City of Rochester
News Release
(Friday, April 22, 2016) – Four local classrooms were honored today at City Hall for their winning rain barrel designs at the culminating celebration of the Flour City Blooms Earth Day Rain Barrel Competition hosted by the City of Rochester and The Coca-Cola Company.
The 35, newly-designed barrels, formerly syrup concentrate drums, were donated by The Coca-Cola Company’s local distribution center and converted to collect and reuse rain water. In an effort to highlight the importance of water retention and reuse, Coca-Cola has donated tens of thousands of the drums to communities across the country since 2008. This Earth Day marks the first year that Rochester has participated in the challenge, coordinated by Pamela Reese-Smith, Administrator of the City’s Northeast Neighborhood Service Center.
“These rain barrels are not only beautiful works of art, they’re functional and beneficial to our whole community,” said Mayor Warren. “The Flower City Blooms project is the perfect way to celebrate Earth Day in Rochester -- inspiring young people into action and highlighting the importance of water retention and reuse of one of our most precious resources. I’m thankful to our partners at The Coca-Cola Company for making this investment in Rochester that bolsters our efforts to create safer more vibrant neighborhoods, more jobs for our citizens and better educational opportunities for our children.”
“Water stewardship is important to The Coca-Cola Company and we are proud to partner with Mayor Warren’s office on this rain barrel initiative,” said John Kelly, Manager of The Coca-Cola Company’s Rochester Distribution Center. “This is a fun way for us to do our part in promoting a sustainable Rochester, which is also where many of our associates live and work.”
The 55-gallon rain barrels were displayed in the lobby of the Rochester Central Library for public judging based on the Flour City Blooms theme, creativity, use of space and neatness. The winners are:
• East Senior High School, Teacher: Timothy Graham
• Young Mothers & Interim Health Academy, Teacher: Laura Schauman Frey
• 7th Grade Visual Arts, Rochester School For The Deaf, Teacher: David Prusinski
• 9th Grade Visual Arts, Rochester School For The Deaf, Teacher: David Prusinski
All four finalists received a $250 prize from The Coca Cola Company to be used for a project of their choice. Rain Barrels will be donated to Community Gardens in the city of Rochester.
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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo at 428-7135.