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Judges bowled over by
'Birkenhead In Bloom'
ENVIRONMENTAL projects in Birkenhead
have swept the board at a regional awards ceremony. No fewer than 16
Birkenhead community schemes came home with accolades from the 2016 North West
In Bloom awards, which were hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society in
Southport.
Residents, councillors and representatives of a variety of agencies attended the
ceremony to collect their awards. Each project had to show how it fared against
a range of criteria, including planting, community involvement, sustainability,
biodiversity and recycling.
The projects were all led by residents, supported by council teams including
housing, waste and recycling and the Birkenhead Constituency staff, Magenta
Housing and other social housing associations and many more organisations.
Each scheme made their areas cleaner and smarter, with planting and painting
being done where needed. Engagement days took place involving residents and
children and ongoing maintenance has been taking place to keep areas tidy.
The winning projects included:- 1 in Beechwood involving residents, councillors,
3 local schools, Liverpool Housing Trust, Big Local and Wirral Council that
transformed the centre of the estate, with new beautiful beds, additional
hanging baskets, and planters, planting of beech trees, food shares, fun days,
painting the local shop units, pruning and replanting the local area. Some
residents commented that they had never seen Beechwood look so good.
Oxton in Bloom was awarded the trophy as an outstanding project. The judges were
overwhelmed with the hanging baskets in Oxton and the partnership between the
community and the retailers.
'All Things Bright and Beautiful'
was a
project run by YMCA and Wirral Methodist Housing Association. They secured £10K
from Tesco and engaged young people from local schools to do some planting.
Residents of the YMCA also planted up and watered hanging baskets and planters
along Whetstone Lane and Borough Road. Their project was fantastic and added
colour and life to a busy arterial Road in Birkenhead.
Cllr George Davies, Chair of the Birkenhead Constituency Committee, said:-
"This has been a fantastic example of residents coming together, supported by
local organisations and the local authority, to make improvements in their
neighbourhood. Their hard work, lovingly undertaken, to improve their
neighbourhoods was rewarded with 15 awards and a Special Cup in the outstanding
section. I hope this will inspire more residents to get involved with the
Birkenhead in Bloom project. It has certainly inspired me to think what I can do
in my neighbourhood!"
One of the judges, Alan Hulme from the Royal Horticultural Society, said:-
"When I came to judge Wirral and Birkenhead earlier this year it was the
first time I had visited and I was inspired to visit again. Not only was I
impressed with the community engagement in the area, but also the partnership
working between organisations and the underpinning support provided by
Birkenhead Constituency Team for all 15 projects in the area.
Although it was the 1st time most of them had entered the RHS North West in
Bloom competition, the motivation and enthusiasm of the people involved has got
them off to an impressive start. I hope I will be able to judge Wirral and
Birkenhead again and will certainly be watching with great interest as I'm sure
the entries will go from strength to strength."
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