Peebles you have have less than 7 days to cast your vote for Peebles to win the first ever Scottish Pride Awards and help Peebles become Scotland’s favourite town.
If we didn’t have such a great community we would not have events likeBeltane where the folk of Peebles make it possible for over 700 children to take part in the Saturday event, making it one of the best in the Borders – if not the best.
We are noted for one of the best High Streets in Scotland because of our many independent traders.
We have some of the best community groups on the plant – Callants, Gutterbluids, Rotary etc…..
We know here at Bonnie Peebles the support we get from the whole community so we know there are some wonderful people in Peebles. In fact the people of Peebles support hundreds of good causes each year. What other town can run 4 fundraising events on the same Saturday (Alec Lucas Memorial, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, Christian Aid, Peebles Pipe band) and all four get well supported.
Just in case you need a reminder of what is beautiful about Peebles here are some of the postcard for Peebles entries and winners from the last few years which you can find on the Civic Society website
Please leave us a message to tell us why you are proud of Peebles.
The Halyrude Nature garden project got another boost today with a little help from the Royal Burgh of Peebles Callants Club.
Who exactly are the Callants? Good question! Their website tells you a bit about their history but only the tiniest hint about what they do in Peebles.
The word “Callant” means “young man or lad of the town”. The age range of the current Callants is wide but we are assured that they were all young men at one time. However we can say most definitely that they are all young at heart and have Peebles in their blood.
As their website tells you the Callants were born from “the core of the Beltane Festival” and many of their number are in fact ex Cornets. Callants are a major source of assistance both financially and practically for Beltane. But they do a huge amount around the town too.
Who helps erect the Christmas lights and Beltane Bunting? Who constructed the disabled pathways at Haylodge Park and the disabled access at Fotheringham Bridge? Who is responsible for the wonderful show of daffodils in Haylodge Park and also around the town? Who is behind the stain glass window at Kingsland Primary School or the pathway behind Priorsford School or various projects at Peebles High School? Who runs the Star O’ Rabbie Burns competitions in the schools in Peebles every year? Who assists Bonnie Peebles with the planting and maintenance of many of the borders around Peebles? Who donates cups and trophies and helps many organisations within the town?
Yes you guessed it – The Callants – and they do this year after year!
Today some of there number were out on one of their “jackets off” projects giving back to the community by building the planters which will allow even the disabled children to grow plants and vegetables.
Thank you gentlemen – your help is very much appreciated.
Bonnie Peebles want to say a very big thank you to Travis Perkins in Peebles. Not only did they donate the wood for the planters Kevin Smith and his team came up trumps with the slabs too.
Sean went along to say thank you today and was introduced to the team in the office.
However Kevin took the time to show him around the Travis Perkins compound and to answer Sean’s questions about the materials. Sean had a great time and is looking forward to the delivery lorry arriving.
This is the nature garden Halyrude School, the site of the former Kingsland School. It is an under used space because it is rather run down. It is definitely not attracting much nature.
Bonnie Peebles discovered this garden during our school visits recently and we met a very bright little boy who has learning difficulties and who wants to revamp the garden for the children at the school. Sean explained with the help of his Additional Needs Assistant.
“I am a primary 7 pupil and with the support of an Additional Needs Assistant, I am trying to convert a disused garden area into somewhere we can all enjoy. I have developed this project from my own ideas and plans.
I have now cleared the garden area of debris, leaves, prickly bushes and twigs and would like to see the garden project started – if not finished before I leave for secondary school in June.
The garden could be used by First Nursery, Tweeddale Support Centre based within Halyrude, Rosetta Playgroup and families around about.
I would like the area to be wheelchair friendly so that the pupils from the Tweeddale Support Centre can access it and enjoy helping to look after the sensory garden which will be made up of lots of different plants and herbs, which will also be chosen to encourage insects and bugs such as bees, butterflies etc.,
I think that the younger children will enjoy playing in the sandpit, and the boys will like the den!! There will also be benches for a chill out zone, bird feeding stations, bug hotel and for privileges – 2 hammocks!!!”
Bonnie Peebles committee members will be out on the High Street on Saturday 7th April and according to the long range weather forecast it looks as if we could be pretty cold.
So what are we up to?
This year we have some big plans for helping to keep Peebles looking good for townsfolk, tourists and businesses alike as well as continuing to maintain the gardens which we are responsible for on 6 sites across the town.
