Beautification

Heartland Beautification

What is the Beautification Committee?

Town Council set a goal to beautify the Town of Stettler in 1995. A committee of local residents, town staff and Councillors was put together to ensure that the community had input. The new “Heartland Beautification Committee” soon began producing attractive and sustainable aspects in the town such as the mural on the water reservoir, hanging baskets, banners, the recycling program and Memorial Tree Park. All of these projects have been done on a reasonable budget with volunteer help and donations.

In 1998, the Committee joined the increasingly popular “Communities in Bloom” competition as a tool to get local businesses and residents thinking about how they can help beautify Stettler. The Heartland Beautification Committee has been highly complimented on their improvements to Stettler by the Provincial and National Judges.

The Committee's areas of focus are Environmental Action, Stettler Blooms, Heritage Conservation, Tidiness and Parks & Trees.

A major goal for the future of the Committee is to engage the younger generation so that the improvements done will have value for young residents of Stettler who are becoming engaged in their town and will be here for many years to come.

If you have an interest in making Stettler a more attractive community, please feel free to call the Parks and Leisure office at 403-742-4411 for more information on how your input might be best utilized - that could very well be by joining the Committee!

 

Communities in Bloom

Communities in Bloom Website

The Town of Stettler has competed in the National Communities in Bloom competition since 2008, achieving a 5 Bloom rating (the highest) each year.  In 2011, Stettler was chosen as the winner in their population category, making them the National Champion for the 3001-7500 population category.

In 2012, Stettler competed in the Small category of the International Challenge of the National Communities in Bloom competition (there were 12 communities from across the world) and achieved 5 Blooms again.  The judges indicated that marking is harder in this competition; Stettler did not decrease in their evaluation scores from previous years; a significant accomplishment.

Since 2010, Stettler has been applying for Outstanding Achievement Awards in various evaluated categories, where each entrant competes against ALL other entrants in each category.  In 2010, Stettler was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award for the Landscape category.  In 2011, Stettler was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award for the Environmental Action category and in 2012, Stettler received the Outstanding Achievement Award for the Landscape category and was a finalist for Environmental Action.

In 2014, the Town of Stettler received a 5 bloom rating and a special mention for Project: Walk 'n' Roll during the National Symposium and Awards Ceremonies in Charlottetown, PEI.  Stettler also received an Outstanding Achievement Award for the Natura Tidiness Award.  The Town of Stettler participated in the International Challenge (Small) category along with Castlegar BC, Fogo NL, Killarney-Turtle Mountain MB, Jasper AB, Moynalty Village Ireland, and Trail BC. 

Keeping our town beautiful requires the involvement of all citizens - not just to give Stettler an edge in the competition, but to make it an even better place to live.  If you have any ideas or projects you would like to see implemented and would like to discuss with the Heartland Beautification Committee, please call the Parks and Leisure Office at 403-742-4411.

Beautiful Yards

Watch for a "Beautiful Yard" sign on yards around Stettler! If you get one, enjoy it for 2 weeks, then put it on another resident’s nice yard.

Container Contest

Each team designs, purchases materials and plants their own planter and the parks staff will be in charge of watering them. 10 planters are available with a new theme every year. Containers are placed around WS Park and are judged in July.

Plant Swap

The annual Spring Plant Exchange / Plant Swap takes place on the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Gardening enthusiasts can obtain new plants at no cost, while being able to share any extras they may have of their own from dividing their own plants! Lots of information is shared between participants throughout the busy morning. Noxious Weed information is now shared each year. Watch for more information! 

Stettler Orchard & Community Gardens

Community Gardens

Garden in Stettler! Garden plots are available for rent for the 2022 growing season at any one of the three Community Gardens located around Stettler. Rent a 10x10 ($5), a 10x22 ($10) or a 22x22 ($20) plot for the summer. Plots are distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Application forms are available at the link below or at the Parks Office and can be submitted during the month of April.

Want to be a volunteer supervisor for a garden? Leave your contact info at the Stettler Recreation Centre!

