The City of Portage la Prairie has received the results from this year's Communities in Bloom National and International Awards Ceremonies.
Portage was entered in the 6,001-20,000 category alongside Bay Roberts, Newfoundland & Labrador, as well as Taber, Alberta. Chairperson for the Portage committee, Cathie McFarlane, says they're happy for how they fared.
"We actually did very well. It's our first time participating in that national/international competition and we got three blooms out of five," says McFarlane. "The other big surprise is we got a special award for the new causeway for the landscaping and the look of it. It just really affirmed that whole project for us."
McFarlane says the judges were from New Brunswick and Ottawa and were able to provide a fresh perspective to the city we see everyday. She adds they spent several days with the judges, visiting the residential school museum, and toured most of the city's greenspaces and heritage locations around the area.
"They were just so surprised by the amount of recreational opportunities we had in our city and all the opportunities for people that either visit or live here," says McFarlane. "For areas of improvement, they suggested that we do more community cleanup. We are doing some of that, but they asked that we start to do more of that."
McFarlane adds the judges suggested the group offer workshops on how to prune trees and other ways to maintain greenspaces.
If you would like to help with next year's Communities in Bloom event, contact the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation.