The District of Mission received five blooms – bronze – and a special mention for the Communities in Bloom School Program during the 2015 National Symposium and awards ceremonies in Kamloops.
Mission participated in the 20,001 to 50,000 category along with Dieppe, New Brunswick, and West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation, B.C.
Volunteer judges travelled to participating communities to evaluate the overall contributions of municipal council and departments; industry; businesses and the private sector (including volunteer efforts) in regards to the following criteria: tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape and floral displays.
Following their evaluation, volunteer judges Peter Crawshaw and Lucie Gagné wrote: “The Mission CIB Society School program has been in operation for six years and is now poised to expand beyond the immediate region. At present, there are 15 schools involved in such projects as school gardens, litter pickup and composting. The mayor annually awards a recognition plaque to one elementary school and one secondary school. The success of this program is testament to the dedication of the Mission CIB Societies’ commitment to the community and the desire to introduce and encourage environmental awareness into the population from an early age.”
Visit communitiesinbloom.ca for all results.