Humboldt will be competing at the national level for the 2016 Communities in Bloom competition.
Communities in Bloom judges, Bonita Lundberg and Gail Pearcey, toured around Humboldt on Aug. 3-5 looking at what Humboldt has to offer.
Communities in Bloom judge based on seven categories; tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape, and floral displays, and Pearcey says they are always looking for community involvement and support as well as these seven areas.
“This year there is more of an emphasis on heritage conservation to natural heritage, conservation, interpretation, appreciation and valuing of that aspect. It goes beyond what people traditionally think of green space.”
Passion and involvement is a big factor that Lundberg looks for in a community. Lundberg evaluated Humboldt in the past and is impressed to see all that has improved over the years. As well, Pearcey and Lundberg can look back on past notes from other evaluations and see the changes.
Humboldt trail system and tree planting was very well done, says Lundberg, with the committee and city encouraging residents and developers to include trees in development plans, she says.
Humboldt building heritage is something that stood out for Pearcey.
“Interest and appreciation of built heritage is quite obvious and the history and traditions of the place are coming forward strongly.”
Janice Ruedig with Humboldt Communities in Bloom says they have worked really hard on beautifying Humboldt over the past years they have been involved with Communities in Bloom. She hopes the judges will be impressed with Humboldt’s land reclamation for Water Ridge park, the water tower, and the partnerships with Uniplex, the high school, and the college to beautify Centennial Park.
“A lot of things we showed them involved people and volunteers...I think they’ll be quite impressed with the amount of volunteering that happens in the community.”
Even if the judges were there for a short time, Pearcey says they felt like they were there longer just by how friendly and welcoming everyone was.
“It’s impressive to come here as newcomers and feel like we’ve been here (longer).”
Pearcey says there are many positive things that come out of community beautification, everything from civic pride, with volunteers and residents forming a connection to the place and connecting back to food and where it comes from with community gardens, as well as improvements to mental health with the addition of green space.
Pearcey, who is originally from Newfoundland, has a brand new outlook on Saskatchewan with this round of judging.
