Portfolio Guidelines
Many individual “In Bloom groups produce portfolios cataloguing their entry and although while they do not attract any points, they do give valuable information to the judges prior to their arrival, enabling a more balanced view to be made. The portfolios provide the opportunity for you to showcase year round effort and should be seen as a complement to your tour.
It is suggested that as the same judges visit twice through the year, that a full sized portfolio is given to the judges for the Spring Judging and a brief updated version is provided to the judges for the Summer Judging this should ideally demonstrate how the entrant has addressed some of the issues raised in the Spring.
The portfolio doesn’t have to be professionally designed nor does it need to be a work of art or cost large sums of money. The content is what is important; not the style or presentation. It should be a practical representation of your year round activities, major projects and the achievements made within your community. Portfolios should show the judges things you did in the “off” season (i.e. fundraising events, awareness campaigns, educational programmes, community consultation and planning etc.) AND show the judges things you would like to include on the tour but can’t due to time or other constraints. The portfolios should NOT be a printed version of your tour.
It is suggested that the Spring Portfolios should be:
- A4 in size with clear easily read text
- Maximum 15 sheets of paper, which may be used double sided to give you a maximum of 30 sides.
- It is preferable if portfolios were not presented in hard cover ring binders.
- Bullet points are the preferred format; not paragraph; judges need to be able easily find key facts and figures and burying these in lengthy sections of text/copy makes this challenging. Keep it simple and clear and concentrate on content that demonstrates your community’s efforts to create improvements to your local environment.
- Ideally a map of the route to be taken would be advantageous
Please do not include original important documents as portfolios are not returned.
Suggested Format to use:
- Introduction (max 2 sides)
- Review of the past year (max 4 sides)
This section should be arranged in chronological order - Illustrating your Achievements (max 22 sides)
In order and clearly labelled as follows:
- Horticultural Achievement
- Environmental Responsibility
- Community Participation
You may, if you wish, break down this content even further using the sub-sections (A1, A2… B1, B2… C1, C2 etc.) but this is not required.
- Conclusion (max 2 sides)
Brief summary of key achievements and outline of future plans and Sustaining/maintaining your good work
Suggested Content:
Introduction – 1 page, up to 2 sides
This should include a brief introduction to and history of your entry for example: when you were established, major projects/successes through the years, approximate number of volunteers you have worked with, key community or other partnerships etc. The introduction should also outline how you raised funds and/or support for your activities over the past year.
Review of the Past Year – 2 pages, up to 4 sides
Please include a diary or record of the events that have taken place over the past 12 months and include photographs of year-round events/activities and, where possible, before and after shots. Please note that all photographs should be taken within the last 12 months with the exception of the before shots which should be no older than 2 years please.
The review of the past year should outline any press coverage and promotional/educational activities exemplifying how you kept the wider community informed.
Illustrating Your Achievements – 11 pages, up to 22 sides
This is the section which gives you the opportunity to really showcase how you have used Yorkshire in Bloom to make a genuine contribution to your community. You should provide examples of how you have incorporated the 3 pillars of horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility and community participation into your projects and activities. (Please see format above for details of how this section should be set up.)
Please remember that the portfolio should NOT be a printed version of your tour; it should show the judges things you will not have the opportunity to see on the day due to time or other constraints and therefore complement your tour. For example, if the school children you have worked with will not be available on judging day, include an outline of your work with them along with photos and then simply take the judges to see the results on the day. OR if you have done a project in some outlying area too far to include on judging day, outline the project and document it with photos in your portfolio. NOTE: If the outlying area is a major feature of your achievements, include it on the tour and perhaps use the portfolio for background information only. Consider including at least one photo of every project you outline in this section.
Conclusion & Future Developments – 1 page, up to 2 sides
This section should be use to briefly summarise and re-emphasise your key achievements AND to outline how you plan to sustain and/or improve upon your good work. For example, include any plans you may have for on-going projects, continued funding and/or new projects. Yorkshire in Bloom is about sustainable community improvement and this is your opportunity to highlight how your local campaign will continue to make a contribution to your community in the future.