AT a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Peebles, a cheque was handed over by the club to Bonnie Peebles. The money was collected by the club at its annual Christmas bag packing at Tesco.
Bonnie Peebles is a group of volunteers who devote much of their time to make Peebles look the best it can.
It was brought about following the substantial cuts on the parks department by the Scottish Borders Council. The group’s committee and volunteers are involved in planting, weeding and general upkeep of eight gardens around the town which would otherwise have been lost to grass or tarmacadam.
Last year volunteers from Bonnie Peebles planted 2,400 summer bedding plants and in the autumn they planted polyanthus and bulbs across the town. This year’s plants are now being ordered along with compost for every garden.
The group also has on its task list the painting of the benches at the swimming pool, cleaning and polishing of the Train on Edinburgh Road and a plaque has been ordered for each of the eight gardens to inform the public as to who looks after them.
Bonnie Peebles’ activities continue throughout most of the year. When they are not gardening, they raise money to purchase compost and plants which is by far their biggest annual expenditure. No monies are currently received from the Scottish Borders Council to support their activities which makes the group total dependent on the support of public donations and organisations such as the Rotary Club.
When receiving the cheque, the Bonnie Peebles co-ordinator Avril Murray conveyed a huge thank you to the Rotary Club for their generous donation.
The money will go towards buying this year’s summer bedding of 2,520 plants from Scott Bros. The Rotary Club president Bob Milne felt that Bonnie Peebles were a fitting beneficiary of these funds which had been generated thanks to the generous support of the shoppers at Tesco.
“Rotary is all about supporting local communities and we are always happy, when funds are available, to provide assistance to such a dedicated local cause,” he said.
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