Section C - Community Participation                   

30 points; 30%

In this section the judges will be looking for your year-round achievements in 3 key areas:

C1. Communication and Awareness
C2. Funding and Support
C3. Year Round Activity and On-Going Planning
 

Each of these key areas will make up 10% of your overall score and be worth a maximum of 10 points.

Community participation is crucial to the success and continuity of RHS Yorkshire in Bloom campaigns and judges will consider community participation in all appropriate areas of the local campaign’s initiatives. For example they will consider whether the local campaign has engaged the community in responsible resource management or educated them about this important issue or whether they have tried to educate and engage the community with regards to local heritage sites. Although this section does outline the key areas of community participation, please bear this important core pillar in mind across all of your Bloom activities and initiatives.

The judges will take account of:

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C1. Communication and Awareness- 10 points; 10% 

Active engagement with the local audience both within and outside the immediate area, involving all ages and groups. Communication and media (including Social Media) embraced in all its forms.                                                                           Areas/activities which may be included Development and sustainability of the local bloom initiative and evidence of on-going projects

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C2. Funding and Support- 10 points; 10% 

Evidence of forward planning and year round activities highlighting any events to raise awareness and make this entry unique and demonstrates the present strengths of the entry.

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C3. Year Round Activity & On-Going Planning- 10 points; 10%

Evidence of forward planning and year round activities highlighting any events to raise awareness and make this entry unique and demonstrates the present strengths of the entry

 

 

 

What is assessed

Has the local bloom campaign made efforts to engage and secure support from local government, the commercial/corporate sector and local businesses? Have there been activities to raise support and/or funds from the general public? Has sufficient support been secured to ensure the campaign is able to deliver its objectives? Is there a plan of action to secure sufficient continuing support for the development and on-going projects of the campaign?

RHS Yorkshire in Bloom is a proactive campaign of communities creating long-term improvements to their local environment. As such it is expected that a diverse range of community members will be involved in the campaign and that there will be broad based public awareness and support. Focusing on community participation may require some local authorities and public bodies involved to in driving local bloom initiatives to take on the role of enabler or advisor to generate that participation.

RHS Yorkshire in Bloom’s positioning as a community improvement and environmentally responsible campaign means that the judges will want to see how finalists intend to continue to develop their programme. Judges will also be very interested to see that young people and schools have been involved where possible and that care has been taken to make effective use of the educational opportunities which exist. Furthermore, RHS Yorkshire in Bloom is not just about spring and summer floral displays; it is about a year-round programme of activity to improve, enhance and maintain the environment around us and keep the community actively engaged in keeping things at their best.

The judges will be looking for campaigns which:

• Evidence thoughtful planning of how to maintain the improvements they make and how to develop in the future.

• Have an effective communication and education programme evidenced by the level of awareness and understanding in the community as well as by physical evidence such as informative signs and displays, press clippings, publicity materials etc.

• Evidence a broad base of community involvement across all ages, ethnic and/or religious backgrounds, and socio-economic groups with a particular effort to engage young people/schools/colleges as appropriate to their community.

• Have a year-round programme of activity to keep their community engaged and at its best throughout the year (not just spring/summer displays and activities).

• Have secured funding/sponsorship and/or support for their activities and the support of government, commercial, corporate, business sectors for their campaign.