Communities in Bloom more than floral displays

The Blaine Lake Communities in Bloom committee held a public meeting April 25 to encourage organizations, businesses, churches and private citizens to become involved in the beautification of the community.

CiB organizers, for 2013, Kitty Larson, Karen Fiala and Debbie Rodwin opened the meeting with a brief explanation of what the CiB program is about and the various categories. Kitty commented that she has approached Blaine Lake town council and requested that the CiB be entered into national competition.

CiB is about so much more than just floral displays. CiB is a "Canadian non-profit organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community participation and the challenge of a national program, with focus on enhancing green spaces in communities."

Each participating community will be evaluated on its overall performance in the categories of tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape, turf and groundcovers, floral displays and community involvement.

The committee will be able to use the previous years' comments by visiting judges as guidelines on local improvement. Trained volunteer judges evaluate communities and the overall contributions of municipality, businesses, institutions and residents. Previously, the judges' tour has included sites such as the library, landfill, SARCAN recycling depot, water treatment facility, cenotaph, golf course/campground, cemeteries, private yards, school grounds and a number of recreational facilities.

Discussion was held to share ideas on how to increase citizen participation and civic pride. One suggestion included having a town-wide competition among homeowners and businesses thus providing an incentive to clean and beautify their lots and yards. Other topics discussed included back alley cleanup, incorporating the students' assistance with projects, reduction of weed growth in the sidewalk and curb areas, maintenance along the rail-line bed, cenotaph cleanup and the ordering and maintenance of the hanging flower baskets that adorn the power poles along Main Street and the numerous ground level pots located near businesses and street corners.

The Blaine Lake CiB will be manning the depot for the delivery for shelterbelt trees and seedlings for local producers who have pre-ordered from Indian Head. The trees are tentatively scheduled to arrive May 29.

The Blaine Lake Communities in Bloom committee welcomes anyone who would like to participate in the program by volunteering their time. Interested individuals can contact the committee organizers through the town office.