A panel of three experts will travel to Morro Bay to evaluate our city in each of the following areas according to the criteria shown below:
Floral Displays – Attracting Attention with Colorful Plants
Judges will be looking at the good use and integration of annuals, perennials, bulbs, and ornamental grasses and the participant’s:
Flower beds, carpet bedding, containers, baskets, window boxes
Arrangement, originality, distribution, location, diversity, balance, harmony
High quality maintenance
Landscaped Areas – Designed Tree, Shrub, Turf, and Perennial Plantings
Judges will be looking at the overall design and suitability for the location and use of
Native and introduced materials
Good use of design principles (balance of plant material and constructed elements, harmony, color, texture, shape, etc.)
Tasteful integration of hardscape(s) (such as lamp posts, benches, etc.)
Lighting, art elements
High standards of maintenance (no weeds, good mulching practices, clean edges)
Site rejuvenation and rehabilitation
Turf and groundcovers.
Urban Forestry
Judges will be looking at your efforts preserving street and parkland trees and:
Written policies, by-laws and regulations, long and short term plans
Distribution, variety and suitability of trees
New plantings, urban tree program, inventory or database, frequency of surveys, scheduled succession plantings
Qualified personnel or access to trained individual(s) for tree care and maintenance programs
Preservation of heritage trees and woodlots
Community Involvement
Volunteer involvement in funding, planting, and maintenance of trees
Volunteer involvement of youth in tree programs (i.e., Arbor Day, etc.)
Environmental Effort – Sustainable Development and Awareness
Judges will be looking at the your efforts regarding sustainable development
Policies and by-laws
Waste reduction, hazardous waste collection (oil, paint, chemicals, used batteries, etc), transfer/recycle stations, recycling (paper, glass, metal, plastic, electronics, etc), composting, environmental cleanup activities
Integrated Pest Management (IPM), rain gardens and rain barrels, youth programs, events such as Earth Day
Water source and conservation, naturalization, air quality issues, controlled burns, environmentally friendly transportation
Heritage – Preserving Your Past for Future Generations
Judges will be looking at your efforts preserving:
Museums, archives, artefacts, history books and interpretative programs, resource availability
Policies and by-laws
Preservation and restoration of buildings, homes, churches, cemeteries, heritage sites and/or monuments
Heritage parks, gardens and trees; interpretive programs; farmers markets, festivals, parades
Historical society, heritage advisory committee, etc.
Overall Impression
Judges will be looking at the tidiness, order and cleanliness of:
Green spaces
Medians and boulevard strips, streets, sidewalks, curbs, ditches, road shoulders, scrap yards, unattended and vacant lots, noxious weeds, lack of weeds, litter, dog fouling, vandalism
Signage (in good repair, sufficient, etc.), notices/posters, graffiti
Buildings, garbage receptacles and recyclables disposal
General maintenance of the hardscape (such as lamp posts, benches, etc.)