Surrey’s second annual Our City Campaign, aimed at boosting civic pride and tidying up neighbourhoods, is set to be launched in April.
“The Our City Campaign aims to inspire and empower Surrey residents to take care of and improve their neighbourhoods. Surrey is a vibrant and growing city, and Our City aims to provide residents with the tools and resources to make Surrey more vibrant, clean, and exciting,” reads a corporate report from Scott Neuman, Surrey’s general manager of engineering and Laurie Cavan, general manager of parks, recreation and culture.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said she went to several related events last year and described them as “really great” for community building.
“Neighbours who probably never talked to each other before were out there having barbeques and all kinds of fun events so it was really good from that perspective and I know I took my kids, my grandkids around painting fish on the drain sites as well,” she recalled. “Mine weren’t so great but the kids did a really good job so it was all good.”
This year’s city-wide campaign will alert residents to “neighbourhood enhancement grants” and features a volunteer program that includes “opportunities for neighbourhood clean-up events and beautification projects throughout the city,” the report indicates. Neighbourhood cleanup and event kits will be made available, as well as community banners. Block parties, mural projects and Block Watch info sessions are also part of the package.
“I think this is absolutely terrific,” Coun. Linda Annis remarked during Surrey council’s March 11 meeting.
“The only little change I’d like to see here is how we’re going to communicate this campaign,” Annis said, after the report was presented.
“I’d like to see print media included as well because there’s so many great ideas and I look at things like the large pick up program, and a lot of the disposal day events and many other things that people don’t know about and I think if we really advertise this widely it will save a lot of money in terms of having to get crews out to pick up items and things like that so if there’s a way to include traditional media, I think it would be a great idea.”
According to a City of Surrey press release, 49 grants were awarded during last year’s campaign and more than 600 participants donated some 300 volunteer hours, resulting in roughly 80 neighbourhood-led cleanup drives and related events.