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2016 Registered CiB Alberta Communities
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Welcome to Alberta's 2016 provincial edition of Communities in Bloom! There are 32 Alberta communities registered in our provincial CiB Program and 20 communities participating in the national edition.
The key to the success of the CiB Alberta program is the incredible spirit of community involvement! Local committees work together to prepare their communities for evaluation in the areas of environmental action, tidiness, urban forestry, heritage conservation, floral displays, and landscape.
A list and map of the communities registered in Alberta's 2016 provincial program, along with the 2016 Evaluation Day Schedule, can be viewed at the following links:
Good luck to all our 2016 CiB Alberta participants!
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Cold Lake Prepares to Host 2016 Provincial Awards
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Alberta's 2016 Communities in Bloom (CiB) Provincial Awards Ceremony will be held in Cold Lake on Saturday, September 17, 2016.
Communities from all over Alberta are anticipated to be in attendance. The day will feature a Horticultural Workshop in the Community Garden along with a Bus Tour to the marina!
Register with Jazelle Robb at
[email protected]
or phone 780-815-3323 for more information.
Click the photo below to view the poster for more details.
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2016 Judges Workshop
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The CiB Alberta Judges' Workshop was held on Saturday, April 25 at the
Dr. Woods House Museum
in Leduc. There were 16 CiB judges were in attendance, including three who will be judging for the first time this summer.
We were treated to an outstanding presentation by Leta van Duin, Executive Director of the Low
Impact Development Partnership. Leta gave a presentation on the concept of Low Impact Development (LID) - a holistic approach to urban drainage management. Click here to understand more about how Low Impact Development works.
Leta shared how Low Impact Development not only achieves flood protection during extreme rainfall events, but does a lot more when considering the entire hydrologic cycle and mobilizing the whole landscape. She also shared some of the toolbox of practice that communities can use to create a high-performance urban environment from the perspective of their water resources.
Following Leta's presentation and a brief administrative update, CiB judges, Lorna McIlroy gave a presentation titled "Working with the Media" and Berta Briggs spoke about "Scoring Basics".
The 2016 CiB Alberta Judges and the links to their biographies are as follows:
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2016 CiB Alberta Judges
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| Berta Briggs talks about the basics of scoring |
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Special Opportunities for your CiB Community
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CiB has several exciting projects for your community to participate in this summer. There is still time to submit your application:
Home Hardware Dealer Involvement Contest (deadline August 30, 2016)
We want to learn more about the initiatives that your local CiB committee undertakes to involve your local Home Hardware Dealer in your community. In addition to telling us about your initiatives with your local dealer, we are inviting you to nominate your local dealer for "Communities in Bloom Home Hardware Dealer of the Year".
Apply Here
Home Hardware - Canada's Backyard Contest (deadline August 30, 2016)
Show us your backyard and tell us why you are proud of it! Amongst all entries, we will draw five (5) $100 Home Hardware gift certificates to help you purchase Mark's Choice products, lawn and garden products and other outdoor living products. The national judges will also select the best entry to win a trip* for 2 to the 2016 Communities in Bloom National & International Symposium and Awards Ceremonies in Regina, SK from October 27th- 29th, 2016. Apply Here
National Photo Contest
(deadline August 31, 2015)
We would like to invite you to submit photos for selection to be featured in the 2017 Home Hardware Charity Calendar, a fundraiser for the SickKids Foundation. Visit
www.sickkidsfoundation.com
for more details.
As in the past, the calendar will feature Gardens and/or Community involvement of Communities in Bloom participants.
See details of how to submit your photos
here
.
In addition, we are also looking for a Remembrance Day Theme (not necessarily of Remembrance Day itself but a photo that would showcase, for instance, a memorial park, official ceremony or monument), for the November pages (2016 and 2017) of the Charity Calendar.
Gardens of Remembrance Program (deadline 5pm, November 30, 2016)
Communities in Bloom is pleased to announce the 2016 edition of the Gardens of Remembrance.
The program aims, in the spirit of commemoration, to engage communities throughout Canada to
honour Veterans by means of remembrance gardens along with local activities. The gardens will involve the entire community to ensure that their meaning is known by all, particularly including activities with our youth.
