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Squamish shines for Communities in Bloom

Although it's called 'Communities in Bloom', the organizers of the community beautification program knew that Squamish had a lot more to show than just flowers - and the judges seemed to agree.

Although it's called 'Communities in Bloom', the organizers of the community beautification program knew that Squamish had a lot more to show than just flowers - and the judges seemed to agree.

Two judges from the nationwide community initiative visited Squamish earlier this week to see how our community ranks against nine others in the country in several different environmental, cultural and heritage areas.

The program strives to improve the tidiness, appearance and visual appeal of our neighbourhoods, parks, open spaces, and streets through the imaginative use of flowers, plants and trees.

With Squamish's spectacular natural attractions spread in every direction and abundance of outdoor activities and public amenities, the judges couldn't help being impressed.

""It's beautiful here," said judge Trevor MacKinnon from Charlottetown, PEI. "You look in any direction and you either see the mountains or the ocean."

Squamish was the third stop on their cross-country tour, having visited Fort St.John and White Rock previously.

This was the second year that Squamish has participated in the program, as organizers decided to try and improve on their excellent result from last year. Rare for a first-year community, Squamish finished second in the 2003 Communities in Bloom (CIB) challenge in British Columbia, and as a result was elevated to the national category this year.

"Squamish jumped from the fish pond into the ocean," said CIB judge Donna Harrison from Niagara Falls.

Guided by CIB organizers and volunteers Meg Fellowes, Bev Goodwin, Patricia Heintzman and Denise Imbeau, the tour of Squamish started off in grand style.

Thanks to the generous donation of flight time from Black Tusk Helicopters, the two judges were whisked away into the sky above Howe Sound and the Stawamus Chief, and over the many nooks and crannies of the Heart of 2010.

"They gave us a bird's-eye view of Squamish - it gave us a good look at the layout of the town and all the little pockets," said Harrison.

Not all of the pockets were good, however.

"There are some businesses in the Industrial Park that are well-landscaped, and others that need a lot of work," said Harrison, "but there are always areas in every community that could use improvement."

The focus on environmental awareness and preservation of heritage and culture is an integral part of the success of the program, and it was here that the judges were most impressed.

They liked the state-of-the-art organic recycling and waste systems at Carney's, were blown away by the West Coast Railway Heritage Museum, and expressed interest in the many unique businesses that occupy the downtown core.

The judges were taken to Brennan Park and Centennial Fields and were then wowed by the Log Book creations in the Loggers Sports grounds.

"To see the work put into the log books - that's phenomenal," said Harrison.

The CIB organizers and the community of Squamish will have to wait until September, when the results are released to see how they stack up against the competition.

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