Rain barrels enable homeowners to capture rainwater and save it for later use watering lawns or gardens. A rain barrel cuts down on ground water usage and on the amount of unfiltered stormwater rushing into local streams.
Rain Barrel Project Engages Blossom Hill
Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA, takes rain seriously. On March 22, 2008, the congregation sponsored a rain barrel-making day that produced 11 barrels.
Rain barrels enable homeow ners to capture rainwater and save it for later use watering lawns or gardens. A rain barrel cuts down on ground water usage and on the amount of unfiltered stormwater rushing into local streams.
Doug Ehst, a teacher at Lancaster Mennonite Middle School, led the barrel-making endeavor. He says enthusiasm was high and hopes to organize another barrel-making day that will produce 11 more barrels.
Blossom Hill is a congregation of about 120 people, many of whom feel a strong sense of responsibility to care for the earth. Some drive hybrids; others favor cloth diapers as a way to cut down on waste. Recently the group built a new building that is heated and cooled with a ground source heat pump—a highly efficient HVAC system that exchanges heat with the earth rather than the air.