Planting Purple Crocuses for End Polio Now Campaign

For over 30 years, Rotary has been working hard to rid the world of polio – a terrible disease that can kill or severely disable children. When Rotary started the campaign to eradicate polio, there were cases present in 125 countries worldwide, now just two countries remain polio endemic; Afghanistan and Pakistan. During that time, Rotary has helped immunise over 2.5 billion children and reduce the number of polio cases by 99.9%.

In recent years, Rotary has worked with the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Britain in Bloom, community-based gardening groups and other groups to plant millions of purple crocus corms across Great Britain and Ireland. By covering our parks, gardens and green spaces with crocuses, we are aiming to demonstrate how the humble crocus can symbolise a colourful splash of hope for a new beginning for children and how working together whilst having fun can make a huge difference.