Community Toolkit Three

South and South East in Bloom

Helpful Hints 3

It’s Your Neighbourhood

This leaflet gives you all the information you need if your community group wants to get involved in competitions such as the Royal Horticultural Society’s “It’s Your Neighbourhood” campaign.

In thisleaflet we will:

• Explain the It’s Your Neighbourhood campaign
• Explainthe benefits of getting involved,
• Go through the judging process,
• Give you advice on preparing your entry,
• Tell you how to get the best from your judging day

What is “It’s Your Neighbourhood”

The Royal Horticultural Society’s “It’s Your Neighbourhood” is a grassroots community gardening campaign helping people to make lasting improvements to their local areas. It is organised in our region by South & South East in Bloom

Groups are supported in their activities with advice and guidance, and receive annual feedback from expert “It’s Your Neighbourhood” assessors, who provide tips on how further improvements can be made.

“It’s Your Neighbourhood” is open to any group eager to make a difference to their local environment.

The campaign particularly welcomes beginner groups taking their first steps towards community improvement.

By taking part in It’s Your Neighbourhood, groups can breathe new life into their area by improving their local streets and open green spaces for the benefit of local people.

Joining the campaign is FREE, non competitive, and brings many benefits.

There are five levels of achievement in the It’s Your Neighbourhood campaign

For more information about It’s Your Neighbourhood and to download a pack go to:

Who can enter?

The programme is open to groups of all sizes witha variety of projects as long as they are focusedon environmental improvements to their local area.

Youneed to ensure that your group is hands on, thework they do benefits the local area, is volunteerled and the people involved are representative ofthe whole community.

Examples of groups whocan enter are: residents groups / associations,“friends of” groups, local neighbours who haveimproved their street or neighbourhood or a communityallotment group.

What kinds of projects can groups do?

Projects that groups do will be entirely decidedby the local circumstances.

Most groups choose theirproject based on local needs and what will benefitthe local community most as these are the mostimportant considerations when deciding on aproject.

Some examples of possible projects are:

• Converting a disused space into a greenspace

• Taking over maintenance of green spaces in your neighbourhood

• Forming a ‘friends of’ group to look after areassuch as your local park

• Improving the look of your street with schemessuch as communityplanting days, hangingbaskets, window boxes etc.

What are the benefits of participation?

By becoming involved with“It’s Your Neighbourhood”you will be helping your community benefitfrom cleaner and greener surroundings, creatinga closer community spirit, increasing pride in thearea and building relationships.

Communities participating in Its Your Neighbourhood see the benefits of:

• Community ownership and empowerment

• A healthier community through cleaner and greener surroundings

• Safer environments for the enjoyment of people of all ages

• Increased pride and involvement of local people.

Step 1 - Get involved

Once you have established yourgroup, and decided upona name you need to decidewhat project you would like toundertake. The assessors don’t expect youto have a completed projectwhen theyvisit so youcan think big!

The assessors will helpguide youalong the way, point youin the rightdirection, andhelp you tosee how youmight continueto develop theproject further.

All applications need to besubmitted to South and South East in Bloom. The closing date for entries varies from year to year but is usually around the end of February.

Remember it’s FREE to enter the programme, so there’s nothing to lose!

Step 2 - Submitting an entry

Groups participating in It’s Your Neighbourhood are asked tofocus on the following criteria:

• Community participation
• Environmental responsibility
• Gardening achievement.

Whilstparticipating groups are notjudged against each other, theyare advised by local assessorswho provide valuable feedbackand helpful advice on howto develop activitiesand encourage ongoingachievements.

Asa guide, herearesome of the things the assessor is looking for in each area in thecriteria.

Community Participation (40% of total marks)

The group is working towards things such as:

• Being inclusive of local people and making a difference
• Involving local people with planning, decision-making, communication & implementation
• Representative of the local community
• Getting support (e.g. from local council, grant aid, sponsorship, in-kind aid etc.)
• Planning for the future
• Working in partnership with other organisations (police, community support officers, environmental groups etc.)

Environmental Responsibility (30% of total marks)

The group is engaged in environmental activities such as:

• Conservation
• Composting
• Recycling
• Creating, maintaining or improving green space
• Sharing knowledge and skills
• The group is engaged in addressing environmental issues such as:Fly-tipping, Fly-posting, Litter, Graffiti and Dog fouling

Gardening Achievement (30% of total marks)

The group is employing good gardening practices appropriate to the area, such as:

• Good plant choice

• Good maintenance, presentation and management
• Creativity
• Innovation
• Overcoming site difficulties
• Enhancing the area through gardening

Step 3 - Judging day

After applyingto take part in South and South East inBloom, you will usually be contactedby the regional organiser inMarch/April to inform you of theprovisional dates that the assessors will visityour area. This should give youenough time to prepare for theirvisit which is usually in July.

On the judging day you will have one hour to show the judgesyour achievements. Rememberthey are not only looking at thefloral displays but also thecommunity involvement, localheritage, environmental qualityand partnerships betweenlocal businesses, other groups,schools and the local authority.

Remember it’s important tothink about the future, showthem areas which are only partcompleted along with a plan ofwhat you intend the area to looklike. This way when the assessors visit you again next year you can provethe sustainability of your plans.

You would need to organisefor the assessors to meet severaldifferent people whohave beeninvolved with your projectsduring the visit.

Plan your route carefully to get the most out of your allocated hour and try to show the assessors a cross section of the criteria (bearing in mind the number of points allocated to each section).

A comfort break at the end of the visit is appreciated as assessors will often be visiting several locations on the same day, and the offer of a cup of tea or coffee is usually welcomed.

No results or feedback will begiven on the day; this will beprovided on the marking sheetthat is presented to all entrantsat the South and South East in Bloom Awards Ceremony.

Step 4 - The Awards Ceremony

Held annually in September, The South and South East in Bloom Awards Ceremony gives an opportunity for all entrants in the South and South East in Bloom competitions to meet each other and celebrate their achievements.

All entrants in It’s Your Neighbourhoodwill receive a framed certificategraded accordingly, along with the feedback fromthe assessors who visited your area.

This feedbackwill give advice and guidance on how you canimprove in future years. This will help you and yourgroup shape the future development of your area

Useful Contacts

RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood Campaign

Tel: 0207821 3038

Email:

Web:

South and South East in Bloom

Peter and Anne Holman

124 Gravel Hill, Croydon, CR0 5BF

Tel. 020 8662 0121

Email:

Web: