Scarva going for gold in Bloom competition

Scarva is among 72 finalists, picked from more than a thousand cities, towns, villages and urban communities and is in the Small Village category, alongside Stanghow and Bray, and hopes to score top marks and be announced category winner at a prestigious awards ceremony in early October.

RHS National Judges, Brendan Mowforth and Jeff Bates will be visiting Scarva from 10-11.30am to meet and be taken on a tour of the area by local volunteers. They will be assessing projects against three key criteria – horticultural achievement, community participation and environmental responsibility.

From major industrial cities to small villages1 each finalist represents its region/nation and aims to impress the RHS Britain in Bloom National Judges and win its category1. Judges will be scrutinizing projects like wildlife conservation initiatives and public spaces such as parks and community gardens. They will assess everything from the sustainability of a planting scheme, to the cleanliness of a street bench, including how much the community engages local schools.

Roger Burnett, Chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom UK Judging Panel, said: “Our finalists have had to endure difficult weather conditions and ongoing council cuts. But this is why I’m even more excited than normal, because I love seeing the imaginative ways communities that overcome challenges.

“It was reported that groups were pulling out of Britain in Bloom because of these problems but, in fact, we’ve had a ten percent increase in the number of groups signing up this year. Nothing fazes our volunteers and RHS Britain in Bloom 2012 represents a sense of community spirit and endeavor which is an inspiration to us all.”

With Roger at the helm, there are seven pairs of RHS National Judges2. Together they will travel the length and breadth of the UK and meet thousands of volunteers over a two-week period. Judges will be assessing many hundreds of community projects, checking whether these projects are environmentally responsible as well as visually impactful and beneficial to the community.

Roger added: “Our visit is not meant to be stressful so please just relax and enjoy yourselves – we’re here to see the marvellous work you’ve done to improve your local areas and we can’t wait to meet you. On behalf of all the RHS judges, we wish you the best of luck, Scarva.”

Scarva will be hoping their hard work pays off when results are announced at the glamorous awards ceremony being held in St Peter Port, Guernsey on 6 October 2012.

The RHS medal Scarva will be awarded will be a Gold, Silver-Gilt, Silver or Bronze. There is also an award for best in category, as well as special discretionary awards given for achieving excellence in particular fields.