B.C. Communities in Bloom is holding its provincial conference and awards in Clinton from September 14 to 15, and provincial chair Yvette May—who is also a member of the Clinton CiB committee—says that the decision to offer to host the event was made late last year after Lake Country, the original host for 2018, had to step back.
“They said at last year’s conference that they could do it, and then called in late November/December to say they couldn’t,” says May. “I’d put [hosting] to the Clinton committee a few years ago, and they said no, but this time they said okay.”
Planning for this year’s event—the theme of which is “Regeneration After the Fire”—began in January, with the committee doing some fundraising and applying for grants. Attendees will have an opportunity to visit Cache Creek for a tour of the Village, and May says that one of the reasons Clinton is a good host community is its more central location compared to other places. “It’s expensive for some people to have to go to the coast.”
May—who is in her second year as chair of the provincial CiB—knew of Communities in Bloom when she lived in Kelowna, and was available to help that city’s CiB committee if needed, but it wasn’t until 2011, when she moved to Clinton, that she got directly involved with the local and provincial CiB groups.
“I paid my $20 to become a member of the provincial CiB, and they asked me if I’d volunteer,” says May, who has been judging in the provincial category since 2012. This year she was one of the judges who visited and assessed the community of Hope, and she says she was ready to step in if needed to judge another community.
Clinton has been part of the CiB program since 2002, and apart from two years in the national category and a couple of years off has has entered the provincial competition every year.
May says that when a community decides to join they will often take part in the novice program the first year, where the judges evaluate three areas instead of the usual six and provide a final evaluation to the community. Next year’s judges will also read the evaluation and community profile and spend time researching the community.
May says that when she goes into a community to judge, she finds the people very welcoming. “Ninety-nine per cent of the time we get a very good reception.”
Hundreds of communities across the country have taken part in the CiB program over the years, and May says members of the provincial society will go into potential new communites to try to interest them in taking part in the program.
“We’ll go talk to the Chamber of Commerce, gardening groups, and others and explain what CiB is and invite them to join. A lot of communities have a lot to offer, but don’t think they do.
“And member communities can mentor new ones.” Clinton currently mentors the CiB groups in Cache Creek and 100 Mile House.
“If people aren’t gardeners they don’t know about Communities in Bloom. And some people think it’s just about flowers. We don’t just judge people’s gardens.” Judges look at a wide variety of things, including tidiness, heritage conservation, environmental action, urban forestry, landscape, and floral display. Judges will also evaluate the overall contributions of municipal council and government departments, industry, businesses, and the private sector—including volunteer efforts—in these areas.
“When it comes to the evaluation and judging, many people think communities are being judged against other communities. We judge a community against its own merits and try to help them improve.”
Many of the CiB judges work in nurseries or in parks departments, are master gardeners or horticulturists, or are urban planners. “They have extensive experience, and they bring that information to communities
“And we learn things in other communities that we can pass along. They have a Japanese garden in Hope and were having an issue keeping the pond there clean.
“A judge who had been in Ontario said that a community there had had the same issue, and solved it by using a screened container filled with pot barley to filter and clean the water. It was a very simple and inexpensive thing but it worked.”
May says she is very much into environmental concerns and community organizations. “Gardening is a passion of mine, and so is volunteering. I work with people who have all kinds of backgrounds, and it’s nice to work with so many people.
“We work together to pass on information. There’s never a dull time, and it’s always a learning experience.”
Anyone wanting to learn more about this year’s provincial conference and awards can contact May at ymay@bcwireless.com or by phone at (250) 459-7725 or (250) 212-5506. Registration for the conference is $100 (before August 24) or $130 (after that date) and includes meals and all agenda events.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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