Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Berks County Students Paint The Rain (Barrels) Competition For Earth Day

On April 22 nine high schools with eighteen painted rain barrels participated in the Berks County Conservation District's Paint the Rain School Competition.  
The event is a rain barrel decorating contest for high schools throughout Berks County-- public, private, charter, home school, etc..  
The BCCD provided each participating class or school club with one rain barrel, a gift card for $25 (to help with the cost of painting supplies), and an in-classroom presentation, technical support visit from the Berks County Conservation District.  
All competitors painted the rain barrel for the 2016 theme, “We all Need Trees,” and completed an associated education program in which they had to educate their school community about rain barrels and natural resource conservation.
Watershed Coordinator, Kate Keppen said “students will learn what rain barrels are, and how they can help conserve water and reduce stormwater related pollutants.  They will also be exposed to our other high school aged programs such as our college scholarship program, Envirothon, and Don Hartman Conservation Leadership School.”  
“We hope to see an increase in participation in these other events due to the exposure we generate with this program.” added Evan Corondi, the BCCD’s new WNV/Vector Control & Outreach Coordinator.  “This is our first year for this program and the schools’ interest is definitely there, we were expecting to have maybe five entries, and we ended up with eighteen barrels! All of the students should be proud of their hard work.”
The public voted for their favorite rain barrel during the BCCD’s Annual Tree Seedling Sale and Backyard Basics event on April 22.
At the same time, a silent auction was taking place where the public could bid on a barrel to take home.  All proceeds from the silent auction will go to the BCCD’s scholarship fund.
Berks Catholic High School’s Environmental Science & Meteorology Class (photo) took first place in the rain barrel competition. While Wilson High School’s Art Club and Muhlenberg High.
Click Here to see the artwork by all the winners and entrants.

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