Calne in Bloom 2015
Contents Our Town........................................................................................... 1 The Calne in Bloom Team................................................................ 2 Horticultural Achievement............................................................... 3 Impact........................................................................................3 Horticultural Practice................................................................. 4 Spring Displays......................................................................... 5 Summer Displays...................................................................... 6 Environmental Responsibility......................................................... 8 Conservation and Biodiversity................................................... 8 Resource Management and Local Environmental Quality........ 8 Maintenance of former London Road filling station................... 9 Calne Environmental Network...................................................9 Calne Renewable Energy Group.............................................. 9 Local Heritage........................................................................... 10 Pride of Place............................................................................ 11 The Blue Plaque Trail................................................................ 11 Community Participation and Involvement....................................12 Residential and Community Gardening.....................................12 Hanging Basket Workshop........................................................ 13 Allotments..................................................................................13 Green Spaces............................................................................14 Castlefields Canal and River Park.............................................14 Friends of Abberd Brook............................................................15 Curzon Street Cemetery............................................................ 15 Calne Free Church.................................................................... 16 St Mary the Virgin Churchyard.................................................. 16 Holy Trinity Churchyard............................................................. 17 Marden Belles Women’s Institute.............................................. 18 Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility.............................19 Environmental Quality at Beversbrook...................................... 19 Involving Children and Young People....................................... 20 It’s Your Neighbourhood Grows!............................................... 21 Our Schools.............................................................................. 21 The Bowl Group........................................................................ 22 Junior Gardener’s Club............................................................. 23 Raising Public Awareness......................................................... 24 Funding and Support.................................................................27 Summary of Key Achievements................................................ 27 Sponsorship.............................................................................. 28
Our Town Our Town Calne is a lively town that prospered in the Middle Ages producing woollen broadcloth. The affluence of the town at that time is reflected in the many beautiful buildings you will encounter as you walk around. The earliest know reference to Calne was in AD955 in the will of King Edred, but its origins are likely to be much earlier; the name is thought to be derived from the Celtic “col aun� meaning a current of waters, and it is from the river that the town derives much of its early importance.
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Calne in Bloom 2015 - page 1
In Bloom Team The team was formed around seven years ago and entered the South West in Bloom competitions for the first time in 2010. We were proud to achieve ‘silver’ at that first attempt, and since then have we have achieved ‘silver gilt’ a number of times and finally in 2014 we achieved the ‘gold’ that we had been working so hard for. On the committee are councillors and council staff working in partnership with a wide range of representatives from local community groups, schools, youth organisations and residents. Our shared aim is to improve our town by making it a greener, cleaner and a more beautiful place to live, work and visit.
We do this in a number of ways: • Introducing more sustainable planting into the flower beds. • Organising the planting of the town`s flower beds, roundabouts, and placement of planters and hanging baskets. • Co-ordinating our efforts with local groups and liaising with businesses and organisations. • Welcoming all sections of the local community who are able to offer help either practically or financially. • Encouraging residents, schools and clubs to become involved with the Calne in Bloom project regardless of disability, age or ethnicity.
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Today, there is much for visitors to do and see from walking, visiting historic buildings, viewing public art or engaging in sports and leisure in our parks, gardens and cultural venues. Calne has an annual diary of events including the Lion’s Duck Race, Spring Sing, Calnefest, Town Criers’ Competition, Summer Festival, Green Day, Motorcycle Meet, Food and Drink Festival, Music and Arts Festival, Fireworks, and finally culminating in the annual lantern parade at the Winter Festival. Calne is a small community with a big heart.
