23 March 2011

Moor in Bloom Reaches Final of Keep Britain Tidy Awards
A local campaign to clean up and maintain green areas in Oxmoor, Huntingdon has been praised at a national ceremony.

Moor in Bloom was a finalist in the Community Award category of the Keep Britain Tidy Network Awards, which took place in Bournemouth last week (Monday 14 March).

The Keep Britain Tidy Network Awards are held annually to recognise and reward excellence and innovation in improving local environmental quality. The Community Award specifically rewards organisations who have empowered communities to take responsibility for, and contribute towards, improving their local neighbourhood through developing a sense of ownership of the area.

Moor in Bloom empowered Oxmoor residents to take responsibility for the green areas around their homes, to improve the appearance of front gardens and enter areas of the estate in the annual Anglia in Bloom competitions, and if selected the annual Britain in Bloom competitions.

Whilst Moor in Bloom looks at growing produce to add colour, it is all about community involvement in keeping the area clean and tidy, improving conditions and maintaining local interest and involvement.

The group actively encourages participation in the project from local schools, residential care homes, churches, local businesses and the local youth club. The sustainability of this whole project relies on others taking control and responsibility, learning from mistakes, growing in confidence and moving on from each small achievement.

Huntingdonshire District Council ranger, Brian Gardner said: "It's really great for the Oxmoor area to come so near to winning this prestigious award and to be highly commended. The local community has worked really hard to bring this project together and make the environment they live in something to be proud of."

Phil Barton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy said: "We were delighted to hear of the wonderful work being carried out by everyone involved in Moor in Bloom in bringing about improvements to the local neighbourhood.

"The project has had a positive impact on the whole community and transformed the look and feel of the area.

"A key aim of the Keep Britain Tidy Network is for residents, land managers and other organisations to work together to improve the quality of neighbourhoods and this scheme is an excellent example of what can be achieved."

The Keep Britain Tidy Network is one of the longest running local environmental quality programmes and environmental awards schemes in the UK. Its principal aim is to assist local authorities and other land managers to improve performance in local environmental quality by providing expertise, advice, support, opportunities for up-skilling, networking events and partnership working.

The Keep Britain Tidy Network Awards recognise and reward excellence and innovation in improving local environmental quality.

Keep Britain Tidy is the anti-litter charity for England. It is passionate about cleaner greener places and runs Eco-Schools, Green Flag Award for parks (in partnership with BTVC and GreenSpace), and Blue Flag/Quality Coast Awards for beaches. TV star Kirstie Allsopp is the charity's ambassador. To find out more visit http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/.

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