Delaware -(Ammoland.com)- Rain barrels that won distinction from DNREC for the artists who painted them in the Division of Watershed Stewardship’s Rain Barrel Contest have now been placed on display in prominent public locations around the state.
DNREC sponsors the rain-barrel art painting contest and a youth competition annually to educate the community on the benefits of using rain barrels to reduce rainwater runoff and improve water quality. Sixteen participants were chosen to give their artistic touch to the contest based on their applications, design ideas and site placements. Individuals or teams chosen each received a fully-assembled, primed 55-gallon plastic barrel, topcoat and bubble wrap; they supplied their own paint, brushes and other materials or tools. They then had five weeks to finish their artistry and submit final photographs and information, as well as a short biography of themselves.
Grand-prize winners Debbie Hegedus and Rowena Macleod painted “Egret/Deer & Water: The Interconnectedness of All Living Things,” focusing on the dependence of all forms of life on water, with the goal of spurring action to conserve and protect our precious water supply. Their winning barrel is on display – and in use – at Woodburn, the Governor’s Residence in Dover.
Other barrels by the artists cited below can be seen at the locations that follow the titles of their work:
· Kathi Schiavoni, “Scattering Wishes” – Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, Radiation Department, Christiana
· Stephanie Przybylek (finalist), “Water World” – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton
· Darla Blaesing, “Rain Barrel Pleas for Our Seas” – Sanford School, Hockessin
· Kim Littleton, “Preserving Delaware Beaches” – Delaware Watersheds Annual Facebook Giveaway contest (Spring 2016)
· Gerilyn Gaskill, “Go to the Delaware Shore” – The Center for Inland Bays, Rehoboth Beach, “Decked Out” event silent auction item
· Barbara Ann Aro, “The Sunflower” – Brandywine State Park, Wilmington
· Connie Newby (finalist), “Bringhurst Woods Along Shellpot Creek” – Brandywine State Park, Wilmington
· Yolanda Chetwynd, “Water Is Life Kenya” – Water Is Life Kenya, Newark
· Monika Bullette, “Sentinel” – Cape Henlopen State Park, The Seaside Nature Center, Lewes
· Tina Walls, “Down Under” – East Coast Garden Center, Millsboro
· Laura Finamore, “Natural Resources Are Easy to Take for Granted” – Blades Town Hall
· Bruce McKinney (finalist), “The Dog” – Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church, Seaford
· Natalie Wipf, “Fireflies at Dusk” – Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village, Dover
· Amber Davis, “Mountain-scape Daydream” – Dover Public Library
· Finalist Nancy Poinsett, “Rainwater – Nature’s Priceless Collectible” – Milford Public Library
For more information about the rain barrel painting contests, including photos of the entries, please click 2015 rain barrel contest. For more information on the contests, please contact Sara Wozniak at sara.wozniak@state.de.us or 302-382-0335.
What is a Rain Barrel?
A rain barrel is a container that collects and stores the water from roofs and downspouts for future uses such as watering lawns, gardens, and house plants; cleaning off gardening tools; and washing your car. Rain barrels help lower your water bills, particularly in the summer months by collecting thousands of gallons of water a year. Rain barrels are also important for our environment because they help reduce water pollution by decreasing the amount of stormwater runoff reaching our streams and rivers. An average rainfall of one inch within a 24-hour period can produce more than 700 gallons of water that run off a typical house. This stormwater runoff picks up anything on the ground such as litter, excess fertilizer, pet waste, and motor oil, transporting it to storm drains that dump the untreated water directly into our waterways.