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Horticultural Achievement
Impact Over the past year, more and more areas have been planted with perennials and now the flower beds and roundabouts are a mix of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, grasses and annuals. These beds and roundabouts are sustainable, successional and seasonal with a strong focus on pollinator friendly plants. Calne Town Council and Calne in Bloom have a preference for native plants when designing the town’s floral displays, beds and roundabouts. Members of the community often donate plants, bulbs, shrubs and trees to our campaign when they are dividing in their own gardens, these have included snowdrops, bluebells, primroses, salvias and grasses. This means that the Calne in Bloom initiative is a real community effort. Each year Calne in Bloom look at ways of reducing costs and increasing permanent displays within their planting schemes; this reduces overall time spent on the roundabouts, minimising risk. It also reduces watering and general maintenance tasks. Two roundabouts, in particular, are now virtually maintenance free, they have been planted with shrubs, grasses and with only a few summer and winter bedding plants being planted as required. Another example, is the riverside where water tolerant trees, shrubs and flowers have been planted and give a lovely back-drop to the many town events including the annual Duck Race, Town Criers’ Competition and Summer and Winter Festivals.
Planting around the War Memorial
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Horticultural Practice For the past few years a great deal of work has been carried out on the other roundabouts. We have introduced all sustainable plants and grasses which as they mature will give impact as well as year round interest and colour. The perennial beds in the Town Gardens were planted up 18 months ago with many pollinator loving plants. These beds are now very well established. A large flowerbed on the side of the A4 has also been planted with a mix of shrubs, perennials and summer bedding. New work has been done to two of the roundabouts; these are now also planted with sustainable planting which will provide colour and interest throughout all the seasons. These will be mulched next year when the plants have had a chance to establish. Weeding and deadheading is on-going throughout the summer, as well as the pruning of trees and shrubs when appropriate, although great efforts have been made not to disturb nesting birds and other wildlife such as water voles along the River Marden and Abberd Brook.
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Spring Displays Winter planting, with species such as such as pansies and polyanthus, is conducted using our nursery beds at Beversbrook over the summer months to enable them to be grown on ready for the following winter’s planting. These are then displayed around the town using the beige beehive planters which are reduced from five tiers in the summer to three in winter.
Fountain outside
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of the Town Hall
Summer Displays The summer bedding displays for 2015 are as follows:• Petunia Surfinia, Blue Vein, Hot Pink and Heavenly Blue in the five tier beehives, floral fountains and tubs. This will also be in the pole baskets, Town Hall baskets and the riverside barrier baskets. • The welcome beds on the way into Calne will comprise of Coleus Red Head, Begonia Devil and Begonia Dragon Wing in Red and Begonia Heaven and Marigolds American Vanilla in white. • The raised beds in the Town Centre, Town Steps, Four Tier displays will have schemes of Dahlia Happy Single Romeo in Red, Antirrhinum Liberty Classic in White and Begonia • Supercascade in Red. Marigolds American Vanilla (white), Begonia Devil (red), Marigold French Durango (red) and Lobelia White Lady (white). There will also be beds comprising Alyssum Clear Crystals (white) and Begonia Dragon Wing (red).
Floral fountain on market day in Phelps Parade
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The displays are watered, weeded and deadheaded on a regular basis and fed with blood, fish and bone slow release fertiliser giving 3-4 months release in the soil and peat-free compost. All barrier, pole and hanging baskets have a wetting agent in them which helps to reduce watering. These are watered twice a week and are fed with a liquid feed once a week. The hanging baskets displayed around the Town Hall building have an automated water system. Most of the planters now have water reservoirs therefore reducing the need to water daily and allow the plants to look after themselves to an extent. This system cuts down on vehicle usage, so we have a less detrimental impact on the environment. We have changed our watering practice from using a mains standpipe to collecting water from the River Marden which in turn is pumped into a bowser mounted on the rear of one of our tipper trucks. This enables Calne to be much more environmentally friendly when it comes to watering.
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Environmental Responsibilty Conservation and Biodiversity In Calne we are very fortunate to have green spaces and the countryside on the doorstep. Along with Abberd Brook there are other areas tended by volunteer groups, these include Penn Wood and Bentley Woods. In addition to this Calne Town Council own and looks after the Nature Trail, for which improvement plans are being developed.
