Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow

Youth Working

Engagement with Schools and Young People

Burgh Beautiful has strong links with all the local primary and secondary schools, particularly in relation to our very successful children’s mosaics project on the theme of climate change (see below).

The local primary schools received Green Flags to prove their environmental credentials as early as 2004 and, more recently, all are actively creating or maintaining wildlife friendly gardens.

Most of the local primary schools were involved in Burgh Beautiful’s Civic Insignia Sculptures Project, and this has been perpetuated through an annual schools’ art competition on the theme of the ‘Black Bitch’ and St Michael, the figures which feature on Linlithgow’s two coats of arms. The overall pupil winner is presented with a silver trophy and the runners-up (and their schools) are given cash prizes. This competition is run by the Rotary Club of Linlithgow & Bo’ness.

Before the lockdowns, Linlithgow Academy participated in our fund-raising greetings card initiative and currently their Vega Racing group of pupils is considering adopting a flower bed as an environmental initiative.

A group of Guides (1st Linlithgow) plants and maintains one of our High Street planters (photo above), while Scouts (4th West Lothian) are regularly involved with activities at our Clarendon base, such as filling hanging baskets with compost (photo on right). Brownies are actively encouraged to get involved in gardening. Well over 100 Brownies have so far passed their Gardeners Badge through working in their garden at Longcroft Hall.

We regularly engage Duke of Edinburgh Award students in our activities and, in the past, we have run a Children’s Gardening Competition (for individuals, groups and schools), and this could be revived.

As part of our involvement with schools, Burgh Beautiful volunteers visited Low Port Primary School and Linlithgow Primary School in 2023 to encourage and help young children plant young Rowan and Elderberry trees into pots.

These trees were kept at the schools and formed part of their learning programme into the fundamental importance of trees in the environment. All the children had a tree of their own, which they took home at the end of the year.

Above, from left to right: Primary school pupils being shown round Rosemount Park; Duke of Edinburgh Award student removing spent plastic tree guards; Scouts having fun at our Clarendon base; the silver trophy for the annual civic insignia art competition.

Climate Change Children’s Mosaics

Back in 2019, six Linlithgow area primary schools created these spectacular mosaic panels representing climate change, now on display in the ground-floor windows of the Regent Centre offices facing the Low Port roundabout. The children wanted to motivate everyone to act to protect our planet, generate hope for the future and to encourage conversation. Each school was asked to feature a theme linked to combating climate change and to incorporate a Linlithgow landmark in their design. The school logos and colours help identify which school created each mosaic.

The project was initiated by Burgh Beautiful thanks to a donation from Platform Three. We would also like to acknowledge support from Equitone, The Turf Shop and Tesco. And of course, the staff and pupils of the local primary schools.