Gorebridge Railway Station is in line for a horticultural makeover thanks to a cash grant from a ScotRail Alliance fund designed to support and encourage biodiversity projects at Scotland’s stations.

An award of £2,840 will be used to enhance the appearance of the station and create an example of biodiversity impact and community investment.

The money will be spent on developing the existing planters at the station in order to establish a better habitat for birds, insects and small mammals. A community and education outreach programme with local schools is also planned to highlight the importance of local biodiversity.

The funding was provided as part of the ScotRail Biodiversity Fund which is supported by environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful. Grants range from £100 to £5,000 and aim to back projects which encourage volunteers to increase biodiversity in stations and improve Scotland’s ecosystems.

Elaine Bell, head of CSR for the ScotRail Alliance, said: “We are proud of the hard work put in by our staff and local communities every day.  Their efforts make our stations more beautiful for those using our services, and provide an environmentally friendly and visually appealing hub for use by local communities.

“We would like to thank Keep Scotland Beautiful for its ongoing support in helping us to continually improve the environment at our stations. This latest round of funding will go a long way in helping our Adopt-a-Station volunteers improve their own local environments.”

Ingrid Roughead, community projects officer with Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “We are delighted to support ScotRail and the Adopt-a-Station volunteers in improving the local environment in and around their communities, and want to congratulate the volunteers in Gorebridge on their success.

“We hope that this new funding will help them on their way to meeting their environmental aspirations.

“We look forward to continuing our work with ScotRail to help make Scotland greener and more sustainable.”

Volunteers can help by taking part in gardening and other activities so that everyone can enjoy the gardens at stations.

Further information on how to volunteer can be found at: www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotrail/volunteering.