The Gardens of Remembrance Program goal and objectives are to showcase our gratitude to
Veterans-those men and women who served their country in times of war, military conflict and peace, and those who have lost their lives during war and other military engagements-and to recognize the sacrifices made by their families.
The program will consist of evaluating existing memorial gardens to showcase them and promoting the creation of new memorial gardens to encourage communities throughout Canada to participate in the Gardens of Remembrance program.
Scotts Canada will be offering a $1,500 contribution to the Best Garden submission and a $500 contribution to two other submissions.
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Cenotaph Garden, Millet AB
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Three Home Hardware gift certificates ($100 each) will also be drawn amongst all applications.
The Remembrance Gardens will be featured in the 2017 Spring edition of the Communities in Bloom Magazine.
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2016 CiB National Symposium and National & International Awards Ceremonies
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Regina, SK
October 27-29, 2016
Have you ever attended a National CiB event?
If not, you and your CiB committee, along with delegates from across Canada and around the world, are invited to attend the Provincial, National and International Awards along with the Symposium on October 27 to 29, 2016 in Regina, SK.
Held in conjunction with the annual national and international awards ceremonies, this event is a unique opportunity for community volunteers, elected officials, and parks and grounds professionals to learn and share about current issues, trends and challenges in horticulture and gardening, community tourism and projects, and environmental awareness.
The symposium program will provide an outstanding combination of community-focused presentations and interactive sessions. There will also be numerous opportunities to network and learn together with provincial, national and international delegates.
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Meet Communities in Bloom Judge: Debby Gargus
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Debby is a retired teacher, and an avid gardener. She began gardening as a child, with her father and grandmother, and continues to harvest a bounty of fruit and vegetables each fall. Obtaining her BSc in Foods and Nutrition and B.Ed. from the University of Alberta, Debby taught Foods & Fashion and Science for 25 years. She has judged agricultural fair bench exhibits in Northeast Alberta (foods & handicrafts) for many years.
In 2009, Debby received her Master Organic Gardener Certificate from the Stony Plain Multicultural Center. She has been an active volunteer of the Town of Mundare Communities in Bloom Committee since its inception in 1999, and the subsequent winning of the Provincial (2000) and National (2003) titles for communities with a population of under 1000.
In 2012, Debby was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for volunteer service to her community. She is looking forward to participating in provincial judging and seeing "People, Plants, and Pride working Together" around the province.
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Dutch Elm Disease: Protecting Elm Roots and Trees During Construction
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Municipalities and homeowners doing construction projects such as sidewalk repairs, home building or renovations, need to take into consideration the importance of tree protection. Damage done to roots, trunk or crown is permanent and if extensive, can be fatal. This can lead to a decline of the tree and make it more susceptible to beetle attraction and Dutch elm disease.
Roots are one of the most vital parts of the tree. They are responsible for the stability of the tree and if several of the main roots are severed or damaged during construction, this could cause the tree to become unstable especially during storms. This could lead to property damage and the possibility of it becoming a liability.
There is a lot of good information available about how to protect your tree during construction. Your trees are a valuable asset, contributing to property values, reducing noise, cutting energy costs and attracting songbirds.
If in doubt, you can always hire an arborist. An arborist can assess the health and structural integrity of your trees and suggest measures to preserve and protect them. For more information, check out these links:
Reprinted from the STOPDED e-Bulletin July 2016. STOPDED is a valuable supporter of CiB Alberta.
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Attention: Communities Interested in Joining CiB
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Do you know a neighboring community that may be interested in participating in the CiB Alberta program?
You can also get more information from our
CiB Alberta website
which contains resources for getting started in CiB.
We can also do a CiB workshop in your community. If you know of a community who may be interested in the CiB Alberta Program, please forward their contact information to Karen Snethun, CiB Alberta Provincial Coordinator at
[email protected]
. We would love to have them grow with us!
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Is your CiB Alberta community in the news? Check out
CiB Alberta in the Media
on our website. Timely and informative articles will give you project ideas and keep you up-to-date on CiB happenings in and around Alberta. If you have news that you'd like included, you can send it to
[email protected]
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