CARDENDEN Environment Group were over the moon to learn that the Beautiful Fife judges have bestowed Gold Status on the village.

Judges were provided with a portfolio which covered all the areas of work over the last year that Environment Group, and their community supporters, have been busy working on.

On Wednesday 17th July they commenced their journey at Auchterderran Church and outlined the work which is delivered here to support the local Community i.e. The very well attended weekly Drop In managed by a brilliant group of volunteers. The white ribbons on the church railings to show solidarity for the terrorist attack in Sri Lanka earlier this year and the lovely multi-coloured flowers group members painted and attached to the railings.

They discussed the newly refurbished islands across from the entrance to the Church and the plans for next year is to have flower blooms in Yellow and Blue to represent Dementia Awareness.

They then moved on to the War Memorial and spoke about the plans to attach painted poppies to the railings again this year for Remembrance Day and showed off the recent extensive refurbishment and new up lighting at the memorial.

From there they made their way down through Main Street and Station road to visit the lovely community garden. The judges could see the changes in the garden from last year and the hard work that Cardenden Environment Group and helpers have undertaken.

Said The Group's Vicky Murdoch: "Our wee garden is also supported by Ore Valley Housing, 4th Fife Scouts, the Community Development Forum and Ross and Maggie from Lady Helen nurseries. We are very grateful to Ross and Maggie who donated £300 worth of beautiful plants for the village.

"Our journey then took us to Gammie place where we, and the judges, had to visualise our exciting plans for this area. We have ordered, and work is currently underway, creating exclusive street furniture which will include a memorial bench and a Cardenden Memory tree. It is planned to be installed there near the end of autumn. We were also able to visit the newly refurbished 'Duncs view' platform. Across the road in Wallsgreen Park we pointed out the recently installed inclusive play children's roundabout.

"Our next stop was the Corrie Centre where our youngsters from the youth club had worked hard to create and maintain the garden at the front of the building. The garden is very much appreciated and well used by the numerous groups who use the Centre".

Inside the centre, The Environment group, jointly with funding and support from the Centre Management Committee, Fife Council and Ore Valley Housing have installed a memorial, a beautiful Thistle sculpture, to the playwright and poet Joe Corrie. "We were also very lucky to receive support to exclusively display paintings provided from Les McConnel and William Hershaw from the launch of their show, The Sair Road," added Vicky

"Our last stop was Ore Valley's 'Hub' which is situated next to the Community Shop on Station Road. We discussed the purpose of The Hub what it is used for and the current projects running from there".

The Environment Group is busy all year round helping to maintain the village and also continue to make plans for future maintenance of tired or forgotten areas within the village.

Went on Vicky: "The group are ecstatic achieving this award and continue to work on various improvements for the village.

"The floral enhancements are aesthetically pleasing, however, it is the additional work developing the well being of the community, heritage and environment projects which we believe have given us the additional boost to achieve Gold this year.

"There is strong community involvement and a shared focus on caring for our villages and its people. Many projects are geared towards improving the lives of those who live in Cardenden, which includes enhancing our public areas. There is full involvement with several local groups, including schools, youth groups and those for the elderly, however, we will always welcome more.

"Our local heritage is promoted well e.g. memorials to former residents, the Corrie Centre development and associated history of mining in the area.

There are also well supported fundraising initiatives throughout the year too. The floral displays, supported by a local plant nursery owner, are very attractive and good use is made of available public space for planting."

Looking ahead Vicky concluded: "We, the Environment Group, are committed to further developing our plans for Gammie Place, the Corrie Centre and other public spaces.

"Hopefully, funding permitting, we can bring these to fruition in time for the judging of Beautiful Fife 2020. The Environment Group are always looking for more volunteers, it doesn’t have to be too onerous you will be welcome". If interested, please contact Vicky at Ore Valley Housing Association.