Portage la Prairie just received results of the Manitoba Communities in Bloom assessment of our city in a special presentation at City Hall on Wednesday. Portage Community Revitalization Corporation executive director Val Garlick presented the results to Mayor Irvine Ferris, along with a gift of Canada 150 tulip bulbs. The white and red blossoms represent the Canadian flag.

Ferris outlines the results.

Ferris reading details of the report"The Communities in Bloom tour we had earlier this summer and its judges gave us pretty detailed feedback on what they saw in our community. Things that are really, really good, things that we could improve on. I was also presented with a gift of tulip bulbs which will go to our Parks Manager Dave Green. and he will be planting them in the next few weeks in a public area. So, they'll come up next spring. It's a very interesting report because this is a fresh set of eyes. The folks who judged the city were pretty qualified people. I met them on the tour. One of them worked for the City of Winnipeg. This is our very first time going into this, and we're in the novice category. They put cities in various categories. Ours is the Over 5,000 population. They're are six criteria they used. They looked at municipal, business and institutions, residential; they looked at community involvement; they had general comments. Part of it reads, 'Portage la Prairie is a tidy, attractive and well-maintained city. It was clear that there is pride of ownership in all sectors of the community (municipal, business, institutional and residential) as was evidenced by neat, mowed, trimmed and nearly litter free properties throughout the city. In addition, only one minor graffiti tag was noticed after seeing numerous facilities and kilometres of streets and lanes. The judges congratulate the city and its community partners on this excellent outcome.' Ands that graffiti, by the way, was on private property. They had been there and the home owner said they'd take care of it themselves. So, anyway, that's very good compared to maybe seven or eight years ago. We had a lot more graffiti."

"The results continue to say, 'The city has done extremely well in developing impressive sport, recreation and cultural facilities for its citizens including Island Park, Crescent Lake, the PCU Recreation Complex, Splash Island Water Park, Rotary Republic of Manitobah Park Sports Fields, Fort la Reine Museum, and the William Glesby Centre Theatre.' They talked about cemeteries, public buildings, the urban forest. This is something that's talked about a little bit more. We have an urban forestry policy. We have an inventory of what urban forest is, and they have some observations and suggestions on how to improve that inventory. They give feedback on tidiness and all the four areas they looked at, and how we did. Observations and recommendations. So, this report will be used looking forward to next year's competition, and we take a look at this and see what improvements we can make."

Tour organizer James Kostuchuk was part of the initiative and explains his part.

"We were approached by PCRC to assist with the Communities in Bloom Tour and we both have a background in that. Bill (William Plenty) lived here for a good portion of his life. But he has an interest in natural history. I have an interest in history, and those were two of the things that are in Communities in Bloom. So, we helped create a tour of our community to highlight those aspects. Bill introduced me to the idea of canopies. Portage is a tree-friendly town. Something I'd never really paid attention to. I think the tour went well."

He notes, "For me, the tour we spent a day, but we had to practice it. We had to create a map of where we were going to go. It really renewed my enthusiasm for Portage la Prairie. I learned so much about our town. And when I read the report about our town it's really going to allow us to look at the city through fresh eyes. I think it can make a real difference. They're very specific about things you could do to improve how your town appears to people who are not from here. But I think it'll also have an impact on people who live here. Because you kind of get used to some of the things around, and you don't appreciate them enough."

William Plenty shares how he got involved.

"I'm a local filmmaker actually, and about a decade ago there was a big town initiative called the Beautification initiative. I planted all the trees out in the west end in that park. So, I have a background in organize tree planting. So, they called me and I helped with some of the imagery in the document that was provided to the Communities in Bloom people. So, I sort of know where almost every tree in town is."

Stefanie McKim PCRC Community Engagement Coordinator Stefanie McKim adds, "Portage la Prairie participated in the novice category because it was our city's first time participating in the program. So we presented the full evaluation to the city as well as a special gift of the Canada 150 tulips. They're special bulbs that when they bloom they sort of represent the Canada flag. It's a special token to the City for all their support as we tackle this endeavour for the first time. Going through the evaluation we were pleased with the results. The judges made a lot of keen observations, and they were very specific to our City which we certainly appreciated. There's a lot of suggestions they made that we can certainly implement or look into implementing in the years to come as we strive fro that '5 Bloom' rating. Overall, I have to just say that the Communities in Bloom was so supportive of Portage participating in the program. They did mention that they've been eyeing our city for a number of years hoping we would be part of the program. So, they were very excited and very welcoming to Portage. So, we look forward to working with them for years to come."

PCRC Community Facilitator Victoria Olson notes, "It was a really good way to kind of get our feet wet with the program and know what we need to do differently moving forward next year. So, we're really excited about . getting going for the 2017 year." She says Portage will be vying for an actual Bloom rating next year. "We'll be excited to see what we score knowing more about what the judges are looking for in terms of the six different criteria areas and how maybe we can address those a little better, and some of the improvements from their recommendations that we make in the next year.

Overall we got a 64% rating, which is good for a novice city.

Irvine Ferris holding book commemorating Portage's involvement in Communities In Bloom, created by William Plenty