A sustainable drainage scheme in Kinross-shire has been awarded a national innovation award.

The Kinross-shire Civic Trust was presented the award at the AK Bell Library. The gathering celebrated the UK 2022 Susdrain 'Community SUDS' Award won by the Kinross-shire Civic Trust, with support from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Perth & Kinross Council and the Scottish Government. The award will now be displayed for all to see at the library in the coming months and honours the "Kinross Raingardens Challenge" which has brought together a wide range of partners to promote a variety of sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) features.

Raingardens are "planted areas designed to accept rainfall runoff" and they enhance not just individual properties but also entire housing schemes and industrial estates. The idea was launched in 2019, seeking to enhance or create twenty raingarden features in 2020. The target was substantially exceeded, despite the pandemic.

The gathering also marks the start of the latest phase of the Challenge: the restoration of two constructed wetlands and the creation of two more, funded by the Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund, administered here by Perth & Kinross Council.

Chair of Kinross-shire Civic Trust Alistair Smith said: "Kinross lies next to Loch Leven, loved by visitors and residents alike. However, combined sewer overflows create sewage inputs into the loch, there is regular surface water flooding and diffuse pollution from car parks, industrial premises and roads. Together with creation and enhancement of wildlife habitats, these are the important drivers for a raingardens challenge."

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Brian D'Arcy of the Kinross-shire Civic Trust added: "The project has undertaken retrofit or enhancement work across the catchment of Loch Leven, from Kinnesswood to Kinross. The new Kinross Raingardens Trail, runs along Junction Road and will extend down to join the Loch Leven Heritage Trail. The Kinross Park & Ride is a point of entry for visitors to Kinross and is the start of the Trail. It needed to look good. Replacing the central grassy area with sowings of local wildflower seeds, plant plugs and wildflower turf not only restored the drainage but also created a feast for bumblebees and other pollinating insects."

Norma Smith, of Kinnesswood in Bloom, volunteers at Portmoak Primary school, where a raised bed raingarden was retrofitted and she explained that: "the children learned about water management, flooding, combined sewers and climate change, as well as using rainfall to grow plants. It's popular and has enhanced the school activities."

Brian continued: "At the Park and Ride we welcomed help from children and staff at Kinross Primary school, as well as Kinross in Bloom volunteers: box planters were filled with contrasting soils showing base soil (lime-rich) wildflowers in one and acid soil species in another. Although not raingarden items, they add life to a rockfill trench soakaway created by the Council engineers, again creating an attractive focus for butterflies and bees. The planters will exemplify some of the plants typical of geological outcrops and soils in various parts of the Perth and Kinross region."

Depute Provost of Perth and Kinross Andrew Parrott welcomed the national success for the project: "This is a fantastic achievement for the community in Kinross-shire and all the agencies that have supported their drive to deliver a new and green way to tackle rainfall runoff. I am delighted that the Raingardens project is continuing to move forward."

Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Co-ordinator, Catherine Lloyd from the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership, a strong supporter of the initiative, says "There is still much to do and volunteers will continue to be needed to keep the raingardens, wildflower plantings and SuDS ponds in good heart. Because of the Award, there will be an important Spring Conference coming to Perth on Thursday 20 April, as part of which on the 19th, there will be a visit to some of the Kinross raingarden sites to showcase what has been achieved to date. The Award has spurred on so much and we are all looking forward to the expansion of these community-led projects in the coming months and years."