By Marvin Miller, AIB Past President

I am often asked how a city or town should begin its America in Bloom efforts when participating in our National Awards Program. Recognizing there is no one “right way,” I still suggest a multi-pronged approach. On the one hand, it is important to develop your volunteer corps. At the same time, it is important to collect your list of project ideas. And at some point, surveying what already is happening in your city or town, in many cases, can help to complete the first two tasks; indeed, for many of our AIB cities, the previous accomplishments provide the perfect stepping stones to help climb to new heights.

So let’s begin with corralling the volunteer corps. Most of the successful cities that have won awards have a strong organizing committee led by one or more “movers and shakers” who have a record of previous accomplishments in town and/or the determination to get things done. We recommend having a chair or co-chairs, and preferably, at least one person designated to be responsible for each of the judged criteria, namely Floral Displays, Landscaped Areas, Urban Forestry, Environmental Efforts, Heritage Preservation, and Overall Impression. Then, depending on the ways deemed most appropriate for your community, either develop a separate list of volunteers focused on each of these criteria and/or develop an overall volunteer corps, which will tackle the projects for each criterion in turn.

Having a “call for volunteers” often is a successful endeavor, but it also makes sense to contact service organizations such as Kiwanis and Rotary, Boy and Girl Scout troops and other youth groups, church groups, business organizations (e.g., Chamber of Commerce and/or the Convention and Tourism Bureau), schools, and, of course, neighborhood improvement associations. Having a member of the city council, the city administration, the economic development commission, the park district, and/or the historical society has also proven beneficial. And having someone from the local newspaper, television, and/or radio stations at least involved in a PR committee also helps. The keys to recruiting include talking about the greater good of the city, talking about planting pride, and highlighting the economic, environmental, psychological, and sociological benefits that plants provide. (Download a copy of our “Discover the surprising side of Plants” brochure from the America in Bloom website.) The keys to maintaining the volunteer corps is to thank each and every volunteer for coming forward and (subsequently) for their efforts.

Once volunteers are recruited, it only makes sense to survey these volunteers for what they know might already be happening in town. Are some of your volunteers involved in other beautification efforts or do they know of individuals or groups that are? Catalog these projects, for they will often lead to finding more volunteers and to adding to the list of things for which your city should be proud. One of the benefits we hear reported by many cities was this compilation, as it appears in many cities different groups are working on different projects, and until an effort was made to coalesce these efforts under the America in Bloom banner, not many were aware of all that was already being done by the municipality itself, by various business groups, by residents, or by other organizations.

On top of what already is being done, the list of additional project ideas can be endless. Many cities
naturally begin with Main Street, areas in and around shopping districts, and entrances to the city. Major thoroughfares and intersections are also hot spots for improvement. But it’s also important to appeal to businesses and business parks, hotels, condo associations and subdivisions, and even schools and homeowners to police their grounds, to add to their entrances and, where needed, to improve their landscapes. City and county park districts and forest preserves should also be contacted to be sure entrances are well-marked and landscaped and to be sure any significant assets are noted.

Of course, project lists may be limited by available funds. City councils may be able to appropriate some funding. Business improvement districts are another source. But don’t be afraid to appeal to individual businesses and homeowners to sponsor certain projects or even individual planters or hanging baskets. (Having organized public relations activities which will acknowledge contributors to everyone in the city is a great way to lure contributors!) Also, be sure to ask the city if there is someone on staff that works on obtaining grants for civic improvements and ask if that person can help on behalf of the America in Bloom effort. Sometimes municipalities can go to county or state governments for specific projects for beautification, environmental improvements, economic development or mental health of the citizenry. There might even be opportunities for grants from the state forester for tree plantings or from the state’s department of agriculture for promoting local horticultural production.

Finally, if you need more ideas, I’d encourage you to check out America in Bloom’s Best Ideas books. These ideas have been compiled from cities previously in the program and the judges who evaluated them.