St Just in Bloom – Volunteers and the Future of the Group

Posted on: November 12th, 2019

St Just in Bloom was formed in 2003 and entered SW in Bloom for the first time in 2004, when we won a silver medal. For the next nine years we won silver gilt and since then we have won gold. In 2016 and 2019 were in the Champion of Champion category. This means that we are competing against large towns, which have a gardening workforce as well as volunteers, like Truro, and also villages like St Izzey, which are similar to us with no paid work force. On both occasions we obtained gold and in 2016 we shared the trophy with Sherborne in Dorset — a very special moment.

Some of our founder volunteers are still with us, some in their 70s and 80s and as such are now looking to reduce considerably their commitment to the project. We are also facing problems with watering, which was initially done by Penwith District Council and then passed onto us which has become a significant problem as we have evolved and introduced new areas. There are three members who have watered and one is having to reduce his involvement because of work opportunities and another member can no longer commit as much time to it. We have therefore reached a crossroads and have held a special meeting to decide whether as a group we could continue, as our appeals for extra help have received very little positive feedback.

We have decided to continue in 2020 but will not enter the South West in Bloom competition. We will then in September/October make the decision as to whether we can continue. None of us want to see the group disappear but unless we receive some extra volunteers we are afraid that the outcome will be inevitable. We believe and so do the majority of our population that St Just benefits from the displays. So please if you can help in any way please come forward and contact our present chairman Chris Goninan on 01736 788722 or email bulamrg@aol.com and discuss what you can do for the benefit of our town.

2020 Coronavirus Update

Although the call for volunteers above is still standing, note that due to the Coronavirus 2020 lock down, St Just in Bloom has had to significantly cut back its activities in 2020. For full details on this please see our St Just in Bloom Coronavirus Update 2020 news post.