Bloom" campaign commenced in Scotland in 1967 and was administered by the Scottish Tourist Board supported by the Scottish Women’s Rural Institute. In 1983, Keep Scotland Beautiful was approached to take on the administration of the campaign and the name was changed to "Beautiful Scotland in Bloom (BSiB)".
Under the care of May and Douglas Wright it became the prestigious campaign we know today. The themes of cleanliness, sustainability and biodiversity were added to the horticulture elements over time and BSiB became a major environmental campaign with entries from all over Scotland. To reflect these wider criteria, the name of the campaign was changed in 2007 to "Beautiful Scotland".
Aims & Objectives
The aim of Beautiful Scotland is to assist communities of all sizes across Scotland to improve their local environment. There are two strands to the programme to reflect the variety of communities involved:
- The annual campaign, judged each summer, gives focus to community efforts in relation to horticulture, sustainability and biodiversity, and cleanliness. Entrants are also expected to show that their efforts are sustained throughout the year;
- Neighbourhood Awards, the non-competitive element of the programme, is designed to give support and recognition to communities beginning local environmental improvements.
The particular objectives of the programme are:
- To reflect and support the Scottish Government's policy on a range of issues: sustainable development, social inclusion, regeneration, and quality of life;
- To encourage participation by communities in Scotland;
- To provide support to communities by means of a biannual newsletter, website, awards ceremony and annual seminar.