AN exhibition showcasing 30 years of an environmental awards scheme is touring County Durham.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the County Durham Environment Awards and to celebrate, previous winners and judges joined the Mayor of Bishop Auckland, Councillor Joy Allen, for a preview of the exhibition at Bishop Auckland Town Hall last week.

The annual awards are organised by Durham County Council on behalf of the County Durham Environment Partnership to celebrate organisations and communities which improve the natural and built environment locally.

The exhibition features images and stories from the past 30 years and videos of personal thoughts and memories from some of those involved.

Steve Bhowmick, environment and design manager at Durham County Council, said: “We wanted to do something special to mark such a wonderful milestone and what better way than to look back over the history of the awards. We hope that by touring the county, previous winners from across County Durham will be able to visit, reminisce and see how the awards evolved across three decades.”

The exhibition will be at Bishop Auckland Town Hall until Thursday, August 29, The Witham in Barnard Castle from September 3 to 10 and Hardwick Hall Visitor Centre from October 1 to 21.