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Resource Management and Local Environmental Quality Calne Town Council always uses peat free compost in the floral displays and recycles it back into the shrub and nursery beds. Winter bedding is recycled into new areas and is often offered to IYN’s and schools. Calne Town Council is launching an initiative to educate the residents of Calne and help keep the town healthy and clean. Members of Calne Town Council team are now trained and able to issue on the spot fixed penalty notices for dog fouling and littering, though whilst we have this power we hope to educate rather than enforce. We have a dedicated, full time member of staff to collect litter and clean the streets. He also reports any issues which need attending to. We are actively concentrating on grot spots and are in liaison with the local authority to take over the management of these areas. Various community groups are ready and waiting to start new projects.
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Maintenance of the former London Road filling station Further to on-going discussions with the agents for this site on London Road, Calne Town Council has agreed that its ground staff team will carry out maintenance and improvement works for 12 months. This site has been the cause of community disgruntlement for some time as it has been left to deteriorate and become an eyesore. Maintenance includes general clearance of rubbish and debris throughout the site and the frontage, weed killing and removal of small items of vegetation, tidying of large shrubs and greenery and replanting of the front planter. The buddleia shrubs are only pruned, in that way bees and butterflies can still be abundant. Local contractors have also been Colourful plan approached to carry out some additional ting at former filling station improvement works to the site, this will hopefully go some way to improving this derelict area of the town. Calne Environmental Network (CEN) CEN supports Calne in Bloom in ensuring that its activities enhance the natural environment, creating thriving ecosystems within the urban space. CEN volunteers regularly litter-pick during and after town events, maintaining the visual environment and protecting species. CEN works with other community groups to promote engagement in sustainable practices and runs Calne Green Day, an event attended by flora and fauna experts, Fairtrade volunteers, Calne Renewable Energy Group and many other local community groups including the Calne in Bloom working group. Calne Renewable Energy Group In 2013 Calne Town and Calne Without Parish councils came together to form and support a Renewable Energy Group. The aim of the group is to look at the feasibility of bringing forward a Neighbourhood Development Order for a renewable energy scheme in the area. The work of the group will help Calne and Calne Without to become greener, more sustainable communities in which to live and work. The group wants to try and make a difference to climate change and the UK’s energy security by enabling a local switch away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Calne Renewable Energy Group supports Calne in Bloom by attending committee meetings and seeking opportunities to have an input into the ‘greening’ Calne for future generations. 9
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Local Heritage We are very fortunate in Calne to have a large and varied heritage. The Calne Heritage Centre regularly has exhibitions of objects, photographs and memories to celebrate Calne’s rich past. The Calne Heritage Quarter highlights an area of the town that is celebrated for its historic character and charm. Calne has always been a town of discovery; Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen whilst working at nearby Bowood House. The Green has a lovely mix of architecture spanning several eras and is the location for our Heritage week Den Weaving event in September. This event is one of our Heritage Open Days during Calne Heritage week, inspired by Calne’s past as a hub of the woollen industry; Calne’s significance in the woollen industry can clearly be seen on The Green, where many buildings such as the cloth mills involved in the industry remain as private dwellings. We have several churches within the town, St Mary the Virgin is located in the Heritage Quarter, it is the only Grade 1 listed church in Calne and is built on the site of a Saxon minster. There is a pleached yew walkway up to the church door which dates from 1900. The majority of the churches and other historic buildings have It’s Your Neighbourhood groups to initiate gardening projects to keep these areas looking their best.
Calne’s 17th century Almshouses, built to house eight poor widows
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Pride of Place The town is cared for by Council staff and helped often by dedicated volunteers; a prime example of this has been the refurbishment of the street furniture which, whilst organised by the Town Council and Wiltshire Council, was also supported by the community. The town has several good pedestrianised areas which enable the council to run various festivals, events and markets throughout the year. The town centre planting schemes enhance these areas for residents and visitors alike. The town benefits from many pieces of Art in the Landscape and over recent years the town has installed various pieces to help celebrate Calne’s unique heritage. The Blue Plaque Trail The trail was designed in 1997 as a way of commemorating the millennium. The plaques remind us of people who lived in the area or businesses that thrived here, including the Wool Trade Workshop, London to Bath Coach Road, Castle House, The Wharf, Harris’s Bacon, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s House, Dr Jan Ingenhousz (who discovered photosynthesis) House and the Quaker Meeting House.
