Coun. Roger Nordick learned a lot from the 2015 National Communities in Bloom Competition in Kamloops, B.C. He is head of the Communities in Bloom committee for Humboldt and attended the event with his wife, Shelia. The City of Humboldt participated in the competition that saw villages, towns, and cities from all across Canada put their communities on display.
Since so many communities were receiving five blooms, the system has changed since last year and has additional categories of Five Blooms Bronze, Five Blooms Silver and Five Blooms Gold. Humboldt received five blooms with a score of 82 per cent - 3 per cent away from getting into the bronze scoring range. Humboldt’s score also dropped from last years’score of 83.5 per cent.
Nordick says there are a couple of reasons for the drop, like Humboldt’s lack of recycling around city parks and downtown.
“We’ve seen some fantastic displays regarding recycling and the types of containers and the signage...we can certainly do some of that year after year through budgeting (to) improve our recycling,” he said.
Even though there is recycling through REACT and Sarcan, Nordick says there needs to be recycling in public areas and that is something that was missing from Humboldt’s Communities in Bloom entry.
“That was something they were really pushing in Kamloops,” Sheila said. “They’re leading by example. Their sportsplexes are down to 10 per cent (garbage).”
In other words, 90 per cent of their waste is recycled.
Based on things he saw at the conference, Nordick said he has a few list of achievable recommendations for the city.
The first one would be to use city vehicles as billboards.
“If they are going to be out driving all over the community, it would be much better to see them advertising whatever programs they really want to promote,” he said.
Part of the message the committee wants to get out is that the competition is about more than just flowers.
“There are six parts to Communities in Bloom, and flowers are only 17 per cent of it,” Nordick said.
Communities are also judged based on tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry and landscaping.
The focus on education is a big part of the competition.
The other recommendation that Nordick wants to make to the city is beautifying around the LED sign on Highway 5 with the Communities in Bloom logo spelled out in flowers.
“That will be seen. The majority of people head west, whether they are traveling through or going shopping. We think that’s a good way to display a large floral arrangement,” he said.
Nordick wants to make another recommendation about cigarette butts that are left around. A lot of cities have been turning it into a competition among smokers. All it takes is two plastic tubes and a question and smokers can vote with their cigarette butts, for example, who is better: Leafs or Canadiens.
Nordick said any kind of unique idea is welcome because people are still throwing butts on the ground even when ashtrays are provided.
Nordick said the stands are something that city staff can make themselves since all it would take is two clear PVC pipes and could be a great encouragement to get butts off the ground.
Another recommendation that would take some encouragement of residents is planting edible herbs and fruits that can give the Communities in Bloom planters a greater purpose than just floral displays. Nordick said that restaurants especially would be encouraged to take the fresh herbs to use and as long as people are taking them, herbs will keep growing.
Humboldt’s Communities in Bloom committee is only an advisory committee for the city’s Community and Leisure Services, which is in charge of doing the work. These recommendations will be brought to the next council meeting.
