Bradley Stoke in Bloom (BSiB) is going from strength to strength with two recent big achievements, write group members Geoff Roach and Sara Messenger.
We are taking part in the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) ‘In Your Neighbourhood’ scheme, which provides smaller volunteer-led community groups, such as ourselves, the opportunity to get involved with the wider Britain in Bloom initiative (which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year).
At the end of the summer we had our first assessment by the organisers, and were evaluated against the three core principles of the scheme – Community Participation, Environmental Responsibility and Gardening Achievement. We were delighted to learn that we’ve been assessed as ‘improving’, in essence level 2 of 5, despite us running for just a few months.
As many of you will have now seen, we’ve established floral displays at the town signs at either end of Bradley Stoke Way, using wooden planters. They will provide colour through the seasons and an enhanced wildlife habitat. Local craftsman Julian Smith made the planters from recycled wood, which has given them their very individual look. Julian is happy to take commissions and can be contacted on 07500 293411.
The planters were installed during the afternoon session of our October workday, after the morning had been spent learning some First Aid. The training was provided free by the Bradley Stoke St John Ambulance group, so ‘thank you’ to Katherine, Selina and Clive, who gave up their morning to help out and also to the Aztec Hotel who generously gave us a free room.
To mark BSiB’s six-month anniversary, there will be a public meeting at the Jubilee Centre on Tuesday 26th November, starting at 7.30pm. We will be sharing our progress to date and our (ambitious) plans for the future. There will also be an opportunity for people to choose a logo and to say what improvements they would like to see in their town. Also if anyone would like to donate any plants or tools please bring them along on the night.
To help us grow and tackle more projects, we are keen to get more volunteers to help at our workdays (held on the third Saturday of each month). The meeting details are listed in the online ‘What’s On’ section of The Journal. The sessions run from 10am until 4pm, with a break for lunch.
If you have any questions or ideas, please contact us at bsib@hotmail.co.uk or leave a message on 07582 634107.
We also have a new Facebook page: ‘Bradley Stoke in Bloom’ and soon we will have a website: bradleystokeinbloom.com
This article originally appeared in the November edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to all homes in Bradley Stoke.
It’s a shame that it took over 20 years since the formation of the town for this group to be created, but what they’ve done in the last 6 months (such as the planters and tidying up the flower beds on Brook Way) is a big improvement.
The ‘in Bloom’ groups in other towns such as Thornbury have made a real difference to the look and community spirit of their towns, let’s hope the Bradley Stoke group gets all the support it needs to help make a real difference.