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Calne Town Crier Co
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Community Participation and Involvement Residential and Community Gardening Calne has a thriving gardens competition which is organised in conjunction with the Town Council and Calne in Bloom. Calne in Bloom categories for 2015 are: • Best Front Garden • Best Front Container Garden • Best Back Garden • Best Residential/Community Garden • Best Licenced Premises Display • Best Allotment The idea behind Calne in Bloom is simply to encourage people to take pride in their own garden or in their local spaces. Calne in Bloom wish to celebrate the efforts that the community make to encourage wildlife and biodiversity. Judging of the entries is carried out by the Town Mayor, a Town Councillor and local gardening experts with whom we work closely. Judging takes place in middle to late July with an awards ceremony in the Town Hall in September and all entrants are invited to come along for a sociable evening with drinks and nibbles. The generous donation of gardening vouchers from our local garden centre ensures everyone goes home with something in recognition for all their hard work. The Town Mayor presents the awards for both Calne in Bloom and the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood certificates.
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Hanging Basket Workshop The hanging basket workshop has now become an annual event due to its’ popularity. Many local residents attended, bringing their own baskets to one of the two sessions that the Calne in Bloom team had arranged in the Town Hall. Head Groundsman Neil Ash gave a demonstration on how to prepare a hanging basket. The residents then chose all their plants and with the help and advice from some of our ground staff they got started on their own. Trudy King, Calne in Bloom coordinator was also there to encourage and lend support where needed. At the end of each session everyone had a completed basket to take home to add to their summer displays. All the plants were sourced from a local nursery which was able to provide a variety of plants and colours to appeal to all.
Allotments Calne Town Council oversees the running of the two allotment sites at Newcroft and Beversbrook. The allotments are fully utilised and in order to keep the waiting list to a minimum regular monthly inspections are carried out to ensure the plots are being maintained in a satisfactory manner. Should any allotments become untidy then the holder will be asked to bring it up to a reasonable standard; if this does not happen then the holder will be asked to relinquish the plot so that one of the many on the waiting list can have the chance of having an allotment.
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Green Spaces Calne is surrounded by natural beauty including the Cherhill Downs and White Horse which always attract visitors year round, as does Avebury World Heritage Site which is just a few miles along the A4. Within Calne, we are lucky enough to have several green spaces including Castlefields Park, Abberd Brook, Calne Recreation Ground, The Calne Nature Trail, Town Gardens, Bentley Wood, Beversbrook Sports Facility and close by is the beautiful Bowood Estate. Castlefields Park Castlefields Park is an excellent example of the Town Council working in partnership with a voluntary organisation. In 2012 Castlefields Park was designated a QE11 Field. This Award, one of the 2012 across the country, means that the Park is protected as an open space for all time. To acknowledge the Award and to commemorate HM Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee a tree planting scheme was carried out. A circle of Scots Pine was planted on The Mound to form an outer ring around the mature pines planted in the 19th century to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The official ceremonial planting was carried out by the Marquis of Lansdowne, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. Castlefields Canal and River Park Association (CARP) working parties are held throughout the year when maintenance tasks and improvment projects are carried out. Examples are the wildflower meadow, which has been over-sown with yellow rattle, and working with Calne Lions Club to clean up the River Marden in time for the annual Duck Race. In addition to CARP working parties:• Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Well-Being Team work regularly in the park and adjacent wetland area. • A leaflet “Castlefields Park Trail” was produced by CARP and published in March 2013. • An Annual Bunny Hunt takes place each Easter. • A purple beech tree was planted to commemorate the Asset Transfer of the Castlefields site from Wiltshire Council to Calne Town Council. • A daily inspection is carried out by Council ground staff and a programme of on-going maintenance is in place. • Following a request from emergency services, CARP contacted the landowner adjacent to Castlefields Park. Permission was successfully negotiated for the provision of an emergency helicopter landing site for the Air Ambulance. This site is to be used to evacuate casualties from the town centre area; CARP now maintains this site for the benefit of the wider community. 14
