Floral Guernsey Community Competition Portfolio 2013

Our organisation structure and volunteers

• This is the fourth year since our current Community Entry Team took over the St Saviour entry• We have a small committee that has mainly virtual meetings when decisions are required

– Andrew Courtney, Co-Ordinator, Senior Constable and Douzenier– Vic de Garis, Vice Dean of St Saviour’s Douzaine (equivalent of a UK Parish Council)– Liz Pirouet, Douzenier– Rod Nippers, Douzenier– Marybell Norman, parishioner– Vikki Kinnersley, parishioner

• This year we have trialled successfully a new method of attracting volunteers– We ask them to take responsibility for a specific task or area, commensurate with the time they can

commit– We only ask that they keep their area ‘under control’, they have freedom to plant what they feel is

appropriate– They choose when to work to fit in with their other commitments– We communicate via email and our website, www.stsaviours.gg/floral

Horticultural achievement - Impact

Judges feedback from last year was that we lacked evidence of horticultural achievement. This year marks the first year that our new Community Centre has opened and the Floral St Saviour Team attracted skilled volunteers to build a substantial new formal flower bed to welcome visitors.

Horticultural achievement – Horticultural practice

A working party at the Community Centre created what will become a plant nursery area by planting native trees and shrubs to create a wind break and attract birds and insects

Horticultural achievement – Residential and community gardening

We planted over 200 daffodil bulbs in a tear drop shape in the centre of the field at the Community Centre so that it is easy to mow around whilst the leaves die back ready for next year.

Horticultural achievement – Business areas and premises

Local business Bruce Russell Silver and Gold Smith has extensively landscaped grounds which are open to the public, they participated in a special week of Floral Guernsey activities last summer.

Horticultural achievement – Business areas and premises

This small local business has an unpromising site, it is located on a busy main road with a north facing aspect. Their efforts are much appreciated by all who drive by.

Horticultural achievement – Green spacesRichmond Corner is right on the edge of the sea, small boats are parked alongside the slipway entrance. The Floral Team has arranged for the area, which had become a dumping ground for all sorts of boating equipment, to be cleared and it is now being planted with native maritime plants. We have received letters of appreciation from neighbours for the transformation of this area.

Environmental responsibility – Conservation and biodiversityThis year we have doubled the area of wildflowers that have been sown to 300 square metres. In Courtil Sous L’Eglise we have experimented to see if placing cardboard on the ground and covering it with compost is as effective as rotovating a strip and then sowing seed. This would be useful where machinery access is limited. The idea is to attract bees by providing a suitable habitat. We hope that a bee hive will be located nearby this year.

Environmental responsibility – Resource managementAlong with a lot of the Island we lost trees in our parish in the winter gales. This tree at Courtil Sous L’Eglise fell on Christmas Eve and we are delighted that we negotiated with a parishioner that they would clear the tree free of charge in return for having the timber to create two 20 foot beams to renovate a derelict barn.

Community participation – Development and continuity

Project Progress Timeline

Sunflower growing competition Raising 500 plants this year for our popular fun and fundraising effort which raises awareness

Year 3

Natural planting at Richmond Slipway, a harsh maritime environment

We were delighted that several of the plants from last year survived, our 2 volunteers have been nurturing more plants over-winter

Year 2 of 3

Second entrance to Courtil Sous L’Eglise

Levels survey completed, architect’s drawings awaited for submission to Planning Department

Year 2 of 5

Bluebell Wood at Courtil Sous L’Eglise

Second year of Bluebell nursery bed planting (now 650 Bluebells planted in two beds), Crab Apple trees to be planted this Autumn to start creating the wood part whilst also encouraging biodiversity

Year 2 of 3

Wildflower corridor from Courtil Sous L’Eglise to Community Centre

Second year of sowing, area increased 100% to 300 square metres, we rotovate and sow annuals for 3 years on each site

Year 2 of 4

Community participation – Development and continuity continued

Project Progress Timeline

Community Centre Sensory Garden

Increased number of volunteers and given each a specific area of responsibility, substantial increase in activity

Year 4 of 5

Floral St Saviour Walk Information board erected at Community Centre, the Walk encompasses all of the projects above and is designed to foster pride in the parish and, hopefully, attract more volunteers

Year 4 of 5

Volunteers Added further volunteers this year, now up to about 14 core people giving regular time to Community – we started with 2!

Year 4 of 5

Community participation – Communication and educationWe have pages on our Parish website through which we aim to keep people informed about what is going on.

Community participation – Community involvement

We took the Brownies on the Floral St Saviour Walk and devised a quiz sheet for them to complete as we went along. This introduced the young ladies to the beauty of our rural parish and we are delighted they will be helping us this year by creating planters out of recycled tyres at the Community Centre.

Community participation – Community involvement, year-round involvement and funding and support

• This is the third year that we are running a Sunflower growing competition, this combines getting people involved with us and raising some funds (split 50:50 with a local charity)

• We are sponsoring a Council for Learning Outside the Classroom course for one teacher, something strongly endorsed as having positive benefits for school children by Ofsted

• The local gravedigger has volunteered to assist us at the Community Centre by using his mini digger to dig trenches for planting native trees and shrubs

• A local land owner has granted permission to sow 150 square metres along the edge of his field bordering the Floral St Saviour Walk

• Brownies are into their second year of helping with a project, this year it is creating two containers from recycled tyres for flowers at the Community Centre

• Herm Island gardeners, last year’s Britain In Bloom entrant, are assisting us by planting up our hanging baskets for the Community Centre

• A local surveyor and an architect are donating services free of charge to bring our dream of a second entrance at Courtil Sous L’Eglise closer