Another blooming year!

Dazzling floral displays have helped two Teesside towns take gold and silver in this year’s Northumbria in Bloom competition.
Stockton celebrated a gold medal award in the “best city” category whilst Saltburn also came up smelling of roses in the annual competition by scooping a silver gilt medal for best coastal resort. Saltburn earned its silver gilt after judges were impressed by the enthusiasm of local people.
Special mention was given to Saltburn in Bloom stalwart Jackie Taylor for her tireless work in bringing together a “wonderful team”.
In July, when the NIB judges arrived to inspect the town, they were met with around 350 hanging baskets, bought through fundraising and sponsorship. They also took in the allotments, the new planting at Albion Terrace and the picnic area at Marine parade.
Jackie paid tribute to the loyal band of volunteers and thanked Redcar and Cleveland Council and Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council for their support.
This year marks the 20th time Saltburn has entered the regional floral competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, also winning silver gilt and named best coastal resort in 2006. Both Stockton and Saltburn are also representing the region in this year’s Britain in Bloom competition with the awards announced later this month.

Organism appears on Top Prom!

A sculpture based on one of the world’s most vital sea organisms has arrived at Saltburn.
Organism, a sculpture by Teesside artist Andrew McKeown, has been installed on Saltburn’s Top Prom. It was inspired by microscopic sea organisms called diatoms - a single-cell algae which inhabits virtually all of the world’s aquatic environments. They are considered the most important of all plankton, as they form the basis of nearly all food chains in the oceans. As such, they are considered one of the most important organisms on the planet. Diatoms remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce approximately up to 50% of the world’s oxygen.
Individually, they are invisible to the naked eye but in large concentrations they are seen as brown or golden brown patches in the ocean. The sculpture is part of the Saltburn Top Prom Improvement Project and complements a fossil garden - with work also by Andrew McKeown - which was opened last year by Dr John Frood, chairman of Saltburn Forward.