Community Gardens Application Package

Community Orchard

The Community Orchard includes the following features:
• 540 hardy fruiting trees and shrubs, including multiple varieties of apples (2 each of 6 vars), pears (3 vars), plums (3 vars), crabapples (1 var), apricots (2 vars), dwarf sour cherries (4 cultivars), nanking cherries, black and pink currants, gooseberries, Saskatoon berries (2 cultivars), raspberries (3 cultivars), haskap/blue honeysuckle (2 cultivars), rhubarb and grapes (5 vars).
• 4 large Siberian larch and 30 Virginia creeper vines; 2 Wisteria vines; 1 hops; 2 clematis vines.
• A lattice fence on the west edge of Phase 1 (for the vines – grapes inside, Virginia creeper outside)
• ~1500+ perennial flowers/ornamentals, including peonies (6 named varieties, plus unnamed mixed colours), daylilies (18 varieties), Karl Foerster Reed Feather Grass in borders and pathway borders
• Phase 2 has an additional ~300 perennial flowers (14 different daylilies, 3 colours of peony, 1 Veronica speedwell) in a border planting.
• Map / Legend sign, along with pictures of all fruit and flower species for education
• The entire site is open to the public, with signs indicating picking rules. Excess produce will be supplied to the Food Bank. Educational elements will be added in the future.

Environmental Action

Walk 'n' Roll

The Walk 'n' Roll is an annual challenge organized by the Heartland Beautification Committee! In years past, there has been a friendly competition between the Towns of Wainwright, Ponoka and Stettler.

Residents of all three communities are encouraged to park their cars in spring and summer, and walk or bike to their destinations instead. The Town whose residents walk or ‘roll’ to the most destinations during the months of May through August wins bragging rights and takes home the contest trophy in the fall.

Here’s what you need to know about the Challenge and how you can get involved:

  • Stettler residents will be able to register their ‘trips’ starting on May 1 to August 31. Results for each participating community will be announced each month.
  • A ‘trip’ means a destination reached via walking, biking or any other non-motorized means of transportation.
  • The distance of each trip is not important.
  • The ‘to’ and ‘from’ portion of each trip is counted as two trips in total.
  • A ‘trip’ does not mean going for a walk or for a bike ride purely for exercise or recreation.
  • Students and schools are encouraged to register all of their trips when they walk or bike to school each day or when classes walk to the pool or other field trips.

This year is Stettler vs Wainwright vs Rocky. In the past. ponoka has also partifipated.

Eco Excellence Awards

Nominate a Stettler area resident, including yourself, who exemplifies the Reduce, Re-use, Recycle slogan. Categories include individuals/families, business, non-profit/institutions and "item longevity". Deadline is the end of May each year.

Trash 2 Treasure

One person's trash is another's treasure! Set your unwanted but usable items (furniture, appliances, household items, etc.) on your front lawn throughout the two-day event and label them 'Free'. This signals that other residents are welcome to take these items. Unclaimed items should be placed in your alley for pick-up during the following week of Lane Cleanup. Keep an eye on this page and Facebook for this years' dates!

Repair Café

Get free help with the repair of your broken items at our next repair café event! Expert volunteers help you repair things like bicycles, clothing, wood furniture, small appliances, computers and musical instruments.

Some of our other promotions you may have seen around town:

BYO Bags, Bag Share, We Go Bagless, Wear a Sweater Promotion, Trying to be Idle-free, Straws Optional, Cigarette Butt Recycling, Pen Recycling

Community Appearance

We annually promote a Spring Cleanup (normally to coincide with Earth Week) to help clean the Town up for summer. We hold a poster contest through the schools to promote Earth Week.  Spring Cleanup is tied to Trash 2 Treasure and the Spring Lane Cleanup. 

We encourage members in the community to volunteer to clean a park, boulevard or pathway and then enjoy a free BBQ at the end of the week to celebrate all of your hard work! 

Heritage Conservation

Pedestal Wraps


One of our recent projects that highlights Stettler’s heritage is wrapping some of our utility pedestals with photos from early Stettler. We are always looking for high quality photos from
the early Stettler years - please contact us if you have any!

Pedestals

Pedestals around town that were recovered with historical pictures