Derek Beer chairman of Blackmore Vale Rail Partnership and host of the awards event said:
“It was heartwarming to see so many people gathered together who care about their communities, their environment and each other.
Due to the overwhelming generosity of Louise and her team at Castle Gardens in Sherborne they were able to network over a lovely cream tea , in lovely surroundings.
I sincerely believe that volunteering has to be fun, and volunteers appreciated, and this brilliant culmination of a years work by station volunteers I feel really hit the mark, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our community rail officer, the support of South West Railway, Great Western Railway, South West Coaches, the judging teams, all pulling together to make the whole thing work.
After all the stress and turmoil of covid , and the disruption over the past couple of years to rail services for all manner of reasons, it was great to have something to celebrate, and the afternoon certainly showed that.
The benefits of horticulture to well being, the unceasing drive towards sustainability and environmental responsibility were all echoed over and over again throughout the afternoon, and for me it was a great privilege to be able to meet , congratulate and thank all those involved.”
Our new 2024 Calendar features over 100 images and 12 full size images of our super station volunteers across the south west and southern region.
