The old saying goes that mixing kids and paint is just looking for trouble. Well, in this case, we sidestepped disaster harnessing that wellspring of youthful energy to get the word out to the community by stenciling "Dump No Waste - Drains to Stream" next to stormdrains. This is a simple message for the not-so-simple task of changing peoples' habits, thereby preventing pollution from going down the stormdrains in the street directly into our local streams and rivers. But our kids, the eternal optimists, are up for the challenge, especially when it involves legal vandalism in the streets!

You might ask, "How could this possibly be done without mess and mayhem?" Simply put, ORGANIZATION! Getting all the painting materials, students, teachers, and volunteers organized has been an incredible task, though very rewarding. Lucy and I have improved our techniques immensely with every stenciling event starting in the spring of this year, each time being better than the last. We have worked with four different school groups, the students ranging in age from 3rd through 12th grade, and we hope to work with many more this coming fall!

I started in May with the 7th grade science students at Mount Baker Middle School where we stenciled 21 stormdrains on school grounds. This was a great opportunity for education as many middle and elementary students wanted to know why we were painting on the ground. The second group I worked with was Emerson High School students, stenciling four drains at the corner of Snoqualmie Street and 3rd. By June, Best SELF teachers from Washington Elementary School in Mount Vernon and Mary Purcell Elementary School in Sedro Woolley contacted SFEG looking for service learning projects. Washington Elementary 5th and 6th grade students just finished stenciling five drains on Maple Lane next to their school. As we were so close to the Skagit River we were able to trace the path of stormwater from the drain through the dike and out to the river along Edgewater Park. This allowed the kids to tangibly consider the effects of pollution in the river. Drawing on their newfound knowledge these students created a large informational banner with a stencil in the middle for their school.

The final group we worked with this summer were 3rd and 4th graders of Mary Purcell Elementary School in Sedro Woolley, and what a wonderful group they were! Under a blazing August sun, we stenciled four stormdrains on the intersection of Warner Street and Metcalf Street, the one with all the chainsaw art. The students not only did a very neat job on their stencils, but afterwards the whole class walked along Metcalf distributing informational door hangers (personally hand-colored) and answering questions about the stenciling program. Bravo! Please, go visit our stencils and see what you think!

Stenciling, although requiring lots of organization, is a relatively easy enterprise. Next to a stormdrain, either in the street or up on the curb, the surface is prepared for painting with lots of elbow grease and a wire brush. A background rectangle of white latex paint is applied within a template, then after drying a lettering template is centered on the background and green paint is applied. The result is a crisp, bright and tasteful message resonating with all of our best intentions and desires for clean water.

These stenciling events are an extension of the Stormwater Education Program developed and implemented by SFEG, through a contract with the City of Mount Vernon's Surfacewater Manager Jennifer Aylor. In launching the Stormwater Program, the city is complying with a portion of the new federal regulations requiring cities of over 10,000 people to be permitted for storm water draining from city property. Also, cities are required to develop a program teaching residents how to prevent storm water pollution. The program is designed to educate students ranging from 4th through 12th grade about the causes of stormwater pollution and its effects on salmon, then reinforcing that knowledge by a service learning project of stenciling stormdrains.

The program begins with a PowerPoint presentation and activities in the classroom highlighting the problem of pollution in local creeks, streams, and rivers and educating the community by stenciling an environmental message at the source of the problem - the drain. In the months I have worked with the stenciling as an educational outreach project, I am convinced that having students physically working with materials, producing an environmental message to the community, is invaluable experience reinforcing the importance of the issues discussed in the classroom.

We are in the process of distributing information about this educational opportunity to the teaching community, and we would love your help! If you know of any teachers or staff that would be interested, or are willing to contact school principals or members of the school board, please give them our contact info! Fall, spring and summer are the best seasons to do stenciling as it needs to be warm and dry for painting. Also, if you enjoy working with kids or have a penchant for painting we NEED your help for stenciling events! It works best to have one adult per 4 students, so we hope to see you there! For details contact us at 360-336-0172.