2010: Year of the Rain Barrel?

The cold December weather provided opportunity for the River des Peres Watershed Coalition (RdPWC) to focus on our rain barrel program. December has been an important time for completing budgets for rain barrel workshops that will be hosted in the following spring. The RdPWC has workshops planned at The Green Center in University City, Mo and Earthways Center in Midtown St. Louis. The rain barrel workshop at The Green Center will be held on Sunday, January 24, 2010 from 2pm to 4pm. The tentative date for the EarthWays Center rain barrel workshop is April 8, 2010 with a time to be announced at a later date. The RdPWC offers six designs for the rain barrels, differing based on spigot and outflow locations. The details of these can be found under the Rain Barrels For Sale section of the River des Peres Watershed Coalition’s website http://www.thegreencenter.org/rdp/ .
The barrels are donated by the Coca Cola Distribution Facility in Maryland Heights, Mo. The River des Peres Watershed Coalition are greatly appreciative for their donation and commitment to help improve the environment. Completing rain barrel inventories and budgets for future rain barrel workshops. In formatting the Rain Barrel Inventory, there was much trial; From finding enough power drilling tools, drill bits, to deciding everything from the correct size drill bits, crescent wrenches, and making bulk orders for essential components to the rain barrels. The essential components to our rain barrel include the 55-gallon barrel, atrium grate (which is important to the water flow into the rain barrel), clamps and washers to contain the outflow hose for excess rainwater.
As with any innovation we must find methods to adapt and expand uses for the barrels. The RdPWC has been tinkering around with ideas and uses for our rain barrels including barrels as large food/yard waste composters.; and even the “doggie-poo” composter. Another idea being worked on is finding a low cost and environmentally pleasing way to paint the rain barrels to increase their aesthetic appeal. An important part of the RdPWC mission is to promote awareness of River des Peres and improve its watershed. We feel that in order to get the word out as to what we are doing, the purpose of building the rain barrels (capturing excess storm water runoff), we want to provide as means for people to be involved in green infrastructure projects. By holding workshops, we hope to spread the word, and provide people with knowledge how to build them, so that they will see the merit in purchasing a rain barrel from us, or even take initiative in building their own rain barrel how of their own household or business material. Another means of spreading the news of rain barrels and other green infrastructure, is accessing the media, to provide information to a larger audience. I had the opportunity to speak with Jo Seltzer of the St. Louis Beacon, who referenced the RdPWC among other environmentally minded coalitions and groups in MSD face big challenges in reducing sewage overflows into Mississippi article. http://www.stlbeacon.org/content/view/13978/143/
In the upcoming spring the River des Peres Watershed Coalition plans to be involved with farmers markets in the St. Louis area. By establishing booths, demonstrating how the rain barrels operate, and possibly holding raffles for people to win rain barrels. At these booths and workshops the RdPWC hopes to get crucial feedback from the public and perhaps new innovative ideas/designs for rain barrels. For the latest development with the RdPWC, I am currently working with another member of the RdPWC, Nicole Brueggeman with the hope of starting a Workforce Education & Training Summer 2010 Program at St. Charles Community College. The program will be established to place special emphasis on community development, and social and eco-entrepreneurship; Focusing on water, and its three major components, environmental, social, and economic aspects related to how we managing and share our water resources. We are very hopeful in getting the program off the ground and running for the approaching summer. December was a really exciting month for the River Des Peres Watershed Coalition pertaining to our rain barrel program, and we hope to keep y’all informed and up to date in our future endeavors.