The Eckville Communities in Bloom Committee, while new, is looking to make an impact on beautifying the town and hopefully increase visitation.
Colleen Ebden, a member of the committee, says this is a completely new venture for the Town of Eckville.
“We have done absolutely nothing like this before,” she said.
Because the Communities in Bloom (CiB) committee is new, Ebden explained it as “trying it out” and something they are “just trying” right now.
Ebden, along with two other committee members, chose to start a CiB committee in Eckville after attending a meeting earlier this year.
“You have to have pride in where you live and I think the people of Eckville have a lot of pride,” she said. “This is just one way to show it.”
With CiB being a new project, Ebden says they aren’t sure what to do first. Though she does know one asset Eckville has in spades is the trees in town.
That will be a focus for Ebden going towards the judging in the middle of July. Ebden says she recently finished counting trees around town. By her count there are 388 trees in Eckville.
“Trees are good, they are life bringing,” said Ebden.
One idea to enhance the trees in town is to plant memorial trees along the walking trail. Ebden also said new trees will be planted to replace the ones that were felled during the wind storm last Tuesday.
“The judges take into account the weather. For instance, if we had a big frost the night before they wouldn’t hold that against us,” said Ebden.
Moving towards judgment day, Ebden says all that will be done is a bit of a collaborative effort, with each member bringing in different ideas.
The Communities in Bloom initiative is more than just planting flowers. According to Ebden its about beautifying Eckville and making it a better place.
Ebden hopes, through Communities in Bloom, the town will receive more recognition and visitors to experience the town.
“We have a lot going on, and I hope this will maybe bring people in who are driving along,” she said.
Along with the trees, Ebden pointed out the spray park, skate park and walking paths as areas of pride.
Ebden believes the CiB committee will be in place in Eckville for the long haul, and will look for community volunteers and more members after the group has a better understanding of what they are doing.
Judges with the provincial Communities in Bloom organization will be in Eckville on July 19.