Rain Barrel Art
In an effort to combine arts education with water and natural resources conservation, the Watershed Alliance, in partnership with the Sullivan County SWCD launched a Rain Barrel Art project in 2010.
Rain Collection History
Before modern technology made drilling water wells more accessible, the collection of rain water and snow melt into rain barrels and cisterms for houshold use was a common practice. In order to conserve water and help improve surface water quality, we are seeing a resurgence in the use of rain barrels and cisterns - especially in urban areas.
ICisterns are structures capable of storing large amounts of water. The cistern complex pictured about is capable of holding 2700 cubic feet or over 20,000 gallons of water. In contrast, a typical modern rain barrel holds 55 gallons of run-off.
Every Drop Counts
Many small communities are equipped with combined sanitary and storm sewer systems - which can discharge raw sewage into surface waters during rain events. For those communities with separated systems, high volumes of storm dischage can cause bank erosion and scouring of surface waters - resulting in sedimenation and increased turbidity. A single 1" rain generals 636 gallons of run-off for every 1000sf of roof surface - Every drop kept out of the systems through use of rain barrels helps.
The Project
The Watershed Alliance and Sullivan Co. SWCD received grants from ArtsIlliana and the Sullivan County Community Foundation to provide primed rain barrels, art supplies, and lesson plans to each of 13 schools located in the area.
At the discretion of each school, the barrels were decorated by clubs, classes, or individual students. Upon completion of the art
project, the barrels were collected, then finished with a clear coat sealant to protect the students' designs.
The barrels were placed on display at an Ag Day Event in March where raffle tickets were sold. Purchasers of the tickets placed ticket stubs in the barrel of their choice. After the Ag Day event, the barrels were transferred to the Sullivan County Courthouse Rotunda, where raffle tickets were available for purchase.
The raffle was closed on Earth Day and one lucky ticket holder per barrel was able to take home his/her favorite rain barrel.
The school's barrel that collected the most ticket was awarded the proceeds from that barrels ticket sales. Other proceeds were put
into a fund to continue the project into future years.
In addition to the art-themed side of the project, each school was presented a binder of lesson plans relating to water quality, water conservation, and the environment in general. With a nod towards appreciation of the workloads already imposed upon educators to meet ISTEP testing/teaching requirements, care was taken to collect plans that aligned to Indiana standards. The bulk of the lesson plans were provided courtesy of LearningToGive.org.