The Gunpowder Valley Conservancy (GVC)’s Development Director/Grant Writer Karen Stupski went to Guiyang, China recently on an academic exchange sponsored by the School of Geographic and Environmental Sciences at Guizhou Normal University. While she was there, the organizer of a local Urban Farming Network asked her if she would teach a Permaculture workshop with a session on how to install a rain barrel. She agreed and had GVC’s rain barrel instructions translated into Chinese to use as a handout for the workshop. Eight people attended and helped install the rain barrel on November 4. It was challenging because there were no gutters on the building and they could not find any to purchase. With some ingenuity, they made a gutter by cutting a piece of PVC pipe in half! The installation was a success and the rain barrel is functioning very well.
The Gunpowder Valley Conservancy hosts rain barrel workshops several times a year in Baltimore County. Rain barrels are a simple way to reduce stormwater run-off, one of the leading causes of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The harvested rain water also provides a free source of ‘soft water’ to maintain gardens, lawns, and trees. For more information, contact Peggy Perry by email or (410) 692-0468.
Support the GVC’s rain barrel program with a tax-deductible donation. We’ll match all donations up to $10,000 through December 31, 2018.