Trail will have flowers this summer.
With all the doom and gloom brought by the novel coronavirus, one thing that won’t change this year will be Trail’s floral program.
Well, not much.
“We could have cancelled it entirely, to save money,” said Trail Community in Bloom chair, Dan Rodlie. “But we’d already ordered the flowers for this year and some 200 hanging baskets have already been planted.
“Hence, the city would have been on the hook for those costs anyway.”
Another factor Rodlie mentioned was the future of the Communities in Bloom (CiB) program in Trail, which he said would be in jeopardy if cancelled this year.
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So, he came up with a plan to keep it going at a much-reduced cost, and Trail council approved it.
“Since the flowers will have to be paid for, we can still use our volunteers to put them in pots and in the ground,” Rodlie said.
“Of course, we will have to maintain safe social distancing but with the help of local gardeners, we can still get it done.”
Rodlie also noted that the number of pots and baskets going out will be reduced in order to cut watering costs.
Florals in the various show gardens will be watered with existing irrigation.
“We won’t be spending money on any new projects, either – no new signage, banners or other incidentals,” Rodlie said.
“And the signs we have to be placed in the Jubilee Park White Garden, were bought last year.”
An issue still to be resolved is washroom facilities.
With the closure of public buildings throughout the City of Trail, volunteers won’t have access, so porta-potties may have to be a temporary solution.
Highway cleanup is also on hold as the transportation department mandated that all clean-up programs be cancelled for now.
The annual visit by CiB judges has been cancelled by the national program, as has the symposium and award presentations usually held in various cities across the country in September.
Communities in Bloom is a national Canadian non-profit, volunteer-based program that promotes “people, plants and pride” in which cities across Canada enter the competition and are awarded “Bloom Ratings.”
Cities are evaluated on floral displays, landscapes, turf and ground covers, urban forestry, community involvement, heritage conservation, environmental awareness and tidiness. The organization is committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community participation and the challenge of competition.
Trail’s Community in Bloom Committee has been involved in this program since 2002 and has been nationally recognized for many accomplishments over the years, including winning the 2019 Garden Community Destination of the Year Award.
newsroom@trailtimes.ca
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