Teen barrel painted with the Youth Care Center
by Michael Cherry
For the past two years, the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL) has participated in a community rain barrel project called “Every Drop Counts.” The City Engineer’s Office, in partnership with Coca Cola, generously donated 55 gallon plastic drums that were converted into painted rain barrels. Community organizations, schools, and nonprofits were invited to decorate the barrels as part of a stormwater management initiative. The barrels were then auctioned off on Earth Day at Mesker Park Zoo at the event called “Party for the Planet.” It was here that members from the community were allowed to bid on the rain barrels with the proceeds supporting participating nonprofits.
As a participating organization, the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library partnered with the Youth Care Center in Evansville, Indiana to decorate the barrels. The Youth Care Center is a juvenile correction facility for boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 17. During the course of the rain barrel project, teenagers learned about rain conservation, water scarcity, water consumption, and the commodification of natural resources, such as water.
Teenagers also learned how to deconstruct water advertisements from companies like Dasani, Fiji, and Evian. They analyzed various themes these companies use to market their bottled water, including beauty and health, nature, and The Fountain of Youth. This activity helped to strengthen the students’ media literacy skills, while revealing how corporations invest in natural resources.
Additionally, the students painted, stenciled, and decorated the barrels. Other activities included a water taste test, whereby teens compared the taste of various bottled waters to tap water. Books like Stephen Leahy’s Your Water Footprint: The Shocking Facts about How Much Water We Use to Make Everyday Products were used to instruct teenagers on the environmental impacts of water consumption.
In addition to the Youth Care Center, the creative staff at the EVPL has participated in this event by painting various barrels of their own. Some rain barrels have been inspired by books, while others have been decorated with butterflies and other natural elements.
Another library program involved having young children paint geometric shapes that were marked off by masking tape. After painting the shapes, students were asked to paint fish over the entire barrel. The project taught kids about rain water and allowed them to explore their aesthetic sensibilities. A great book to inspire this type of activity for kids is April Pulley Sayre’s Raindrops Roll.
All of these unique approaches contributed to an initiative that helped the local community. Water conservation is an important topic that encompasses climate change, in addition to the environmental pollution that is often caused by rainwater. The following lesson plan contains some of the resources used throughout the course of the rain barrel programs. This is an interesting initiative that can be implemented in your community with the help of your public library and other participating organizations. It may even be an Earth Day event that one can host at their public library.
Download the a How-To Kit with instructions, materials lists, and ideas for enhancing the program and tailoring it to your community.
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