Buckets—check!
Maps—check!
Stencils—check!
Spray paint—check!
Orange safety vests, gloves, masks and safety cones—check!
Those items and more were packed inside large gray paint buckets that were moved from place to place around DuPont/Northwest Landing on May 1 as part of a major service project.
Coordinated between DuPont Public Works Department and Chloe Clark Elementary 3rd graders, teams of students and parents fanned out around the community that day to mark about 400 storm drains.
In addition to parent volunteers, 10 soldiers from Company C, 1-38 Infantry Battalion of the 4th Stryker Combat Brigade, assisted with the daylong project.
Spray paint teams consisted of a flagger, and a sweeper. Stencilers sprayed the message: “Dump No Waste” in large white letters at each storm drain around the area.
The reason? To raise awareness about the purpose of storm drains.
“They are not dumping grounds for waste water and other harmful materials,” stressed Pierce County public works employees who spoke to the students at a morning orientation session.
Taking advantage of warm spring weather that day, the teams efficiently marked storm drains around the community. After a lunch recess at Sellers Park they resumed their task.
At 2 p.m. they gathered at Clock Tower Park for Popsicles, before returning to Chloe Clark for a Friday afternoon “sing”.
Afterward it was time to reflect about how they made a difference in their community.
Preparation for the project has taken about a year, according to Michelle Salgado, 3rd grade teacher at Chloe Clark School.
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