Trim on standby ahead of 'International Communities in Bloom' judges arrival
An abundance of colourful floral displays and stunning murals will greet the judges when they arrive in Trim later this week for judging in the International Communities in Bloom competition.
A massive community effort involving Trim Tidy Towns, the council's outdoor staff, local businesses, community organisations and residents associations is on for the final push ahead of judging on Friday and many have commented that the town has never looked better.
Having won the National Tidy Towns competition in 2022, Trim represents Ireland in the 30th edition of the prestigious competition. Judges Susan Ellis from Pembroke, Ontario Canada and Bob Ivison from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire United Kingdom, will be evaluating Trim on Friday taking a tour of the town and meeting many local groups throughout the day.
Orange is the theme for the competition this year and this has been carried throughout the town in floral displays and also murals.
The community will be rated from 1 to 5 Blooms, based on the scoring obtained and will also aim to obtain bronze, silver or gold levels in the 5-Bloom rating. The other towns in their category include Brooks, Alberta Canada; Rosemère, Québec Canada; Stratford, Ontario Canada and Szentes, Hungary.
The results will be announced in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Canada in October.
Cllr Ronan Moore of Trim Tidy Towns explained that the competition is like Michelin Star status and if you do well and get up awarded five blooms you can promote yourself as a five star 'Community in Bloom' town.
He said it has been all hands on deck this week in the run up to judging and paid tribute to everyone involved in the efforts with a special mention to Anthony Conlon and his outdoor staff saying Anthony had even held off his retirement to be involved.
Cllr Moore said that to do well in the competition would be another string to the town's bow in promoting itself on the international stage and would be a great boost for tourism, particularly the Canadian market.
The judges will visit several locations around the town including Norman Pratt Park, Newtown Cemetery, the Porchfields, the Blackfriary archaeological dig site, the Sensory Garden, Boyne Valley Activities, and will meet with 12-15 local groups in Trim GAA.
Among the headings the town will be judged under are community appearance, heritage conservation, environmental actions, tree management, landscaping and plant and floral displays.
Donna Pringle, the council's District Engineer said it was great for the town to represent Ireland and there has been a great buy in from the people of Trim.
“We have the new murals there has been a lot of painting, we have touched up the road markings. Anthony Conlon and his team do a wonderful job planting every year, but this year they have excelled themselves,” she said.
Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit volunteer and partnership-driven organisation that uses a multi-tiered competitive evaluation process to foster community strength, involvement, and continuous improvement.