THE enthusiasts of the Cowdenbeath Environment Group were a little frustrated during the spring that they could not get into their normal spots and start making the town look good.

Their normal targets are the Community Woodland, west of Broad Street, and the Millennium Garden in Perth Road, along with Dalbeath Marsh, at Hill of Beath, but the lockdown hit cleaning up the ravages of winter and then turning their attention to the flower features in High Street.

There was little they could do and there were some worries amongst those who were walking up and down High Street as part of their exercise routine, that this could indeed be a bare year, from the North End to the Fountain.

However, the Enviro Group have been assisted by one of the area's popular nurseries and all of a sudden things on High Street are starting to look much more like normal.

It is certainly being appreciated by the people of the town and Cowdenbeath Community Council's Facebook page has a lot of posts of praise for the work which has seen the hanging baskets filled along with planters and pots.

Now there is no Beautiful Fife competition this year, due to the cornavirus crisis, but Cowdenbeath Environment Group and the other greening groups in the likes of Crossgates, Kelty, Benarty, Lochgelly and Cardenden, will be hoping to get out and make some tweaks as the summer unfolds and restrictions continue to be reduced.

No doubt about it there will be work getting done and it will build on some of the things that have been achieved in the communities.

Unfortunately problems with illegal dumping are continuing to bother all our towns and villages and led to Fife Council environment and public protection committee convener, Ross Vettraino, describing the people who carelessly discard rubbish as 'environmental vandals'.

That 'vandalism' has certainly posed issues throughout the area and how it can be stopped is a big question. However, credit must go to the greening groups who do a power of work every year.