City Of Courtenay Seeking Volunteers For The Mile Of Flowers

The City of Courtenay is looking for volunteers to help with The Mile of Flowers, marking 57 years of filling Cliffe Avenue boulevards with colourful blooms.

This year’s plant-in is happening on Tuesday, May 28th.

The Plant-in starts at 5pm and goes on till approximately 7pm.

Volunteers are invited to fill the garden beds on both sides of Cliffe Avenue from 8th to 21st Streets with summer flowers provided by the City.

No prior gardening experience is required – just pick an open spot and start planting. Participants are asked to bring garden gloves and a trowel or spoon for digging.

Typically, between 200 and 500 volunteers are needed. Youth groups are encouraged to take part and all youth groups attending will be entered in a random draw to win a one-hour pool party at the outdoor pool in Lewis Park.

Mayor Bob Wells encourages residents to join the Plant-in.

“The Mile of Flowers Plant-in is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the community. We’ll often see multiple generations of Comox Valley residents who have made volunteering at this event an annual tradition.” said Wells.

“We’re hoping for another great turn-out this year and encourage everyone to come out and join in the fun, it’s a beautiful way to spend the evening.”

The Mile of Flowers is a tradition dating back to 1967, when Kathleen Kirk set out to commemorate Canada’s centennial year.

That year she planted 7,800 seedlings as a welcome to tourists.

What began as the initiative of one woman now involves hundreds of volunteers and around 30,000 flowers.

The City of Courtenay maintains the flower beds, watering as needed, using compost and mulch to improve water retention.

Water-efficient drip-irrigation systems have been installed in a number of beds.

Some have also been converted to water-efficient perennial blooms and shrubs.

For more information, visit City of Courtenay.