Our Diamond Jubilee project this year is School Brae.
As you can see from the photos the gardens are in need of some TLC.
We are also going to be undertaking a redesign of the flower beds at the old Gun Shed beside the Drill Hall.
If you have been following us on Face Book you will know that we are involved in projects in all three Primary Schools with gardening projects, litter picking events and even building Bug Hotels.
Peebles has a history of marking historical events by planting commemorative trees such as the Coronation tree planted in 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V.
Now you and your family have the chance to be part of history in the making in Peebles. Our friends at the Community Council want to plant 420 trees in Victoria Park to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – but they need your help.
The trees have been given to the Town by the Woodland Trust as part of the Jubilee Wood scheme in which the Trust aim to plant 6 million native trees across the country to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee.
The first tree in this scheme was planted by the Queen on 3 February this year and so far 727,942 trees have been planted.
The saplings, a mixture of ash, silver birch, wild cherry, oak and rowan, will be planted at a community tree planting event on Saturday17th March. Eventually the saplings will replace the existing canopy of trees at the Kingsmeadows Road side of the Park [click to continue…]
BioBlitz is the new buzz word around Peebles. The first BioBlitz to be held in the Scottish Borders will be held on the “Cuddy” (Eddleston Water) in Peebles on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th May. Bonnie Peebles are delighted to report that they played a part in the story behind the forthcoming event.
Some time ago Bonnie Peebles was asked to help out at Priorsford School on a vegetable gardening project. As a result we have been helping out at the school for a few years, gardening with the children. We now have links with all the primary schools in Peebles and are very enthusiastic about getting involved with their gardening and landscaping projects.
Priorsford was one of the 4 schools involved in the Citizen Science project in the Scottish Borders. Citizen Science is part of the Scotland Counts project, a BTCV Scotland citizen’s science pilot scheme backed by Scottish Government, SEPA and SNH, which aims to encourage us all to get involved in observing and providing data on our local environment. This will help to improve the understanding of Scotland’s environment as a whole and take action to improve and protect it. We understand that it is hoped, in the future, to roll out the scheme to other schools in the area. [click to continue…]
The War Memorial in the quadrangle of the Chambers Institute in Peebles received a very highly commended award in The Royal British Legion best kept war memorial competition for 2011. The Memorial which is thought to be one of the finest in the UK has won awards in the large community with garden category for the last five years.
The video below shows the visit in 1922 by Earl Haig who inspected former soldiers on Tweed Green before unveiling the new War Memorial.
The building itself is category B listed and was designed by Burnett, Napier, Henderson, Orphoot. It commemorates the residents of Peeblesshire who were killed or missing in World War One and Two as well as Alec Lucas the young soldier from 45 Commando who lost his life in Helmand Province in 2008.
Priorsford School has recently become the second school within Peebles to attain Eco Schools Green Flag status.
The Bonnie Peebles volunteers have been impressed by the life lessons that the Eco Schools programme teaches the children. They are learning about conserving energy and attempting to reduce the energy bills of the school itself, caring about the natural environment and also about preserving and improving their environment – the school grounds themselves.
Priorsford School approached Bonnie Peebles a couple of years ago to help them develop a vegetable garden within the grounds.
It started small and progressed. The enthusiastic children maintain the vegetable garden with a little help from Bonnie Peebles volunteers.
Seeds are sown and grown on in the warmth of the school atrium and then transplanted to the vegetable garden. Harvesting is an exciting time for the kids and the taste test comes when the produce is cooked in school or in classroom workshops for the children to try. [click to continue…]
There are four community woodlands in and around Peebles. Only three out of the four can boast a group of keen volunteers who maintain and protect the woodland.
Venlaw woodland is in the centre of Peebles. Originally the land was owned by Alexander Smithfield who built Smithfield House in 1782 which is now known as Venlaw Castle. Today the woodland is owned by the Peebles Common Good Fund.
The Venlaw Community Woodland Group was formed to preserve public access to the land and involve the community in maintaining this urban green area. They hold the land on a 25 year lease and are working hard to preserve the woodland and enhance the area for nature conservation.
Venlaw Wood comprises predominantly mature parkland trees, with a mixture of plantation conifers and broadleaf regeneration. The larger mature trees are mainly Beech and Oak, the latter marking the location of an old path running through the highest part of the Venlaw Wood.
