Two judges from Canada’s “Communities in Bloom” project were in town Friday and Saturday to take a look at what Fort Frances has to offer as well as to provide guidance to help beautify the town.
“Communities in Bloom” is a national contest “committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility, and beautification through community participation and the challenge of a friendly competition,” its mission statement says.
Although Fort Frances is not yet officially in the contest, Mayor Dan Onichuk has been heavily involved in getting the ball rolling after being approached by Helen Crook of the local horticultural society in hopes of competing next year in the 5,000-10,000 population division.
This year is the learning year for Fort Frances, so Lee Rozon and Angela Vieth of “Communities in Bloom” spent two days here visiting various sites around the community with the mayor, such as the Hope fountain, the Hallett, the Fort Frances Museum, and the La Verendrye Parkway to name just a few.
There are eight criteria the judges consider when choosing the winning municipalities: floral displays, turf and groundcover areas, landscaping, heritage preservation, tidiness effort, environmental awareness, urban forestry, and community involvement.
The municipalities are judged based on a system of one to four blooms.
“We’re pretty impressed so far with what we’ve seen,” Vieth said Friday. “Very tidy, very clean, very picturesque and green.”
Vieth also commented on how the museum used to be a schoolhouse and the town hall, saying that is an excellent way to preserve heritage.
“What we usually find with ‘Communities in Bloom’ is that most times municipalities have all the components, but they don’t have the networking to pull them all together,” said Rozon.
“But when you bring them all together, the impact is monumental.
“We’re very impressed with the involvement of the municipality, in particular the mayor—he pulled it all together,” she added.
Mayor Onichuk is very enthusiastic about this project after working to convince town council to endorse getting involved.
And before next year’s competition rolls around, he has some ideas for community beautification, such as planting tall cedars behind the Holy Cross Cemetery on King’s Highway, more space for artists to publicly display their work, and front and backyard garden contests between residential, commercial, and industrial areas.
Rozon stressed community spirit plays a significant role in the success of the project, and that the more the municipality is involved, the easier it is to co-ordinate the volunteers.
“The backbone has to be the town,” agreed Mayor Onichuk. “We’ve got all the components and we do a lot of good, it’s just bringing it all together.
“We’re in our infancy but we’re enjoying it,” he added.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
