Despite the lingering threats from the pandemic, Cumbria in Bloom is looking ahead to 2022 with a considerable amount of confidence and excitement. At the moment, in early January, the weather is looking distinctly seasonal with sleet and rain beating on the window. However, we all know that, eventually, winter will make way for spring, the bulbs will pop through and blossom will break out on the trees and plants in our gardens and public spaces.
Our first Management Meeting takes place on January 24th. At this meeting, we hope to agree on a completely new programme of promotion, across a wide range of media, for the coming months. We hope that this will see a big increase in entrants to our various competitions, assessments and awards for 2022.
We have an enlarged Management Committee for 2022. The following team were elected at the November Annual General Meeting:
President – Colin Cheyne (Trustee), Vice-President – Alan Heath (Trustee), Chairman – Ronnie Auld, Vice Chairman – Keith Mackintosh, Treasurer – Ali Gordon, Management Committee members – Christine Baelz, Catherine Eastwood (to be co-opted), Lisa Greasley, Lee Hodgson (Trustee), Janet Mardon, Karen Morley-Chesworth, Coralin Pearson, Sue Preston-Jones (to be co-opted), Haydn Spedding, Shelagh Todd, Leslie Johnson (Trustee Member), Paul Nedved (Trustee Member).
We are currently looking at the aims of Cumbria in Bloom and hope to make our Vision more closely aligned to the vision of the RHS, which has four guiding principles:
- Inspire
- Involve
- Inform
- Improve
Major Challenges For The Future: Our country is facing two significant challenges for the future. The first is the collapse in biodiversity and the need for all of us to take every opportunity to help in whatever way that we can. Cumbria in Bloom already has a Biodiversity Award. According to the Natural History Museum, the UK has lost 47% of its biodiversity and may already be facing an ecological meltdown.
The second challenge is climate change. Of course, this challenge is bigger than just Cumbria, bigger than the UK, it is a global crisis. Some will argue that the climate is always changing. We can all do our own little bit. Cumbria in Bloom, by working closely with United Utilities, our major strategic sponsor, has already taken some action by highlighting the importance of water resource management. Here we can all do our own little bit by trying to reduce water waste, especially in our gardens.
We will continue to communicate through our Newsletters, which come out roughly once a month. The next one will be circulated, either right at the end of January, or in early February. So, watch out for that.
One of the things that we will be announcing in that Newsletter will be which communities will be representing Cumbria in the 2022 Britain in Bloom Awards. We will be submitting the Cumbrian entrants quite soon. The first announcement of the list will be here on the website.
Finally, we would like to thank all our volunteers right across Cumbria for everything they have done in the past and all that they might do in 2022. Without the volunteers, Cumbria in Bloom could not flourish and our towns and villages would not be as attractive as they are. Keep up the good work.
