TIGNISH, P.E.I. — Jamie McHugh compares the beautification work that has been ongoing in Tignish for two decades to putting the finishing touches on a new home.
“That home isn’t finished until the landscaping is done and then it becomes a finished product where, visually, you want to enter.
“The same as a town: if it becomes visually appealing, because of landscaping, it makes you want to come to that town. It makes you want to stay; it makes you want to enjoy it.”
McHugh, who has been helping to spruce up her hometown for the past 15 years, says she likes how area residents and businesses are freely pitching in.
Most of all, she likes the pride residents and businesses take in their properties.
She cherishes the observations of visitors; comments like: ‘Oh my, you live in such a pretty town; your town is so clean and beautiful.’
There have been some learning curves along the way, though, like knowing where water and sewer lines are located before planting trees, realizing that next winter’s snow has to be pushed somewhere and being aware that road salt negatively impacts some plants more than others.
Assisting McHugh with the maintenance and the watering for the past five years is town employee Judy Doucette.
“You take pride in it and you love it. You just want to keep it going; you want to make it beautiful,” Doucette says.
“How we’ve grown, how everything has grown. It’s beautiful to see.”
The sprucing up started as a lead-up to Tignish’s 1999 Bicentennial celebrations, Tignish town councillor Judy Morrissey-Richard recalls. By the time the bicentennial year was over, the community had gained an appreciation for what beautification could do for community pride and for tourism.
Soon afterward, Tignish Initiatives obtained a Streetscapes grant through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to develop the Heritage Inn Gardens and other projects.
Both McHugh and Morrissey-Richard recall the “why bother” comments in the early years and the suggestion that beautification efforts would be wasted.
Some flower pots were torn down starting out, Morrissey-Richard admits.
“We were diligent. If they tore one down we’d put it back up. And then it just stopped.”
“You live and learn,” McHugh said. “We have kids groups coming into the gardens over at the church now and we educate them on bee awareness and trees and environmental issues and why it is so important to have flowers.
She gets lots of questions from residents on what kind of plants to start, where to plant them, even the colour of shutters.
“It’s kind of monkey see, monkey do, so if one neighbour sees another neighbour getting some work done to the outside of their home, to beautify it, then the next neighbour wants it done.”
Proudly watching all the improvements as they occur is Tignish resident Lorraine Peters.
“I started off little by little. This used to be all grass,” she said, casting her gaze across several large displays that have taken shape over the last half-century. She recalls the many gardening tips she got from avid gardener Anita Chaisson. Over the years Peters has shared her gardening passion with others
“I don’t like sitting in the sun, but I can work in the sun,” she said.
She enjoys the beauty of the finished project that can be seen in yards throughout the small West Prince town.
“I think people take more pride in their properties now. People take more pride in the community properties. There’s more respect from everyone, all ages, for the community properties,” Morrissey-Richard says. “I think the overall general feeling among everyone is the community pride and the beautification.”
Morrissey-Richard, McHugh and Doucette, along with Garth Davey, Roger Gaudet and Karen Gaudet-Gavin make up the town’s Communities in Bloom committee.
Having won in the national competition twice, including in the Class of Champions category in 2017, Tignish has moved up to an international category this year.
“What’s different about it, we’re being evaluated against towns all over the world,” McHugh said. She values the symposium that Communities in Bloom hosts every fall as it is a chance to learn from communities large and small from all over the world. She encourages residents to have their properties looking their best, and
Doucette reminds them to even take care where their mower chutes are pointing as points are deducted for dirty sidewalks.
Morrissey-Richard points out the participating towns are not actually in competition with each other. They are being evaluated on their individual merits.
Happening almost simultaneously with the Communities in Bloom preparations are the town’s preparations for hosting a full day of activities during the Congrès mondial acadien next month. The Tignish Recreation Department’s summer students have started distributing the lobster traps they’ve painted in the Acadian red, white and blue colours throughout the community. The traps are being clustered in high traffic areas and distributed individually to interested homeowners.
Of course, there are many other aspects to the Communities in Bloom evaluation than pretty streetscapes, and Morrissey-Richard said Tignish delivers with projects like lagoon upgrades, environmental awareness, historical preservation, recreational facilities like a splash pad, its community heating project and its cooperative spirit.
Communities in Bloom
International Challenge, ‘very small’ category, participating communities:
- Cavtat, Croatia
- Jasper, Alberta, Canada
- Tignish, Prince Edward Island, Canada
- Turin, Italy
Judges arrive in Tignish on July 21
Evaluation takes place July 22
Itinerary includes: Community Gardens, St. Simon and St. Jude Church and pipe organ, Tignish Initiatives, Island Waste Management, Tignish Lagoon, Arsenault’s Pond, Royal Star Foods, Tignish Coop Medical Centre and Tignish Seniors Home Co-operative.
