A DALRY volunteer group have continued to keep the town's train station flourishing thanks to investment in an award-winning community programme.

The Dalry Station Gardeners Group (DSGG) have been station adopters for almost 10 years, and continually strive to improve the station environment by creating an oasis for nature to thrive.

And with funding from the ScotRail Biodiversity Fund, the DSGG installed bug, bird and bat boxes as well as bug hotels, wildflower habitats and bee friendly planting.

Six wall murals have also been installed by artist, Leo du Feu, depicting ‘Nature of Dalry’ – a project funded by the ScotRail Cultural and Arts Fund.

More than 250 stations and over 1,000 volunteers across the country are now part of ScotRail’s Adopt-a-Station​ volunteering programme.

Volunteer groups work to improve the physical environment of their local station which includes activities such as installing planters, station gardens, information boards and much more.

The programme was recently awarded the prestigious Investing in Volunteers accreditation by Volunteer Scotland, and Tracy Stevenson, ScotRail community development executive, said the ScotRail team is "incredibly proud" at the achievement.

She said: “The railway is more than just running trains; we work closely with the communities we serve and provide those communities with our full commitment and support, and our Adopt-a-Station volunteering programme is a perfect example of that.

“The Investing in Volunteers accreditation is now a public commitment to our volunteers that we will continue to support them with high-quality volunteer management, providing a framework for the programme flourish in the years to come.”

Katy Penman, volunteer practice manager for Volunteer Scotland, said: “I am pleased to congratulate ScotRail on their achievement of the Investing in Volunteers award for the first time.

"Achieving this award acknowledges their commitment to their volunteers by reflecting on, improving, and developing the Adopt-a-Station programme.

“ScotRail has demonstrated this through evidencing the good practice they carry out in relation to volunteer management, meeting all six indicators, and 31 practices within the Investing in Volunteers quality standard.

“Throughout the process, ScotRail was given feedback on how to continue to develop and improve their practice, recognising the resilience they built into their volunteer programme during the pandemic.

“We look forward to a continued relationship with ScotRail, their volunteers, and employees as they work towards this over the next three years.”