Five Blooms for King
Top three of CiB class
By Bill Rea

It's not easy to improve on an 83.1 per cent performance, but organizers of King Township's 2007 Communities in Bloom effort accomplished that.

The scores came down over the weekend, at the Communities in Bloom (CiB) National Awards Ceremonies, held in Moncton, New Brunswick, and the judges gave the Township an impressive five Blooms and 842 out of a possible 1,000 points.

Former councillor Steve Pellegrini, who chaired King's Communities in Bloom committee this year, reported Pembroke, Ontario was the winner among the 11 competing communities with populations between 13,001 and 20,000. White Rock, British Columbia, also received five blooms, and since those were the only three entries to receive that many, King ended up in either second or third place.

As well, the work of the Cold Creek Stewardship committee came in for particular praise from the judges. They reviewed the information they were provided about the history of the property and the combined efforts of the stewardship committee, Township, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and numerous corporate sponsors.

"The restoration of this park fits in well with the goals of CiB because it has initiatives that fulfill each of the eight criteria," the citation stated. "The judges were very impressed by all the work (that) has been done by these dedicated people, and the wonderful results."

Pellegrini said he was "excited that we got five blooms."

He also pointed out King faces a number of challenges if there are hopes of the municipality going over the top.

White Rock, he observed, consists mainly of one village, thus narrowing the area that local organizers have to concentrate on. Pembroke had a similar advantage too.

"They can center everything on one village," he said, while King is much more spread out. "You end up dispensing it throughout the municipality."

But despite that, Pellegrini was enthused with the program and the progress that has been made over the last several years that King has taken part in it.

"Things have looked so much better," he said. "As a program, it's been very successful for king."

Catherine Purcell, director of parks, recreation and culture for the Township, agreed it's been a "successful program" for King.

"I think it's great," she remarked. "We've improved our score from last year."

The results brought an enthused response from Mayor Margaret Black at monday's Township council meeting, as she praised the people behind the effort for doing "an absolutely excellent job."

"It's always gratifying for volunteers to receive recognition," commented Gordon Craig, president of the Cold Creek Stewardship committee, as he stressed it's part of a combined effort, involving the committee, Township, TRCA, the sponsors and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, that awarded $191,000 in grants to the project earlier his year.

Craig said the challenge now is balancing recreation and conservation needs. "It's the right challenge to have," he remarked.

The township was graded according to eight criteria by the two judges; Mario Fournier, of Aylmer, Quebec, and Sylvie Cormier, a horticulturalist with the municipality of Saint- Bruno-de-Montarville, near Montreal. They spent two days in August touring King with representatives of the local committee, and they had many positive things to say at the Community Showcase, held at the end of their tour in Pottageville.

In their 20-page report, the judges said they were impressed with the way the villages stress historical characteristics, and the influence that has on development.

"The dynamic CiB committee members are extremely active and dedicated to their community," they stated. "We greatly appreciate the warm welcome and felt that there was a strong feeling of togetherness in the community."

The suggestions they had included continuing to seek funds to repair the canal in the Holland Marsh and expand its appeal to tourists, while "valuing the agriculture of your region."

King's grade improved in five of the eight categories.

In terms of tidiness, they jumped one point to 107, out of a possible 125. They cited the volunteer clean-ups that take place regularly.

"The graffiti management strategy must work efficiently, as the judges did not visualize any evidence of graffiti during the visit," they reported.

Environmental Awareness was the weakest area in last year's effort with 96 out of 125, but the score this year was 104.5.

The judges acknowledged that the Township is working on an Environmental Sustainability Economic Development Plan with its economic development officer, and they also noted that new housing development is being brought in with priority being given to valuable eco system. They were also impressed with the Green Bin program, which was slated to start a couple of weeks after their tour, calling it "a big step towards diminishing the volume of garbage going to the landfill."

Community involvement had traditionally been King's strongest category, and it still is. The grade remained at last year's level of 109.

"In all fields of activities, there is a strong involvement of volunteers and pride in the results which they have achieved," the report stated, pointing to such events as Arts Festival King and the garden tours hosted by the two local horticultural societies.

King's mark in the natural and cultural heritage conservation category increased by just half a point from last year, up to 107.5.

The judges pointed to the Schomberg Fair, which has been going on for more than 150 years, as well as the cemetery and monument in Lloydtown, which they thought should attract people to the area.

"We were particularly impressed by the commitment from the residents of Kettleby, who are preciously maintaining their hamlet," they wrote.

There was a slight drop in tree and urban forest management class, to 101.5 from 102.

They were impressed with efforts to protect woodlots of .2 hectares or more, and the cooperation between groups in planting indigenous trees, especially in the villages. They noticed many residents outside the villages have been planting "exotic conifers such as Colorado spruce," and they suggested it would be better to plant more native trees like white pine and hemlock to blend with the natural landscape.

In the landscaped areas category, King's mark improved by two to 102.

"The gateways to each village are pretty and of good taste," the judges reported. "Some flowers could be added to make them more colourful."

They were also impressed with the gazebo outside Nobleton library, calling it "an initiative worth repeating in other sectors of the township."

As well, they took note of the "impressive landscape feature" at Allstone Quarry Products on Highway 27.

The floral display score slipped a bit, from 107 to 105.

The judges pointed to "a nice diversity of plants" in most of the flower displays in the various hanging baskets and portable planters. They suggested some flower beds be added, as well as planters than can hold moisture longer, thus easing the burden on municipal staff who have to water them every day.

The turf and ground covers class saw an increase from 104 to 105.5, with the judges noting that Township staff has adopted best management practices, such as mulching leaves and leaving it on the ground.