This year’s theme for Radstock in Bloom is “Floral Art”, and is not limited to just flower arranging. We are also seeking local artists, sculptors and groups to help us with our In Bloom entry. Can anyone out there help?

As part of this year’s entry, we will also be focusing on climate change in the local environment, and will be studying and gathering data on birds, plants and insects on Haydon batch over the coming years to see how a global problem is affecting our local environment and how we can help combat climate change locally.

This year’s activities start with a bird watch on Sunday, 27th January from 10 a.m. – 12 noon. We will be gathering data on what birds are using the local area during the winter, and all are welcome to join us.

With our focus on climate change, and the particularly hot summer we had in 2018, we will be using more drought-tolerant plants for our displays this coming year. Last year, we were able to buy the new Amberol hanging baskets from funds received over many years from fundraising, donations, the local traders’ support and the community. We cut our water wastage by over 360 litres a week, and that was during a record heatwave year, by saving gallons of water.

We are a non-political, community based group of volunteers, and would love to welcome new members to help us with our efforts to make Radstock a brighter place. You can contact us about joining or the bird watch event by emailing: [email protected] or find our Facebook page by searching for Radstock In Bloom.

Sean Fletcher, Chairman, Radstock In Bloom