Melbourne’s City of Port Phillip recently received the Nations in Bloom award in the world’s only international competition based on management of the environment and enhancement of the quality of life and community well being, held in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. Council won the Gold Award, beating off heated competition from cities in Category C with daytime populations between 75,001 and 200,000 people.
Waterloo in Canada was runner up and Plzen, in the Czech Republic, came third picking up Silver Awards.
“Port Phillip is clearly a marvellous part of Melbourne, ‘the world’s most livable city’,” said Mayor Liz Johnstone. “As one of the oldest areas of European settlement, Port Phillip has a rich and diverse heritage – cultural, built, natural, historical and national. We’ve put in a huge effort over a number of years to enhance, preserve and manage Port Phillip’s amenities for the benefit of residents, businesses, visitors and the environment.
“This award is a huge international bouquet for our staff and community. It gives due recognition to the imaginative and innovative approaches both the Council and the community have embraced to make Port Phillip and its open spaces such a knockout place for residents and all of Melbourne (and the rest of the world!) to enjoy.”
Port Phillip parks rank number one among 16 Victorian municipalities according to a national Benchmark Park User Satisfaction Survey.
“We encourage our community to take action on environmental and sustainability issues through programs, such as Sustainable Living at Home,” Mayor Johnstone said. “We are also committed to reducing dependence on cars, instigating water recycling initiatives and maintaining cleaner beaches and bays. Crucial to the creation of a more liveable municipality is the active and passionate involvement of our community in everything from Veg Out (St Kilda Community Garden), to neighbourhood forums and friends groups which support the Council in the operation and management of its open space and heritage.
“Our progress to 2010 is being measured by a set of sustainable community progress indicators which use everyday concepts such as the cost of a sandwich, and how often neighbours say hello to each other.”
The Nations in Bloom competition is endorsed by the United Nations Environment Program and judged by an international panel of six world renowned judges. In Apeldoorn, they listened to presentations from 25 finalists from 15 countries across the globe to reach their decisions. The finalists were divided into five categories according to their average daytime population.
The winners were Soldiers Point, NSW, Australia (up to 20,000), Enkoping, Sweden (up to 75,000), Port Phillip, Australia (up to 200,000), Quanzhou, PR China (up to 1,000,000) and Chicago, USA (over 1,000,000).
