The Parish of St Helier has once again wowed the judges in the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual Britain in Bloom local gardening contest, winning the 2023 ‘large coastal town’ category.
After competing in the national finals last year, following their win in the 2021 local competition, St Helier was entitled to re-enter locally this year to boast its beautiful blooms once more and has again qualified for the 2024 national final.
St Helier brought home an impressive array of awards and commendations for independent and collaborative projects, including the Prix D’Excellence for best overall parish and a gold award for the town hall flowers.
The judges of the competition remarked that the Pollinator Project collaboration with Highvern made a noteworthy contribution to St Helier’s entry and should be congratulated. The project created a series of wild pollinator patches around St Helier and aims to maintain a rich biodiversity. This is the second year Highvern has enabled the Pollinator Project, providing financial support for seeds for the project, alongside its team of volunteers to plant the patches.
Ian Syvret of St Helier Town and Parks said: “We really enjoy our constructive partnership with Highvern. The pollinator patches are spectacular to look at and have been appreciated by the public. They also serve as a vital food source to the local insect life. The project has been very successful and contributed to St Helier being voted as best parish in the competition.”
Ellen Hibbs, ESG Committee Chair at Highvern, said: “We’re proud to have helped St Helier secure a finalist position in this year’s competition. Projects like this allow our natural biodiversity to flourish and create peaceful visual landscapes for everyone to enjoy. We’re excited to expand the Pollinator Project next year and hope our efforts inspire others to protect our environment.”
The flowers planted as part of the Pollinator Project can be seen at both People’s Park and Victoria Park in Jersey.
Pictured: Left to right – Andrew Milon, David Hunt, Highvern’s Ellen Hibbs and Ian Syvret
