Communities in Bloom seeking out national recognition

Communities in Bloom in Cold Lake wants to go after national recognition.

The group made a delegation to city council where they asked for a $5000 budget associated with the costs to receive a national evaluation.

“Now is the time to prove we are ‘so much more than flowers’ and be recognized at a national level for our contributions toward our green industry,” their presentation stated.

In 2015, Cold Lake was awarded a 5 Bloom score by the provincial committee, which means they’re eligible to compete nationally.

“It’s up to the next level,” said Jazelle Daly with Communities in Bloom.

“A lot of the communities in nationals are of the same size as Cold Lake. We were one of the only ones in provincial that were around the same size, so we’ll be able to compete against similar municipalities,” she said.

“We wanted the municipality and all the community to be aware of what we’re doing, because that’ll help us with our evaluation. I mean, if they’re being tidy, and making sure they throw things away, and making sure they go the extra step, so that we get a good evaluation, a good mark.

The ask will come back to council for decision.

Communities in Bloom are also absorbing the operations of the Cold Lake Community Garden Society.

“They are resigning their positions on the board, and they need people to take on the responsibility of the garden. So they’re not leaving right away. We’ve agreed to shadow them for the season, so that the transition will be good, and nobody will be affected by it,” said Daly.

Cold Lake would be judged on a long list of criteria in the categories of tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, and urban forestry.

Daly mentioned a $500 bursary for people to apply for called the Claudette Savaria bursary, which could be an incentive for people to keep their areas in bloom.

“It’s great. Communities in Bloom has been very successful in Cold Lake, so I look forward to seeing what the girls in the group are going to go. The merger of the gardens into their organization. I think that will be a great fit,” said Mayor Craig Copeland.

“We’re not really losing anything as part of the municipality. But I mean, we’ll see what happens,” said Daly.

There is also an international competition.

The sympoisum and awards ceremony is Sept. 25-28 in in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.