FoRCE has entered this year's South & South East in Bloom competition, in the It's Your Neighbourhood category. The competition covers the whole of the South and South East of England - 731 entries in 2026 - and scores entrants on horticulture, community engagement, and environmental responsibility. Strong performances can lead to nomination for the national Britain in Bloom final.
The Assessor's Visit
On 30 June, we welcomed the assessor, Peter Holman - Chair and Managing Trustee of the competition - to the Esplanade for a one-hour site walk. We introduced Peter to a number of our volunteers and told him our story. The walk took in six years of volunteer effort: the Suffrage Sensory Garden, our native hedgerow, the Churchfields Bank project, and everything else that's gone into the site since 2020.
What This Means for FoRCE
It's Your Neighbourhood isn't a competition in the usual sense - it's a non-competitive, RHS-backed recognition scheme specifically for volunteer-led community groups, judged on horticulture, environmental responsibility, biodiversity, sustainability and community involvement. It's less about winning and more about having six years of hands-on work assessed by someone who knows exactly what they're looking at who can give us advice for what we might want to consider for future years. This continues a pattern for FoRCE: we were finalists in the Environment Hero category at the Pride in Medway Awards 2025. External recognition like this matters practically too - it's exactly the kind of thing that strengthens future funding bids and partnerships.
What Happens Next
Results will be announced in September at RHS Wisley. This is FoRCE's first entry, so our expectations are suitably managed, but we'll update you as soon as the results are out.
Get Involved
Recognition like this depends entirely on the people who do the hands-on work - and there's always room for more of us:
- Join one of our volunteer mornings or evenings
- Become our Wildlife Helper and help boost the biodiversity
- Sign up as a Friend or Member
Sensory Garden News
-
December Volunteer Session
The final volunteer session of the year was a great success as we focused on cutting back, pruning, and tidying the Sensory Garden beds to prepare them for the coming year.
-
Dedication of the Suffrage Sensory Garden
The efforts of our volunteers came to fruition on Saturday 20th July when the Suffrage Sensory Garden was officially dedicated, with special guests author Jennifer Godfrey, Lauren Edwards MP, and Deputy Mayor Cllr Douglas Hamandishe in attendance.