By Debbie Adams
Since 1978, the Clean Valley Council (CVC) has served its mission of “encouraging
environmental stewardship and leading the way towards a sustainable tomorrow by educating
and inspiring those around us.” It teaches environmental educational programming within the
school system and participates in community outreach events.
One of those outreach events happened at the Vinton Farmers’ Market on June 10, when a group
of citizens gathered for a Rain Barrel Workshop, assembling the barrels for home use.
The CVC says, “Connecting a rain barrel to your gutter system is not only a way to conserve
water, it is also a fantastic way to reduce the pollutants that enter local streams and to save
money.”
Leaders of the workshop included Marc Lucht, CVC Director of Programs, Heidi Ketler, the
CVC Director of Communications and Environmental Educator, and Vinton’s own Anita
McMillan, the town’s Director of Planning and Zoning and a member of the CVC Board of
Directors.
During the workshops, they demonstrated one of the ways to make a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) rain
barrel and assisted participants in making their own.
barrel. (photos by Debbie Adams)
The workshop was limited to 12 participants and the slots filled up early. All the materials and
tools needed to create the rain barrels were provided free of charge by the CVC, local industries,
and municipalities. For this workshop, those materials included 55-gallon drums, metal faucets
and other hardware, caulking, and netting; the tools needed were mainly drills.
Each individual or family participating in the workshop received their own drum, thanks to
Coca-Cola. Lucht noted that it is more economical for Coke to discard the barrels, which had
contained sugar water, than to rinse and disinfect them. So, the company elected to give them a
second life and donate them to an environmental organization; in this case, the CVC.
The Town of Vinton donated the faucets. CVC brought along the drills and a few other tools.
Lucht said that he built his own rain barrel some three years ago and “it still works.” It has
reduced his summer water consumption in his garden and subsequently reduced his water bill by
$90. Only during a very dry spell last summer was he forced to use his garden hose in addition to
the rain barrel. He has found rain barrels to be convenient and environmentally beneficial, with a
small financial incentive as well.
Lucht also shared that he is “not a tool guy”; he likes to do things simply and inexpensively,
even building rain barrels. Fifty-five-gallon drums are not cheap if you have to purchase one.
The donations from Coke make this workshop feasible for the average citizen.
The drums are durable and translucent. One concern is the growth of algae because of that
translucence, but with a simple remedy – some vinegar and water agitated in the drum at the
beginning of the gardening season and the algae is gone. He also addressed the issue of
mosquitoes who are attracted to standing water. The addition of fine netting on the openings atop
the barrels seems to solve that problem.
This brought up a discussion on microplastics in the mosquito population. Mosquito larvae living
in ponds eat tiny shards of plastic which remain in their bodies and move higher up the food
chain when they are eaten by bats, birds, and larger insects, and eventually aquatic animals.
Lucht shared some photographs of a variety of rain barrel designs workshop attendees could
choose from depending upon how they want to hook up their barrels and hoses at home, and then
instructed the rain barrel builders to pick the 55-gallon drum of their choice and get to work.
It was an eager group, and apparently no strangers to using drills and to caulking. Lucht brought
along a special “forstner” drill bit which made the drilling easier. Holes in the lid where the
water enters were covered with netting to keep the pesky bugs out. Rainwater diverters were
installed to handle overflow when the barrel fills up.
The process went pretty quickly, and it wasn’t long before the rain barrels were loaded in
vehicles and headed home.
Ketler and McMillan assisted with the workshop. Ketler is a familiar face at the schools in
Vinton, most notably introducing William Byrd ecology students to analyzing the health of a
stream – namely Wolf Creek. In a hands-on unit, students do an actual headcount on the
creatures who live there and determine which ones indicate a polluted stream.
CVC programs center on recycling, litter prevention, stormwater protection, and stewardship of
natural resources. The council also provides supplies for community clean-ups as well as hosting
and participating in various events throughout the year.
The CVC is committed to helping the community retain the beauty of the natural world. It serves
the cities of Roanoke and Salem, Roanoke and Botetourt Counties, and the Town of Vinton and
foster collaboration between municipal agencies on issues ranging from stormwater pollution,
renewable energy, and recycling challenges to protect shared natural resources. It wants to build
a more sustainable Virginia one region at a time.
Lucht and Ketler have interesting backgrounds themselves.
According to his bio, Lucht worked as a professor and administrator for 18 years. Before joining
the CVC, he co-directed North Cross School’s first campus in China and led the development of
additional high school campuses in Asia. With a Ph.D. from Emory University, he has published
widely on environmental philosophy, animal rights, and intercultural dialogue, and is strongly
committed to the idea that it is incumbent upon humanity to find more responsible ways of
acknowledging and living together with the creatures that share the planet.”
He organizes events like the Earth Summit, the Green Film Festival, the Star City Sustainability
Series, teaches workshops (like making rain barrels), and partners with Ketler to deliver
educational programs to students.
Ketler is a veteran marketing-communications professional, writer, and editor. She has been a
teacher in general education and autism classrooms and has earned her Virginia Master
Naturalist certification.
She served as chair of the Roanoke Valley Chapter of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway where
the chapter grew an active volunteer force and expanded its ability to support the National Park
Service-Blue Ridge Parkway and conducted work crew and community outreach events. In 2015,
she was voted Virginia’s Cox Conserves Hero, winning $10,000 to support the Park Service
mission. She also raises Monarch butterflies.
Coming up on June 21, CVC will be hosting a free “Rethink, Reuse, Repair Fair” at Wasena
Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with over 30 vendors to help the community learn more about
recycling. Vendors will assist visitors in repairing materials onsite or provide the contacts and
resources for future repair services. There also will be workshops and demonstrations for people
to learn how to repair and upcycle things on their own. Plus, there will be a Kids Tent.
For more information on the fair and the CVC and its many programs and opportunities, visit
https://www.cleanvalley.org/ and https://www.cleanvalley.org/rethinkreuserepairfair.
