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Have your say: vote for Scotland’s inspiring community nature projects

Choose your favourite Community Initiative Award finalist and help celebrate communities taking action for nature across Scotland

Vertical garden with various herbs and flowers planted in colourful fabric pockets mounted on a wooden wall.

Communities across Scotland are showing how local action can make a real difference for nature, biodiversity and people, and now the public has the chance to help recognise their achievements.

The Community Initiative Award, part of the RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards, celebrates projects that are bringing people together to protect and restore the natural environment. This year’s winner will be decided by a public vote, which closes on 2 October 2026.

Scotland's wildlife biodiversity loss

Six projects have been shortlisted, showcasing a wide range of community-led environmental action:

  • Aberdeen B-Lines: Pollinator Pathways in the Granite City, which transformed almost 12.3 hectares of urban land to create habitat for pollinators.
  • Culbokie Buzzing, a volunteer-managed nature oasis on community-owned land featuring wildflower meadows, an orchard and accessible community spaces.
  • Greyhope Bay: Connecting Communities and the Coast, bringing people together at Aberdeen’s Torry Battery through conservation, education, biodiversity surveys and community events.
  • Kilminning – Turning Tarmac into Wetland, where the Crail community has transformed a former brownfield site into a local nature reserve, including new wetland, meadow and woodland habitats.
  • Lauriston Farm, led by the Edinburgh Agroecology Co-operative, which is transforming a 100-acre site in North Edinburgh with a focus on biodiversity, sustainable food production and community connection.
  • River Goil Restoration, where Lochgoil Community Trust has put nature restoration at the heart of its work, from restoring the River Goil to creating a community park and walking trails.

The finalists demonstrate the power of communities to create positive change for their local environment, from restoring rivers and wetlands to supporting pollinators, sustainable food production and coastal nature.

Which project gets your vote? Explore the finalists, select your favourite and cast your vote before 2 October 2026. 👉 Find out more and vote for your favourite Community Initiative Award project

  • Find more funding

    There are many other organisations who may be offering funding that will help you, and our handy funding search tool brings them all together. 

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