Not your grandmother’s rain barrel…

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The Clinton County Conservation District has partnered with the Central Mountain and Sugar Valley Rural Charter Schools to produce attractively painted rain barrels; the project is in line with conservation district plans for an upcoming workshop on rain barrels.

Students from the two high schools are painting six barrels per school, the artistic effort provided in school art classes. The Central Mountain barrels were finished and dispatched to the conservation district on Tuesday; those from Sugar Valley to be completed by next week.

15 students from Central Mountain classes instructed by Ashley Rippey, Beth Heiser and Hayley Orndorf participated. They included Lindsey Borges, a senior class member who plans to make art part of her schooling at either Lock Haven University or Penn College. She produced a yellow,spring motif for her offering; she said the project took a week of art classroom time to complete.

Toby Boyer, watershed specialist with the conservation district, said the CCCD plans to give away 60 barrels during its approaching workshop. Meanwhile the work with the local schools allows the District to inform the public as it assists with youth education. The high school barrels will be auctioned off at the county Farm-City event in September. Proceeds will be donated back to the Keystone Central and Sugar Valley Charter School Foundations to support either art classes or career technical education.