FOLLOWING Melksham’s first entry into South West in Bloom last year, the town was awarded an impressive Silver Award.
The committee will be entering Melksham again this year, and want to let Melksham people know the ways they can get involved.
Melksham will be allocated a judging day in July, when two judges will visit Melksham and be taken on an hour and a half route through the town as volunteers explain some of the initiatives going on in Melksham. Assessment will be in the three categories of Gardening Achievement, Environmental Responsibility and Community Participation, so it is not just about flowers.
Last year because of the many voluntary hours, as well as support from Wiltshire Council, Melksham scored highly on cleanliness throughout the town. Community groups who were working to enhance the environment through gardening, cleaning, protecting wildlife and raising awareness also had a chance to present their work. The judges were also given a portfolio of evidence of projects taking place throughout the year around Melksham, that couldn’t be included on the route.
This year, in order to show off Melksham to best possible effect, there are several ways people can get involved:
Take photos of flowers – As part of Melksham’s entry into South West in Bloom, the committee want to show off how great Melksham looks all year round. While the judges will see the town in the summer, there is currently an abundance of flowers and blossoming trees throughout Melksham that won’t be seen.
The committee therefore invite anyone who would like to join in, to email in photos of spring flowers in Melksham. These could be pictures of flowers in gardens, parks, roadsides, schools or any area in Melksham that is springing into life. The pictures will then feature in an online gallery of spring photos, and although it is not a competition, all the people who send in pictures will be entered into a draw and three people will be chosen at random to receive £10 cash. Please email pictures to miriam.zaccarelli @melkshamtown.co.uk.
Show off what you’re doing – If a group is doing, or would like to do, anything related to flowers, planting, gardening, litter picking or cleaning, let the committee know. All they need is some pictures of the activity – before and after pictures if possible – and a small description of the group or people involved, as well as the reason for doing the work. Projects can then get mentioned in the portfolio and in the diary of events across Melksham. If it is near the town centre, it might also be included on the route for the judges to have a look.
Create a new way to get involved – It doesn’t have to be just gardeners who can take part. If you are a crafty or creative group, or do anything artistic, you could arrange to create something – for example: knitted poppies, painted pansies, or a structure, sculpture or perhaps a performance that includes anything to do with Environmental Responsibility or Gardening Practice.
The committee are looking for anything that anyone in the community does that can be shown to the judges, either on judging day, or in the portfolio submitted, that demonstrates that the people of Melksham take pride in their environment and are working in their own ways to make Melksham a great town.
Join the Committee – Lastly, if you would simply like to join the group of people co-ordinating and planning the entry for Melksham, let them know. There are plenty of jobs other than gardening such as website, admin, publicity and photography that all need doing and if you would like to contribute your skills at all, they will be very much appreciated. Kathy Iles, chair of the committee said, “Since Melksham is incredibly rich in groups and community involvement, it would be great to showcase the good work of as many people as possible.”
The committee look forward to hearing from people who would like to get involved, so if you are interested please email lorraine.mcrandle@melkshamtown.co.uk or call 01225 704187.
