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City of Winkler – Communities in Bloom 2004 Evaluation Grid
Municipality: Winkler Province: Manitoba Category: 5,001 – 10,000 population
The municipality is judged based on the efforts in management planning, maintenance, improvement and innovation of the following:
Note: All judging criteria are adjusted to the climate and environmental conditions of the municipality. Some criteria may not be applicable.
Judges Comments
General Comments and Suggestions
The judges would like to thank the CIB committee, city representatives and many volunteers and residents for their generous hospitality and a very informative tour of your city. Winkler has done a great job for the first effort in entering the CIB program.
Winkler is a very interesting and thriving community with a very bright future. The commitment of the residents, local government and business to the community is very evident in the wide range of projects undertaken in the past and planned for the future. Participation in the CIB program has inspired a number of new projects and the committee and horticultural society have been enthusiastically promoting the program. While the CIB program may provide incentive to complete new projects, the real benefit is to the residents and visitors to the city who will enjoy these projects in the long term.
The committee provided the judges with a very informative information package. Comments in the subsequent sections should help to refine the information package for future years.
The tour was very extensive and will require a bit of refinement. Be sure to include all necessary areas in the tour and perhaps due to time constraints, eliminate some of the visits to areas out of town (although they were delightful to see). The tour of the industrial area could emphasize the contribution that businesses make to community projects and the environmental effort.
Given the great showing for a first effort and the very enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers, businesses and government in the community, Winkler has great potential to achieve the highest bloom rating possible.
Thank you for participating in Communities in Bloom!
Robyn Magas, Coordinator
Tidiness Efforts
Winkler is doing a great job in the tidiness category. There was little or no evidence of litter throughout the city, even though the tour took place during the busy Harvest Festival. Both commercial and private properties and kept very tidy, indicating a great pride in the city.
Law and open areas were mowed with just a few areas where some trimming was needed. Both the city and horticultural society are to be commended for promoting tidiness through inserts in the water bill and through the local media.
It is great to have high school students participate in an annual spring clean up. Having young people participate in clean-up campaigns is a great way to foster pride in their community as well as get the job done!
An ides used in some other communities is to have the dog refuse stations sponsored by companies, which would be of interest to dog owners – i.e. Pet foot supply stores, etc. Keep up the good work!
Environmental Efforts
Winkler is doing a superb job with the city's environmental effort. The city's waste management system is very advanced with recycling well managed. Gateway Resources runs a very clean and efficient recycling operation and fills another need in the community by employing developmentally handicapped individuals. The blue box program is supported by both residents and businesses. Be sure to keep residents up to date with the recycling program with regular information bulletins.
The city has a large support of wonderful compost. Perhaps this resource could be promoted more extensively so that more residents will take advantage of it.
Currently, the city is not implementing any IPM techniques, but the town engineer, Bill Zacharias, was very interested in finding out more about these new ideas. Water conservation is encouraged which is critical in an area with limited supplies of clean water. As the city grows, it will be very important to keep up with this very important issue.
The MCC store is a fabulous example of reusing and recycling so many items of our day-to-day lives. Not only are used clothing and furniture available for resale, but also appliances and computers are repaired and resold. These items are more problematic to landfill sites, so it is great to see them being reused.
It is important to clarify what environmental regulations are placed on local industries. While the economic benefits of industry are clear, it is important to ensure that any environmental hazards associated with any particular industry are minimized. As the industrial sector continues to grow rapidly, it is important for the city to carry on with their high standards of waste and pollution management.
Community Involvement
Winkler is most fortunate to have a very dedicated and advanced volunteer base. The very active horticultural society has taken on a number of projects and has extensively promoted the CIB program. Great effort has been made to ensure that local government, the Chamber of Commerce and all businesses and residents are aware of the CIB program and Winkler's entry this year. This effort has been well worth it since participation in the program has been very enthusiastic from all groups.
The number of volunteers who have come out to participate in planting and maintaining the various park and garden areas is very commendable.
The participation of young people in community projects is great to see. The gardens at various schools in the city and the Children's Discovery Garden are excellent ways to get children enthused about their community and learning how to work together on projects. Perhaps the horticultural society might consider a garden mentoring program for teenagers to get them more involved in projects and to widen the volunteer base. The horticultural society's web site, which was developed with the help of a local high school student, is a great way to get them involved.
Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and keep up the good work!
Natural and Architectural Heritage Preservation
While Winkler may not have an extensive collection of historical buildings, the city does have a rich history.
The Pembina Thresher man's Museum has an interesting collection of historic buildings brought to the museum site for preservation and public viewing. Supporting the historic sites in surrounding communities also helps to enhance the history of Winkler as well.
One area of historical significance, which is not always highlighted, is the area of heritage gardens. Many times during the tour, mention was made of the large gardens and fruit trees, which were a very big part of the culture of the areas. (It was even noted that the hollyhock was considered a Mennonite flower.) The development of a heritage garden area could greatly enhance the understanding of the history of the area.
