Early next week, two judges will come to Estevan through the Communities in Bloom competition and take a long hard look at our community鈥檚 appearance.
They鈥檒l gage us on our tidiness, our urban forestry, our parks and other criteria, and then decide how we rate.聽
Estevan is spending another year in the evaluated friends category, so we鈥檙e not in the competitive division of Communities in Bloom just yet, but we will still be assigned 鈥渂looms鈥� based on the judges鈥� impressions of our community.
Ten or 15 years ago, it鈥檚 unlikely that Estevan would have even found itself entered in a contest like this. It鈥檚 not that we were an ugly community, but it didn鈥檛 always feel like beautification was a top priority.
There were people working hard to improve our appearance, and there were beautification committees, but it felt like beautification efforts were an afterthought to the general public.
We鈥檙e still not there (and we should never look at our community and say 鈥渨e鈥檙e there鈥�) but we have seen considerable progress in the last 15 years.
Our participation in Communities in Bloom is another example of taking steps forward. At one time, we pulled out of the Golden Garbage Can competition with Weyburn because we felt we couldn鈥檛 beat them. Now we鈥檙e entering an initiative that has entries from across the country.
And we鈥檙e not in the full-fledged competitive division yet, but that day will come. (Hopefully it will happen next year).
Communities in Bloom is about much more than just judges taking a look at our community, and assigning us a bloom rating, and then seeing how we stack up. It鈥檚 about more than just the grant money that is available for beatification for participating communities. (Although that is certainly a bonus).
Communities in Bloom is about civic pride. It鈥檚 about everybody chipping in and doing their part to help make Estevan look better. It鈥檚 about creating a higher standard in the community.
It鈥檚 not good enough to say 鈥渨ell, just let the city or a local committee worry about beautification.鈥�
Nor can we spend time making our community look great for the Communities in Bloom judges, or the Rafferty Rumble later this month, and then forget about it for the rest of the summer.
It鈥檚 something that we need to worry about every day.
It means making sure our yards are always well-maintained and looking good. It means making sure the branches are trimmed, the weeds are removed and the grass is cut. It means taking pride in what we own.
Estevan has a lot going for itself. We鈥檙e nestled in a nice location with the rolling hills that surround the community. There is some great scenery, especially in the south end of the city. There are some residential roads that are aesthetically appealing with a line of trees on each side of the road.
And it is getting better. Measures the city has taken in recent years, such as paving the leisure centre鈥檚 parking lot, painting traffic lights and curbs, and fixing the broken pavement left behind from water main breaks, have made a big difference.
As we move into this next chapter in our city鈥檚 history, beautification becomes even more important. Estevan is no longer a place where people come to work. We鈥檙e going to have to work harder than ever to attract people to this great city.
Creating a more beautiful community will go a long ways.
Hopefully the Communities in Bloom judges will see the progress that has been made.
