by Paolo Ghiga
Raise your hand those who have not associated, even once, Scotland with Nessie, the famous Loch Ness monster. Renowned in every area of his territory, which is divided broadly into three regions, the Southern Uplands, Lowlands in the Central and the Highlands. The most famous area, North Scotland, is rich not only in significant natural and environmental value, but also world famous tourist destinations: including its 800 beautiful islands, charming botanical gardens (which can be found in Edinburgh, Glasgow, up to Drummond, Crarae, and Inverewe Gardens, just to name a few), which testify to the attention and respect for nature that epitomises the Scots.
A fantastic website which deserves an attentive visit is keepscotlandbeautiful.org, which presents programmes dedicated to the Scottish environment and its preservation. For over forty years the slogan "Keep Scotland tidy" has been the mantra for all who care about Scotland’s eco environmental heritage.
The campaign, which includes numerous initiatives, has two strands: the first being the more competitive, "Beautiful Scotland", which encompasses awards and achievements related to horticulture, environmental responsibility and community participation in these areas. The second strand, "Neighbourhood Awards", despite the name, is not competitive. It gives support and recognition to local communities which are starting environmental improvement campaigns. To increase communicative action there is a regular newsletter, a website full of teaching materials and educational articles, plenty of information online, and an annual awards ceremony celebrating the best participants.
A really interesting initiative is the "Dumb Dumpers" campaign, which helps to monitor and investigate those who recklessly abandon waste. This campaign aims to assist the police by encouraging people to report fly tipping in their local area.
Other campaigns such as "Food on the go", and "Have some pride", are focused on the problem of increasing waste generation and trying to keep the streets free of abandoned waste. Linked to this campaign is "Bought in Brechin … ... Left in Lanark", which offers a reflection on the figures reported that an estimated 100,000 pieces of litter are dropped each year on Scotland’s roadsides from cars. The website also includes a "How you can take part" section dedicated to how the public can participate, with a section focused on pet owners and their responsibility to keep the streets clean from pet droppings. The problem of excrement has become increasingly significant in recent years, and therefore is considered among the most important campaigns launched by Keep Scotland Tidy.
As the involvement of communities and neighbourhoods increases, the new initiative "National Spring Clean" has been launched, where in April tens of thousands of volunteers take part in a fun litter pick of their neighbourhood to help clean up Scotland.
Acting in a straight forward and vigilant manner, Keep Scotland Beautiful represents a model of how you should effectively interpret and act upon the environmental and sustainable eco message.
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