The history of the city is also deeply rooted in the Mennonite culture and religion and this aspect could also be highlighted as part of the heritage of the city. This unique connection could be reinforced with various projects, which may include yearly tours of local churches, which would explain their historical contributions to the community, and the various differences from one another.
Urban Forestry
Winkler has a good collection of trees throughout the city with an extensive range of species and ages represented. The use of species developed at the nearby Morden Research Station is most appropriate. The older neighbourhoods were well treed and the newer neighbourhoods are well on their way with both boulevard tree plantings as well as tree plantings on private yards. Even the commercial areas were well treed with some examples of unusual species such as the catalpa.
The trees are well maintained since the city follows a regular pruning program. It is good to see that the city monitors the elms to keep control of Dutch Elm Disease and replacement trees are regularly planted.
Many of the city tree planting were maintained with tilling and the city would be encouraged to consider mulching these areas with organic mulch such as wood chips to help conserve moisture, and to prevent soil loss and damage to tree roots. It may also be beneficial to develop an overall plan and inventory for tree planting.
Landscaped Areas
Residential areas are attractively and enthusiastically planted with an interesting range of plant material. Residents show a great pride in their homes and community.
Businesses throughout town also displayed attractive landscapes. The community is fortunate to have a number of local greenhouses and nurseries, which are supportive of the CIB program as well.
The Yard and Garden tour and contest are great ways to acknowledge existing, and encourage, future landscaping projects.
The city is home to a number of interesting parks, which are very well maintained. The new Parkview Gardens is a great addition to the city and a project, which inspired support from a broad range of community members. Since this ambitious garden is maintained by volunteers, the shrub plantings may benefit from wood chip mulch and the planting areas could be edged with lawn edging to help reduce maintenance. The Children's Discovery Garden is another interesting project, which will evolve over time. This area has been a bit enthusiastically over planted, but this is problem easily solved as the plants are still in the early growth stages. As mentioned during the tour, it would be advisable to incorporate a low fence along the edge of the park to prevent children from wandering towards the busy street area. Congratulations to all the participants who worked so tirelessly to create these great new projects!
Unfortunately, the judges were unable to visit some of the park areas due to the Harvest Festival. Hopefully these areas will be visited in subsequent years.
The development of the path system for walking and cycling is a wonderful asset for the city and it is great to see a long term plan for the system.
The rapidly expanding industrial area is well maintained but would benefit from additional landscaping, especially more extensive tree planting. Hopefully this development will come as businesses get settled into the area.
Mention was made of long term plans for green spaces in the city, which is an excellent idea especially since the city is expanding so rapidly. More information about these plans would be beneficial to the judges for evaluation.
The wide variety of well-landscaped areas in the city is wonderful.
Floral Displays
Winkler loves flowers!!! The adoption of the petunia as the official city flower has inspired extensive plantings in both commercial and residential areas. To complement the petunias, there are also a wide variety of other flowers. The hanging basket and planter program is well supported by the business community. Residential areas are full of floral displays with both annuals and perennials. Even the residents of the high rise housing complexes have extensive floral plantings. The roof gardens at the new high rise are delightful, innovative projects.
The horticultural society has undertaken an amazing number of floral plantings (2000 dozen annuals – Wow!) throughout the city. These are all planted and maintained by volunteers. Great Work!
Because of the extensive work involved in planting and maintaining these areas, consideration may be given to incorporating more perennial plantings to increase diversity and reduce planting costs and maintenance efforts. Some perennial plants to consider include: Nepeta “Dropmore Blue”, peonies, daylilies (hemerocallis), liatris, heliopsis, Goldsturm redbeckia, various sedums, Echinacea, artemisia, yarrow (achillea – for large areas only) and hostas, bergenia and lamium for shady areas.
Turf and Ground Cover Areas
The turf areas throughout town are well maintained on both public and private properties. Some consideration may be given to incorporating IPM techniques to manage these areas. The tour did not include a visit to the large park and golf course, two areas which have extensive turf areas. Future tours should include these areas.
While the turf areas are well maintained, there is little diversity in the choice of groundcover. Given Winkler's location, the development of a tall grass prairie especially on the edge of town, would be an interesting and appropriate addition. Consideration may also be given to incorporating naturalized areas of legume plantings such as trefoil, clovers, alfalfa and vetches especially along roadside areas. These areas could be maintained by periodic mowing and baling.
Evaluation Mention/Rating
In the 2004 Evaluation, the City of Winkler was given special mention for:
FLORAL DISPLAYS
Judges Comments on Special Mention:
Residential, Commercial and Public properties were extensively planted with a wide range of floral displays in baskets, planters and gardens. The city adopted the petunia as its official flower, which inspired many planting throughout the city, giving the displays an attractive element of continuity.
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