Friends of Abberd Brook (FAB) The Friends of Abberd Brook group was established at the beginning of 2010, as a direct result of two of its members attending a Calne Area Board meeting in August 2009. At that meeting the issue of the neglected state of Abberd Brook was raised; as the brook is home to much wildlife, including water voles. This concern was taken up by Wiltshire Councillors and a Task Group set up to identify in detail some of the problems and the best way to overcome them. Working with the local councillors, GreenSquare Housing, and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust it was decided that the best way forward was for a local residents’ group to take on the work. This resulted in The Friends of Abberd Brook being established with a constitution being drafted and terms of reference formally acknowledged in March 2010. Over a period of time, the volunteers obtained funding from both Town and County councils, GreenSquare Housing, Community First, Calne Community Area Partnership and Coleman’s Farm Community Centre to assist in projects relating to the brook and involving the community wherever possible. After much negotiation with the Environment Agency and Wiltshire Council FAB received permission to have greater control of the brook. In light of this, permission was granted to carry out works to trees by the underpass and a dry hedge has been formed in an area along the brook.
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Curzon Street Cemetery The cemetery continues to be maintained by Calne Town Council staff, with some attractive improvements this year; old yew trees that lined the pathways had become diseased and awkward making it difficult for appropriate passage of funeral parties. As such, the yews were removed and new wrought iron archways were designed and produced by a local craftsman to replace the old trees. These are soon to be planted with climbing roses, to attract pollinators. The cemetery caters for traditional burials and the internment of cremated remains and burial services may be held in the small Chapel. Memorial plaques can be positioned in the Garden of Remembrance or on the Memorial Wall. Donations of benches or the planting of shrubs, trees or flowers are always welcome and make the cemetery a place for the whole community to be at peace in. The Council is still actively engaged in trying to source land for a new cemetery. If a suitable site is found it is planned that part of any land purchased will be used for a cemetery, the remainder will be utilised as allotments until such time as the land is required for burial purposes.
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Calne Free Church The main garden is to the front of the church where there is a small grassed area which is flanked by roses and other plants. Volunteers are planning to provide two new planting boxes for either side of the front door.These will be planted up by parents and children from the toddler group or the children from the junior church. Further enhancements will be to provide more plant pots and tubs. The group are unable to collect water with rain water butts as the building is listed but they do use naturally composted material and shredded wood which is supplied by one of the church members.
St. Mary’s Churchyard St Mary the Virgin closed churchyard is cared for by the Town Council and is home to the town`s War Memorial. The Royal British Legion and Calne Town Council have been successful in receiving grant-funding to plant a low-level floral border around the war memorial to plant with appropriate plants to commemorate the First World War centenary period. This work is being scheduled in over the coming months.
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Holy Trinity Churchyard The churchyard covers approximately 3.5 acres and is maintained by Calne and Blackland PCC. The grass and hedges are cut from April to September. There are many yew trees, redwoods, a Scots Pine and elder, laurel, hawthorn, holly and blackberry bushes. There is also a flowering cherry tree which blossoms every May. In early spring there are lots of snowdrops, and crocii at the southern boundary. This area is left uncut until September to encourage wild flora and fauna and in the spring many daffodils, primroses and bluebells are found there. Many birds are often seen including blackbirds, wrens, robins, thrushes, together with dunnocks, woodpeckers and swallows. Larger mammals are also evident including badgers, foxes, squirrels and muntjac deer. Slow worms are often found. Honey bees and bumblebees are found throughout the summer. Bats are often seen at dusk. There are 5 allotments at the northern part of the churchyard which will be reclaimed for use as graves when the existing facility is full. The churchyard is a haven for flora and fauna and is lovingly and delicately maintained by volunteers to encourage a natural, sensitive habitat for native species.
