Supporting events

There is a range of events and activities that take place to support the 'In Bloom' campaign, including: Plant and cake sales which are hosted by the Herne Bay in Bloom Committee and Family Investment Homes. These have raised valuable funds to support the competition.

The popular Herne Horticultural Show that took place on 16 March. The Herne and Broomfield annual safari took place on Sunday 13 June. This year gardens of varying interest from hanging baskets and tubs to mature trees and shrubs opened up to the public. The garden owners are always willing to share information and give advice, and some even provide refreshment. Plants are always available to buy and the proceeds of the safari are divided between Help for Heroes and Herne and Broomfield Parish Council.

For the first time this year Herne Infants and Junior Schools opened their grounds as part of the safari giving local people the chance to see the work of the schools gardening clubs.

Herne Bay Memorial Park Regeneration Project

This is an on going project to regenerate the centre of Herne Bay. It was a premier Victorian resort, which is divided into three distinct areas including the seafront, the town centre and the Memorial Park, which is its green heart.

The park is close to the town centre and seafront and links to the coastal cycle path. Connecting the seafront, town centre and the park is key to Herne Bay's regeneration; the future market position of any destination is linked to the economic prosperity and quality of life of its residents. This will create a strong sense of place.

Tourism is an economic driver, and people will travel to distinctive destinations that also deliver quality of life and are visually attractive to residents and visitors. Key to regenerating the town is restoring its green heart, the park. The city council has consulted widely on the future of the park, and an active and supportive 'Friends of' group has been formed. £500,000 has been made available from the council's capital budget and a further £50,000 has been awarded from the government's 'Playbuilder' scheme.

The play area was refurbished earlier this year and is now open, and other projects in the park include installing CCTV, restoring and improving the lighting and paths, refurbishing the garden area, installing signage and toilets, creating a community hub, refurbishing the street furniture and up-grading the lake. The aim is to turn the park in to a 'green flag' park.

Other notable horticultural achievements include the installation of a kitchen garden plots in Memorial Park which will be offered for the use of community groups. This project was designed by residents of the Family Investment Homes Project, who have also produced a design for a sensory garden. The gardens will be installed by Oakapple who have worked on other projects in the district.

Last year Family Investment Homes held a competition to design a new bed at the Kings Road entrance of memorial Park next to the Parklife centre. This area had been particularly neglected and was in need of a revamp. They then carried out the installation of the new bed using plants they had grown at their nursery.

Strode Park Foundation

Set in 14 acres of beautiful grounds Strode Park is Kent's premier charity for people with disabilities. Situated in the village of Herne staff and residents, with support from Local Rotary Clubs, transformed their large pond into a fishing site for the disabled, a great new leisure facility for the park.

Curtis Wood

When trees are cut down, wood is stacked and used for habitat log piles, and also recycled into wood chip mulch. Hedge layering is being encouraged to reinvigorate these wildlife corridors, and to make them more effective in supporting biodiversity.

In terms of raising awareness, a range of leaflets are published covering heritage, biodiversity and events. These are constantly reviewed and added to as required. Bird and bat boxes and wildflower seeds are being encouraged.

Green gardening

The council's biodiversity working group examine ways of both enhancing and reducing its impact on the environment. On some roundabouts bedding displays have been changed to wildflower mixes, to enhance biodiversity, create something different to look at and to use less invasive maintenance methods.

The council's planting policy is changing to encourage the use of insect, and in particular, butterfly attracting plants. Similarly grass-cutting regimes have been reviewed to encourage wildflower meadows, where appropriate. Also the amount of native trees to be planted will be increased where appropriate.

Looking after the environment

A biodiversity group has been formed to consider ways of reducing the impact of activities on the environment, and ways of improving environmental performance. The mulching scheme is being extended and includes mulching of Christmas trees and a spring bark mulch giveaway, which took place on 8 May this year. At this event, people from the Herne Bay In Bloom committee were on hand to give gardening advice.

Most local primary and secondary schools take part in the council's recycling scheme. This year Herne Bay Infants started an awareness campaign for controlling dog mess. The street inspection team regularly check all the street furniture for defects and ensure that remedial action is carried out in a timely fashion. Similarly any vandalism, graffiti and persistent dog fouling are dealt with.

The city council has a two-man graffiti hit squad that is available during the normal working week, and responds to offensive graffiti out of normal working hours. The graffiti is treated with a special acid and then removed with grey water. Grey water is also used to remove chewing gum from pedestrian areas.

The Clean Kent Team initiative continues and is proving to be a popular and worthwhile initiative. This is a joint venture between a range of partners including the city and county councils, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue and shared between the neighbouring district councils of Thanet, Dover and Shepway. The team's remit is to improve the local environment for the benefit of residents and visitors. They undertake a wide variety of work including fence painting, cleaning memorials, disposing of fly-tipping and tidying up neglected areas such as ponds and ditches. The team is co-ordinated by the city council as the lead authority.

The probation service and Youth Offenders Team provide labour from individuals carrying community payback, and is a very successful exercise.

The city council also provides a fortnightly garden waste collection service, with householders either having a green bin or reusable garden sack. Once collected the green waste is taken to a local composting unit, processed and sold on to landscape gardeners in bulk, or made available to the general public at recycling centres in Herne Bay and Canterbury at a cost of £2.50 per 50 litre bag.

New allotments in Broomfield

Herne and Broomfield Parish Council have this year established a new allotment site next to the BMX track at Herne on land previously used as farm land. The site was set up as a response to local demand. An active site association has been formed to look after the site on a day to day basis, and there are about 50 full size plots available.

There are plenty of people that have taken up plots, and the site is well supported. Fencing is being improved sustainable water supply is being sourced, and on site storage for tools and supplies is being arranged.

Broomfield Woodland park and BMX Track

In 2008 Herne and Broomfield Parish Council began a project to create a Community Woodland Park on a former landfill site. A regional competition standard BMX track has been constructed, which is the first of its kind in Kent. This project also provides the local community with a quality public open space with opportunities for informal recreation, enjoying wildlife, and enjoying the view.

Tree and hedge planting has been carried out and is establishing well. The site receives support from Kent County Council, Entrust, SERCO, and the city council.

Curtis Wood and Broomfield Ponds

The council continues to work with the Friends of Broomfield and Curtis Wood Ponds on the delivery of the management plan for these two sites. The management plan is based in the CABE space template.

The Friends of group was established in 1994. It has a membership of 150 and represents 48 local households. Each family pays an annual subscription and any funds raised, including grant aid, helps towards running costs and purchasing equipment.

The group meet on a regular basis and carry out tasks to keep the ponds in good condition. These activities have included fixing bird boxes, coppicing, clearing vegetation and clearing rubbish. Other community groups such as the Girl Guides have recently taken part in tidying activities as well as bulb planting.

Reculver Country Park

This Green Flag Park lies to the east of Herne Bay and is managed by the city council in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust and English Heritage. The Park provided a setting for the historic St Mary's Church, a location where settlement can be traced back to Roman times.

The site is also the location for chalk grassland habitat and has a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status. The visitor centre has recently been refurbished with a grant from the National Lottery, and the site is very popular attracting visitors both locally and further a field. It is also a destination point on the coastal footpath and cycle way networks.

This ancient settlement has a unique mixture of wildlife, history, conservation and leisure, and so provides something for everyone.