When people think of environmental activism they may envision cleaning up oil spills, protesting fracking and protecting clean water, lobbying for state or federal climate change legislation, and more. But environmental activism can begin in your own backyard, as students from Haine Middle School recently demonstrated throughout Cranberry Township.
For 10 years, a group of students in the gifted classes of Allison Stebbins and John Schmidt have become known as “Rainkeepers.” The students present an educational program to the members of Cranberry Township about a simple way to help the environment: establishing a rain barrel program. During the presentation, the students demonstrate the importance of collecting rainwater in barrels. That water collection allows residents to use the stored water for their gardens during dry spells, and alleviates additional demand on the townships’ storm water and sewage system during storms.
“This program brings forth an understanding that the environmental movement starts in your backyard,” says Lorin Meeder, Cranberry Township’s environmental programs coordinator.
Meeder says the past 10 years have shown the program to be quite successful and popular in the area. He estimates that the Rainkeepers have been responsible for distributing more than 600 rain barrels across the township in that time.
“For the township, this gives us a great vehicle for bringing environmental awareness to the community,” Meeder says. “The environment is a highly important issue. It’s the food we grow, the air we breathe and the water we drink. That kind of awareness is important.”
The barrels each hold 55 gallons of water and are easy for homeowners to connect to downspouts for water collection. Each barrel is sealed with a lid, which prevents mosquitoes from breeding in the water. When they are full of water, the barrels weigh several hundred pounds, which Meeder says means they are stable even in windstorms. However, when the winter chill sets in, the barrels must be disconnected from the downspouts and emptied, otherwise they will freeze solid and the plastic casing will break.
Meeder has been proud to work with the Rainkeepers because of their enthusiastic activism and maintaining the notion of “think globally and act locally.” Meeder says it’s easy to forget how poor decisions made at home have a much broader impact than might be realized. For example, any contaminants dumped in the nearby Alleghany River will flow into the Ohio River, then head to the Mississippi River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico. Those contaminants will not only eventually make their way to the ocean, but will have negative impacts on all life in the waterways they flow through.
“The program isn’t about giving away rain barrels, it’s about environmental focus and how we should give back,” Meeder says. “What we do here in Cranberry Township has ramifications across the country. To get society on the same page is going to take years and years.”
Not only does Meeder provide guidance to the Rainkeeper program, he also provides some logistical support, such as transporting the rain barrels and handling the scheduling for that task. Meeder makes sure all “the technical stuff” is set up for the students to give their presentation to the community.
Additionally, Meeder coordinates the purchase of the rain barrels. He says the barrels are a “big ticket item,” but the township has partnered with Home Depot to acquire the barrels at a discount. This year the program was financially supported, in part, by an education grant, Meeder says.
For the Rainkeepers, environmental activism doesn’t stop with the rain barrel program. Many of these same students also participate in other environmentally aware activities, including painting “No Dumping” signs along storm water drains in the township.
