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Communities in Bloom

August 11, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Martina Rowley

July and August are wonderful months, not only because of holidays from school and work and lovely warm weather, they are also fun months for gardeners. A vast number of flowers are in bloom, vegetables and soft fruits are bountiful or growing towards autumn maturity, and everything looks alive and colourful. Incidentally, the year 2022 is “The year of the Garden” and these two months are also the season for the annual Communities in Bloom (CiB) competition.     

Communities in Bloom is a volunteer-driven, not for profit organization with a vision to “inspire all communities to enhance the quality of life and our environment through people and plants in order to create community pride.” Evaluation covers more than what blooms and includes everything from the enhancements and landscaping of green spaces to environmental sustainability, the look and cohesiveness of street ‘furniture’, tidiness, as well as heritage conservation across cultural and natural environments, which includes municipal, residential, commercial and institutional spaces. The purpose is to foster community strength, involvement and continuous improvement. Each community receives a comprehensive report based on the evaluation criteria, along with: a Bloom rating (4 or 5 blooms); Bronze, silver and gold levels for evaluated communities who will have obtained 5 blooms; and an opportunity to submit for Outstanding Achievement Awards and Special Recognitions.

The Town’s Sustainable Orangeville committee, of which I am an active member, organizes our local participation in the CiB program and every year hosts and chaperones two visiting judges for two days. This July, I was able to help co-host again for one of their two evenings in Orangeville, together with the Mayor, a fellow committee member and the town’s new sustainability coordinator. Over a delicious dinner at a beautiful restaurant, we were able to ‘brag’ a little more about our town’s numerous parks and parkettes, muti-use trails, arts and heritage programs, and environmental activities and installations by various community organisations. 

It was very interesting to learn in greater detail what it means to be a judge with CiB and the enviable perks, as well as challenges, that come with these volunteer positions. This year’s judges were Berta Briggs from Alberta, who honed her horticultural passion and knowledge working in a garden nursery for many years, and Larry Hall from Saskatchewan, a retired teacher and very active member of his community. Berta told me she has been a judge for CiB for 23 years! Because this annual community competition is an international affair, she has been fortunate to have travelled to such wonderful places as the UK, Italy, Japan and more. Every summer, she travels to many Canadian provinces and sometimes internationally for two weeks, staying only one or two days in each location. So, while this role has its perks, it is not a cushy little number, nor what you could really call a holiday! 

To participate in the competition, communities pay a registration fee based on population size, and then provide meals and accommodation for the two judges during their stay in their community. Communities in Bloom covers travel cost between provinces or countries. Berta did think that the title of this competition is a bit of a misnomer. She emphasised that it is about more than decorative floral elements and includes sustainability aspects, the extent of tree canopy, town-wide programs to reduce environmental impact, community engagement and more. 

For both Berta and Larry, this was their first visit to Orangeville and they shared with us what impressed them the most. I think it is safe to share that here, as it will not affect their judging of Orangeville, which they had to complete by the time they left town after their two-day whistlestop tour. As Berta emphasised, she ‘switches off’ as soon as she leaves, so she can focus on the next Town’s merits, rather than comparing it to previous places. Judging is based on many criteria that they allocate points to and is split into numerous categories in their official evaluation form.

Larry, who enjoyed a bicycle tour around town on an e-bike (his first time trying one), was most impressed by Bravery Park. Both he and Berta were also awed by the healing garden at Headwaters Hospital and loved our tree sculptures, which are such a unique outdoor art exhibit throughout town. They noticed our beautiful heritage and historic buildings in and around the downtown core, and Berta was particularly pleased to hear that we have our own food gleaning program, the Orangeville Urban Harvest Program. 

In the last competition in 2019, Orangeville received awards for the National Circle of Excellence recipient of 5 Blooms – Bronze, special recognition for the Utility Box Art Program, and Outstanding Achievement Award for Environmental Action. In 2018, we earned National Edition Recipient of 5 Blooms – Silver and special recognition for Friendship Gardens at Headwaters Health Care Centre. 

When we said our good-byes, Berta and Larry had a few more hours of judging sheets to complete before they packed up again, ready to fly out to the east coast to inspect the next town for its efforts towards being named a top Community in Bloom. This year’s awards ceremony takes place in October, so petals crossed to see how well Orangeville does this year, in The Year of the Garden. To read more, visit www.communitiesinbloom.ca. 

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