COVID19 Public Health Information

BATAVIA, Ohio (Nov. 21, 2016) — All artists, including students and seasoned professionals, are invited to apply to be part of the fifth annual Rain Barrel Art Project, an initiative designed to educate the community about water conservation and pollution caused by storm water runoff.

The Rain Barrel Art Project is a joint effort of Save Local Waters, its members and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Students and other community members throughout the Ohio River Valley are asked to submit artistic designs to beautify otherwise dull rain barrels that are then displayed at the Cincinnati Zoo and auctioned off to raise funds for conservation education.

“We are so grateful to the artists who’ve contributed to this project in the past. Their efforts to make otherwise plain rain barrels appealing to the eye have allowed us to raise awareness and encourage the use of rain barrels,” said John Nelson, a Save Local Waters representative and public relations specialist. “Rain barrels are a great tool for conserving water and saving money, and through the Rain Barrel Art Project we’ve so far been able to place about 200 beautiful rain barrels at homes and businesses throughout the Ohio River Valley area.”

Artists who wish to submit a design for consideration must do so by Jan. 20, 2017, through an online form at www.savelocalwaters.org where additional instructions can be found. Designs will be selected and announced at the end of January.

Artists whose designs are selected will be asked to attend an artist workshop on Feb. 11, 2017, to pick up their rain barrels and learn techniques for applying their design. Finished rain barrels must be returned between March 30 and April 1. They will remain on display at the Cincinnati Zoo until April 20, when they will be auctioned off to the highest bidder during the zoo’s Party for the Planet event.

For more information regarding the Rain Barrel Art Project or Save Local Waters, contact John Nelson at 513.772.7645 or visit www.savelocalwaters.org/2017-project.

About Save Local Waters

Save Local Waters is the creation of the Regional Storm Water Collaborative of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, an organization focused on sharing resources to better leverage mass media and raise awareness concerning water quality issues in the Ohio River Valley. The collaborative is composed of storm water districts, municipalities, and soil and water conservation districts in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Together, we can keep our waterways clean and healthy.

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