The results are in from the recent Communities in Bloom friendly competition on July 25th. The judges, Bonita Lundberg and Kathy Sproat Michelson gave Estevan 3 blooms in the non-competitive category.

Rod March, Bonita Lundberg, Kathie Mickelson, Shannon Wanner

 The judges had high praise for the city specifically in parks, energy efficiency, care of urban forestry and call Estevan "a jewel in southern Saskatchewan.”

“This year we participated in Communities in Bloom to gain a visitor’s and residents perspective,” said Parks and Facilities Manager, Rod March. “Now we’ve learned a few things, and we’re learning to focus our efforts in Estevan in better ways.”

The two judges were given a tour of the city by Shannon Wanner, Parks Foreperson, Rebecca Westling, Destination Marketing and Communications Consultant, and Rod March. They were shown different attractions and locations highlighting the six categories of the competition: Tidiness, Environmental Awareness, Natural and Cultural Heritage Conservation, Tree and Urban Forestry Management, Landscape, and Floral Display.

 “You have a good handle on the tidiness portion of the evaluation, your mowing is exceptional as well as the weeding and watering throughout the city,” said the judges. “The overall ‘Wow’ factor was exceptional upon arrival.”

“The judges did make recommendations on updating benches throughout the city as well as a few others,” said Wanner. “Most of the recommendations they made are attainable and we will be making adjustments to make those things a focus. Some recommendations are larger projects and it was suggested to get a Communities in Bloom working committee going.”

 “It’s a lot more than flowers,” added Wanner, “Communities in Bloom is all about seeing communities grow in a healthy and sustainable way. We are looking for residents who want to help make our community stand out even more and advance into a competitive category of the communities in bloom program.”

READ MORE: 

READ MORE: