The annual Community Gardens and Beautification Festival Competition returned
last year after a break imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic with Birchfield
Osborne, Indies Greene and Paynters Court being named the overall winners at a
prize-giving ceremony held Saturday night.
Osborne, a former winner in the individual category, won first prizes in several of
the judged categories; Best Flower Garden, Best Fruits and Vegetables, and Best
Herbs and Spices. Indies Greene won for Best Flower Garden and Best Water
Garden in the Business Section of the competition, while Paynters Court won for
the Best Kept Community Beautification project.
The ceremony was held at Avec Amor in Buckley’s and saw a large turnout of
gardens and backyard farming enthusiasts. Among those presenting prizes were the
Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams, the Permanent Secretary of Agriculture,
Sandra Joseph, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social
Transformation, Colin O’Keiffe, Director of Community Development, Dale
O’Brien and Ministry of Tourism Representative, St. Clair Soleyn.
“This annual competition has four (4) components, the Garden aspect which
consist of categories such as Herb and Spice Garden, Fruits and/or Vegetable
Garden, Flower Garden, Water Garden which includes (Pools, Ponds, Aquaponics
and Hydronics). A new aspect of the competition this year is the Best Kept
Community which allows for residents to come together and beautify their
communities thus encouraging camaraderie and civic pride,” Assistant coordinator
of the programme, Tanya Williams stated in her overview.
She added that the objectives of the competition are to enhance the cleanliness of
the physical environment, improve wellness, attract and encourage community
tourism, research of the histories of communities, showcase their uniqueness while
building resilient communities.
“We had 32 individual/residential participants, 1 school and 3 businesses
competing from across both islands in categories of Flower Gardens, Fruits and
Vegetable Gardens, Herbs and Spice Gardens and Water Gardens. These
participants were judged based on layout and permanency of the gardens, health
and vigor of the plants and management of the garden (whether any conservation
methods were employed). This year, we introduced the Best Kept Community
category and had 3 communities participating being judged on the cleanliness of
the community, efforts to preserve the environment and the condition of public
spaces in the area,” according to chairperson of the Judges, Vashti Ramsey
Casimir.
All the winners received cash prizes donated by several local businesses.
There were also participants from Barbuda, Anthony Mapp won for Best Flower
Garden while Jacklyn Beazer won for Best Fruit and Vegetables.