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Marden Belles WI Early one dull March morning we arrived in the centre of Calne to an array of lovely colour, we had been yarn bombed!!!! The busy ladies from the Marden Belles Women’s Institute had been eagerly creating adornments with their knitting needles and crochet hooks for quite some time; this was a top secret project. What a lovely display it made, Our Head sculpture, outside the library was being kept lovely and warm with a wonderful bobble hat and it also had a knitted smile!! All the railings along the river were adorned with bobbles and bunting in every colour imaginable. Trees, shrubs, notice boards and benches were festooned and our Visitor and Information Centre even had a knitted letter box cover. It was a lovely addition to the town and there were lots of positive comments about it.
Nothing was
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left out
Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility Calne Town Council owns and runs this award-winning facility. The 94 acre site has been transformed into a brilliant, top class sports facility with a state of the art pavilion, community hall and grounds. All fourteen football pitches, one floodlit hard court and two cricket squares are used by a range of clubs and community groups. We have now completed four new floodlit tennis courts and we play host to the tennis club and community users. In total we host 75 football teams, seven Lacrosse teams, two athletic clubs, and ten cricket teams, Calne Tennis Club, Calne Running Club, Calne Archery Club and Buggy Fit. Inside we have many groups which meet regularly including, Pilates, Calne Art Group, Calne Camera Club, Junior and Adults Choir, Calne Table Tennis, Judo and Music Bugs. Environmental Quality at Beversbrook The facility is proud of its ‘green’credentials. It’s vehicle wash down facility uses only recycled water, which is collected and stored in the purpose built pond. As the machinery is washed the grass clippings are collected and then used for compost. The water is then recycled again. Beversbrook is not connected to any sewage network; sewage is treated on site and released back into the river. Rain water collected from the football pitches is held in an irrigation pond and during dry weather this water can be used for watering the pitches. Water butts collect water around the facility for watering the flowering displays. All the chemicals that are used on the pitches are environmentally friendly and are xylene and lead free. All ditches and hedges are maintained between September and March, out of the nesting season. Around the ditches an area of three metres is left untouched to allow wildlife and wild flowers to roam freely.
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Beversbrook hosts ma
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Involving children and young people Each year Calne in Bloom invite local school children into the town centre to help plant up the Town Centre displays. The pupils from seven of our schools were able to spare the time away from the classroom this year and the grounds staff and other members of the group were able to help out. All of the pupils felt a huge sense of pride that they had contributed to the look of the town for the summer months. The schools that took part were: • • • • • • •
Holy Trinity C of E Academy The Springfields Academy St Dunstan CEVC Primary School St Margarets Preparatory School Fynamore Primary School Priestley Primary School St Mary’s School
A good time was had by all
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It’s Your Neighbourhood grows! In 2014, 17 groups from around the town entered the It’s Your Neighbourhood initiative and we were delighted when Castlefields Canal and River Park, Friends of Abberd Brook, Calne Bowls Club and Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility all achieved “Outstanding”. We are thrilled that the initiative is taking grip and attracting more interest each year from residents wanting to make a positive contribution to the places they live. Our Schools In 2015 we have 20 It’s Your Neighbourhood groups, including four schools, one nursery and two youth groups. We have done much to promote gardening in schools in particular and after attending a Head Teacher cluster meeting armed with information our Calne in Bloom coordinator was able to get three more schools on board. There is much enthusiasm with all the new groups and their plans all coming to fruition.
Fynamore Primary School have transformed the area above into a Reflection Garden.
Springfields Academy have developed land into allotments.
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Holy Trinity Primary School’s Reflection Garden.
The Bowl is another one of the new groups and they are working on a plan to transform the area of land around the new Skate Park. Their plans include edible displays, meadow flowers and a living sofa constructed from hard materials and camomile. The local Air Cadets group also recently set up as an IYN at Ogilivie Square. Also they have helped out with other volunteers at the Skate Bowl and Castlefields Park.
Inventive recycling at The Bowl
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One of our residential areas, Oak Close, is an It’s Your Neighbourhood group and also runs a Junior Gardening Club once a month. The children who attend have built a bug hotel, planted spring flowering bulbs, made binoculars and participated in the RSPB bird watch.
The club’s bug hotel
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Raising Public Awareness Calne in Bloom is doing more to advertise and promote their activities. In March 2015 we created a Calne in Bloom Facebook Page, this has become very popular, currently we have over 250 residents and other ‘In Bloom’ groups liking, commenting, posting and sharing our posts. Through the page we have made positive connections with other ‘In Bloom’ towns and influential people such as Barry Cruse, MBE, Bath in Bloom and Patti Pinto, Guest Speaker on Youth Gardening at the South West in Bloom Spring Seminar which was held in Melksham. The purpose of the page is to increase community involvement and promote Calne in Bloom in a positive way in the local area. If groups are having working parties or events and would like them promoted on the page they can send their details and advertising by email to the administrator who will share and promote them through the page and other associated pages on the group’s behalf. Calne in Bloom has a section on the Calne Town Council website to keep the community up to date with news, events and campaigns.
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We have been more active with the local press to promote Calne in Bloom advertising our events such as Hanging Basket Workshop, 2015 campaign launch, gardens competition and schools planting day. Recently the local paper ran an article on the benefits of becoming involved with Calne in Bloom and how residents can help us before and during judging day to keep their areas looking well maintained and turning “grey areas into green�.
As a part of bringing Calne in Bloom to more media forums and using them to publicise what we do we are currently considering how Calne in Bloom becomes more identifiable to others so work is underway to have an easily recognisable logo.
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The Calne Connection is a quarterly newsletter which goes out to all residents and businesses. Calne in Bloom use this as a method of advertising events and highlighting our successes and those of other community groups including schools or residents. We use photographs to send out positive messages about what is happening around the town and to engage people to sign up to become volunteers for future projects.
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Funding and Support Calne Town Council, Calne in Bloom and many of the It’s Your Neighbourhood groups work with our local authority, Wiltshire Council, the Environment Agency, Wessex Water and many local businesses large and small. Most of the neighbourhood groups hold fund raising events to help their campaigns and to engage with the community. Under the Calne in Bloom umbrella we work together for the good of the whole town. We are always looking at more ways to reach out for funding opportunities and as a working group we advise our many groups and new volunteers getting involved.
Summary of Key Achievements Calne in Bloom is very proud to have won Gold at the South West in Bloom Awards in 2014, our next goal is to win the Portman Cup. We strongly believe that with the help of the community groups, our local schools, youth groups, businesses and Calne Town Council that we can continue to develop and improve. Our level of community participation has grown in 2015 with the active involvement of more schools and youth groups ensuring that the future is bright. The plans for the improvements along the Calne Nature Trail will develop over the next few years which will improve conservation, the environment and biodiversity within Calne. The sustainability of all the flower beds and roundabouts is progressing with some of these becoming well established and with improvements being made year by year. The raised public profile of Calne in Bloom ensures that we will continue to improve.
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Sponsorship Many local businesses support Calne in Bloom with annual sponsorship of roundabouts, permanent flower beds and the town welcome beds. This enables the supply of all plants and materials, maintenance and watering of these areas. Calne in Bloom are very grateful for these donations which enable the town to look so beautiful. New businesses regularly contact us to enquire about further options, there is currently a waiting list and we are investigating other sponsorship ideas. Our sponsors this year have been: • St Margaret’s Preparatory School • WEC Limited • Lions Club of Calne • White Horse Veterinary Clinic • Rotary Club of Calne • Bevirs Solicitors • Riverview Portfolio • Sureteam • Baz Roll International Ltd • Eco Assist • JPO Construction Ltd • SAAFA • Mrs M Baggs • Johnson and Daltrey • Carlton Business Centre • Wilkins Builders • VJ Edwards • Exception EMS Ltd • Whitehall Garden Centre • Hallmark Photography
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