Communities in Bloom judges check out Bay Roberts
By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Olivia Bradbury
Two judges recently visited Bay Roberts to evaluate the town for the Communities in Bloom contest.
Bay Roberts is a national finalist in one of the program’s categories.
Volunteer judges Angela Vieth and Tina Liu, both from Ontario, evaluated Bay Roberts from July 26to 28.
Liu said Bay Roberts has been one of Communities in Bloom’s champions for a long time. The Town has participated in the program since 1997, initially competing provincially, but graduating to the national level starting in 2002.
“Once you win in your provincial level, you will enter a national level,” Liu explained.
Bay Roberts is one of three finalists in the Class of Champions – Small Population category. The other finalists are Melford, Saskatchewan and Capreol, Ontario. The highest rating a community can receive is 5 Blooms Gold. At present, Bay Roberts has a rating of 5 Blooms Bronze.
Liu said judges keep in mind that communities have different circumstances. This can range from the level of support a community has from the government to the occurrence of natural disasters.
“We always say that you are not competing against each other, you are competing against your own potential,” she said.
Liu explained that judges take note of how a community uses its resources and preserves its heritage. She said that as they evaluate many communities, the judges notice aspects that are unique to each town.
Liu said judges have their individual areas of expertise and are often paired with other judges with different backgrounds.
“We can look at things from different angles, different perspectives,” said Liu.
The judges offer suggestions and advice and commend the entrants on things they are doing well.
“We’re like consultants,” said Vieth, who commended Bay Roberts for competing nationally. “It just makes your community better. In a community like this, they just want things to be better all the time. You get fresh eyes every time there’s a pair of judges coming. And I don’t know that, for a community like this, it’s about the Blooms. It’s about what you learn and what you pick up and what you implement from the judges’ suggestions… It involves everyone in the community. And there’s ways for anybody to be involved in the program. Even the way citizens keep up their front yards, they compost, they take care of the environment, how businesses are behaving and how they take care of their properties and take care of the environment and are involved in the community.”
Liu said it’s a big help for the towns that are competing to have local support.
“Most of the communities who are more advanced in the program are the ones that have support from the municipality,” she said, citing council, Town staff, local businesses, and groups such as gardening clubs, The Lions Club, religious groups, and others as examples.
Liu added that festivals such as Klondyke Days not only unites the residents of Bay Roberts but also those who visit the town. This brings out community pride, which encourages people to participate in the town’s upkeep,” she argued.
“The movement is very beneficial in any community regardless of size,” said Liu, “so we’re very glad that the Town of Bay Roberts is very supportive of this program.”
This is the 32nd year of Communities in Bloom, a national program in which communities from coast to coast are evaluated based on six criteria: community appearance; environmental action; heritage conservation; tree management; landscape; and plant and floral displays.