Prize-winning Community Gardens

Prize-winning Community Gardens

Four participants in Stansted’s entry into this year’s Anglia in Bloom competition have been acknowledged for their work in the community by the Royal Horticultural Society.

St Mary’s Primary School, TouchPoint Stansted, the Mountfitchet House Care Home, and HUMAN ROOTS have been awarded certificates as part of the RHS’s Your Neighbourhood Awards.

SMPC Chair Maureen Caton said: “It’s wonderful to see the work done by local organisations and schools for our community be recognised by such a prestigious organisation.”

The certificate winners were scored for the level of community participation, environmental responsibility and gardening achievement shown by their organisation.

Outstanding

Human Roots was in judged to be outstanding in these regards. The organisation runs a non-profit allotment at Elms Farm that it uses as a means to educate people about growing healthy food and to fight social isolation and loneliness.    

Anglia in Bloom organiser Trevor Lloyd and SMPC Chair Maureen Caton recently presented representatives of each organisation with £15 gardening centre vouchers along with the RHS certificate.

The Anglia in Bloom garden competition forms part of the wider Britain in Bloom horticultural event, which is run by the RHS.

The village’s 2024 entry featured over 10 organisations including the likes of Friends of St Mary’s Church, the Stansted Mountpickers, Stansted Bowls Club, the Stansted Mountfitchet Social Club, and Let’s Talk Stansted.

The SMPC is a major backer of the Stansted’s AiB, devoting over £66,000 of its annual budget to gardening and maintenance of its public open spaces, many of which star in the village entry.

The Parish Council also provides sponsorship and administrative support to AiB organisers.

Plans underway for 2025

AiB 2024 saw Stansted Mounfitchet pick up a silver gilt ward in the overall competition category.

SMPC Chair Maureen Caton said: “Our Open Spaces committee is already considering how best to support AIB in 2025.”