Volunteer likes to see city ‘looking beautiful’

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This article was published 17/08/2012 (5045 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon is a remarkable city and it’s “almost like a best-kept secret,” said Steve Preston, a national judge for Communities in Bloom.

Preston, along with fellow judge Stephen King, attended a recognition picnic at Coronation Park on Thursday. The picnic was for the volunteers and city workers who helped prepare Brandon for the competition.

“It’s nice for outsiders to come in — I think the residences themselves don’t realize exactly what they have until someone such as ourselves come in and say ‘hey, you’ve got something good happening here,’” Preston said.

Back in 2000, Brandon was an overall national Communities in Bloom winner, so this year the city is competing against other past national champions.

“We are past champions and this year we are showing that we can hold our own in the championship category,” said Esther Bryan, manager of community development for Brandon.

Bryan said it’s nice to have a fresh set of eyes on the city.

“The judges are extremely knowledgeable and their evaluation is like getting a report card, which is great for us so we can see where we can continue to grow,” Bryan said.

King said he was very impressed with what he has seen in Brandon and that Brandon shines through in the community involvement category.

“Brandon is beautiful — you can see all the great efforts the city staff and the community groups are doing, whether it’s service clubs like the Lions or the garden clubs,” King said.

One of the clubs that help beautify Brandon is the Brandon Garden Club and its president, Deane Sawchuk, said there are more then 100 members who volunteer at various parks throughout Brandon.

“Some of the members are just unbelievably knowledgeable about plants, shrubs and trees. If you ever have a question you can always get an answer from one of them,” Sawchuk said. “If a younger person wanted to learn about plants, this is a great way to do it. There is a membership fee, but it entitles you to lots of things like tours, workshops and there is a speaker event every month.”

Brandon Garden Club member Bev Morrice is among the three or four women who meet every Thursday at Princess Park to weed and tidy.

“I’m retired and I like to give something back to the city. It’s been a great city to live in. I just like to see the city looking beautiful and I love flowers. It’s just a nice thing to do for the community,” Morrice said.

Brandon hasn’t entered the competition since 2008 because organizers wanted to do some development and growing. Last year they were forced to withdraw because of the high water.

The city will be evaluated through eight criteria: floral displays, landscapes, turf, urban forestry, community involvement, heritage, conservation, environmental awareness and tidiness.

The other cities in the class of champions are Calgary, Edmonton, Athabasca, Alta., and Stratford, Ont.

» rbooker@brandonsun.com