During the 2020 pandemic, when people were advised to spend time outdoors, the board of Gaithersburg (Maryland) Parks, Arts and Recreation Corporation (G-PARC) looked for ways to give people something meaningful to do outside.
The idea that emerged was an art contest in which residents would paint storm drains in the parks. Gaithersburg, in Maryland’s Montgomery County, is rich in green spaces: More than nine of 10 residents live within one-half mile of a park. The city is also diverse, with people of Caucasian, Korean, Chinese, African American and Hispanic ethnicity.
The county was already painting storm drains, and so Gaithersburg’s contest was natural.
“Stormwater management is a best practice that alleviates nonpoint source pollution,” says Nancy Schumm, environmental services division chief for the city. “We partner with Parks, Recreation and Culture and G-PARC to teach citizens about pollution and how all of our water ends up in the Chesapeake Bay.”
Shellie Williams, former division chief of cultural events and service for the city, worked with Dr. Michael Weyand, former watershed restoration specialist for the city, to create the storm drain contest. The contest is promoted through social media, press releases and ads placed with a Gaithersburg social media influencer known as Mr. MoCo (whose real name is Alex Tsironis).
Entrants submit designs, which are judged by G-PARC board members and volunteers.
Winning entries are published in a coloring book printed in multiple languages. Copies are distributed at schools and libraries and at community events and summer camps. Winners receive as many copies of the coloring books as they want.
Ultimately, winners paint their artworks in 3-by-6-foot spaces that include the storm drain. Several artists invite friends and family members to watch or help them paint. The paint-outs draw crowds, and people of diverse origins get to know each other.
“One winner brought his whole family, including a preschooler and his grandmother,” says Williams. Another winning entry included a poem: “Protect the Bay in every way so our wildlife can swim all day.”
Other cities heard about the contest and reached out to Gaithersburg, so the city created storm drain kits to help them to replicate the contest. The city also was asked to present the contest and its result at a Maryland Municipal League conference as a best practice.