Britain in Bloom transforming local communities Social, economic, environmental, transformational: the far-reaching impacts of Britain’s biggest community horticulture movement City of London in Bloom; Front cover: Johnny Boylan cover: in Bloom; Front City of London 2 RHS Britain in Bloom 2011 Foreword Jon Enoch Transforming Communities There is no doubt that Britain in local businesses, creating investment Bloom and It’s Your Neighbourhood and employment, along with truly capture the enormous power improvements to social needs such as of volunteers, people who are totally training the long-term unemployed. committed to their community But it’s also about creating beautiful giving their time generously and spaces and improving the wider selfl essly and often bringing about environment through attracting more a life-changing and far-reaching wildlife and, of course, having fun. transformation of their local area. As this report concludes, Britain in This report includes many inspiring Bloom and It’s Your Neighbourhood stories of incredible achievement, in are making a major difference in the some instances whole cities brought UK today, perhaps best summed back to life through gardening. up in the words of a member of an There are so many examples worthy It’s Your Neighbourhood group who of mention, but for me, a few that said that ‘since becoming involved stand out include the people of Moss we have an area that is looking far Side, Manchester, where neighbours better than it did three to four years who had never spoken to each other ago, and it’s got people talking as before, became fi rm friends over the to how we can improve our area hanging baskets; in Cumbernauld further. It’s your Neighbourhood Community Park, Glasgow, where and ‘in Bloom’ is the best thing swallows and wildfl owers have that has happened to our area’. returned; and Brightlingsea, Essex I am very proud of every one of where a small group of residents the people, across the UK, that came together to transform their town make Britain in Bloom and It’s Your and increase local pride, attracting Neighbourhood what they are today. more and more people who care I hope you can fi nd time to read passionately about the environment. this report, it’s truly inspirational All of these signifi cant changes have to see why gardening matters been brought about by people who so much to our communities believe in community gardening. These changes are truly transformational, from fostering strong communities and building civic pride, Sue Biggs to making the local area a better place Director General to live by reducing crime, helping Royal Horticultural Society John Barratt RHS Britain in Bloom 2011 3 Introduction In 2001 the Royal Horticultural Society began a new investment in community horticulture by taking responsibility for organising Britain in Bloom. The campaign contains two and businesses, representing diverse elements: Britain in Bloom (“in areas from urban Manchester to Bloom”) and It’s Your Neighbourhood the rural town of Holyhead. (IYN), both aimed at supporting communities to improve their quality of life through gardening. Far-reaching benefi ts Britain in Bloom is a nation-wide Communities believe Britain in Bloom competition between communities and IYN help them improve their across a range of categories. For environment for a number of reasons: many it is a tool for building their • they create goals to work towards community and tackling local issues. with a sense of satisfaction IYN is a non-competitive scheme in achieving them for community groups who want • they provide a framework for to ‘green up’ local areas, offering action through the structure advice and awarding certifi cates and assessment criteria of achievement. • judges give support and advice, Approximately 2,100 communities RHS helping communities improve take part each year, from small year on year street-level groups to villages, towns and cities, from the Channel Islands • models of delivery are fl exible, to the north of Scotland, giving allowing communities of very reasons from building community different sizes and needs to spirit to improving their environment decide how to participate and boosting the local economy. • the ‘healthy competition’ of Britain In our report on how Britain in Bloom in Bloom helps motivate participants. and IYN are working, we found the programmes are having a signifi cant social, economic, environmental Harnessing volunteer power and transformational impact on the • The campaign engages from spaces, places and people involved. 96,000 to more than 200,000 volunteers across the UK • volunteers range from The Survey toddlers to people in their 80s and older; just under a third Volunteers give over More than 230 “in Bloom” and IYN groups from all over the of volunteers are over 64 4.4 million hours each country responded to our survey • communities involved in year to improving their about their participation in the Britain in Bloom and IYN plant surroundings through campaign and the impact of an average 115,000 trees, gardening: equivalent the programmes in their area. 352,000 shrubs and 21.6 million to £155 million of We also spoke in more depth to 11 plants and bulbs each year labour at the national case study communities, including • on average each group looks after minimum wage. local authorities, police, community 6 hectares (15 acres) of green space. 4 RHS Britain in Bloom 2011 How Britain in Bloom is changing the landscape of the UK The impact of the work of “in Bloom” and It’s Your Neighbourhood groups is felt in many different ways, and the report found the campaigns are transforming every aspect of community life for the better. Social impact • encouraging horticulture, “Taking part in this • building community by working from hanging baskets to competition over the years towards a common goal, creating community gardens has given us a fabulous opportunities for increasing • bringing in environmentally- community spirit and understanding and neighbourliness conscious practices such as pride – in our town and our • encouraging individuals to composting, recycling and efforts to make it a great biodiversity projects invest in their neighbourhood, place to live or visit.” contributing to its development • promoting an interest in the (Small Town) by volunteering environment, particularly in schools. • reducing crime and anti-social behaviour by fostering a greater respect for and sense of ownership Transformational impact of local spaces • transforming disused space both through changing the way • improved health and well- the land is used, and in the being through growing fruit and community spirit it brings vegetables, and by creating a safe, pleasant space to exercise. • tackling problematic spaces blighted by crime or fl y-tipping by turning areas which are drab into something more uplifting Economic impact • encouraging inward investment • regenerating places by improving by making areas better places to be, their physical appearance, changing so locals stay and visitors are the way people feel about where attracted to spend time there they live and breathing new life into an area. • attracting business support: an improved environment brings more customers and revenues, and less graffi ti and vandalism • helping volunteers develop a wide range of skills and helping those at risk of social exclusion back into the labour market • saving local authorities money in volunteer hours, green space management, street furniture maintenance and litter collection. Environmental impact • improving surroundings through planting, clean-up and maintenance John Barratt RHS Britain in Bloom 2011 5 Social impact Those who took part in the survey report that the social impact of their work through the Britain in Bloom programmes shows itself in many ways, from community building to reductions in crime and anti- social behaviour and improved health and well-being. “The group consists of mainly young boys and after an hour of work, they would like a game of football. This initially was a bit of an intolerance to the elderly members – but when they came out RHS of their houses and saw Interviewees also talked about how the children’s handiwork Building community Nearly all – 90% – of the groups because pride has been built and they started to welcome who took part in the survey said the people have seen changes, their the children openly. highest impact of their campaign aspirations for their area increased. We are all now friends.” was on community development. (IYN group) In many areas, working on a community horticulture project Encouraging investment was the fi rst time individuals had in community come together, and in some cases “in Bloom” and IYN groups are the fi rst time they had met at all. good at working with other groups to get the most out of their work, The gardens become social from the Rotary Club or Women’s hubs and are often the focus Institute to local faith groups. for community events including family growing days, fun days and The kinds of activity they undertook skills development workshops. jointly included fundraising, planting days, specifi c landscaping and facilities “Both campaigns have Because people from different development projects and local events. provided excellent parts of the community spend platforms to improve our more time together, either directly, 65% of groups worked with local through gardening activities, or schools in the area, building school area and engage with indirectly, as a result of the improved gardens from scratch, holding teaching the public. This has led environment and spaces available sessions with pupils or working on skills to a huge increase in to them, better understanding and development for teachers and parents. civic pride and a feeling trust is built between generations, The achievements reached through faiths and ethnicities. that Cleethorpes has “in Bloom” and IYN activities drastically improved over 79% of survey respondents said that encourage confi dence and bring the last few years.” increased civic pride was a benefi t of increased investment from other (Coastal Town) their participation in the campaign.