The Philadelphia Water Department and the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District are rolling out the rain barrels along Germantown Avenue this spring. As a part of PWD's Stormwater Management Incentives Program, 15 rain barrels will be installed along Germantown Avenue to manage runoff and collect water for flowers and other plantings along the corridor. But that's not all—Newsworks has info on the barrels' decor:

"Another component of the project is a 'call out to artists' to decorate the barrels 'using the themes of community, eco-friendly, and conservation' [Mt. Airy Business Improvement District Executive Director Hollie]  Malamud-Price said.  Those interested in participating would be responsible for pick-up, painting, and return of rain barrels to BID. After that, BID will install the barrels along the avenue during an unveiling event."

The rain barrels should arrive next week; artists can contact Hollie Malamud-Price via the Mt. Airy BID website for details.

Everybody knows that March marks the beginning of spring NCAA March madness Women's History Month Fiber Philadelphia, a biennial for fiber/textile art. How appropriate, then, that PWD has commissioned local yarn artists Jessie Hemmons and Christina LeFevre (pictured above) to decorate our Soak It Up! events with yarn-bombed street trees. WHYY's Newsworks has the story:

"Hemmons and LeFevre wrapped the trunks of trees at East Montgomery Avenue and Blair Street with blue and green sleeves pointing to an underground trench, unseen beneath the sidewalk pavement, that keeps about 7,000 gallons of untreated water from spilling into the river.

'Since most people can connect with art moreso than green stormwater technology, we thought it would be a good way to make that connection,' said Tiffany Ledesma Groll, a consultant with the Philadelphia Water Department."

The next Soak It Up! event is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, March 22, at 4:30 at Belfield Avenue and East Walnut Lane in East Germantown.

On March 8, our second Soak It Up! event took place at 16th and Jackson streets in South Philly. Neighbors joined city officials and PWD employees to celebrate the stormwater tree trenches that absorb runoff and make 16th Street a green street. Above, children from the neighborhood plant flowers around the trees.

PWD commissioner Howard Neukrug, Newbold Civic Association's Naomi Geschwind and Councilman Kenyatta Johnson after the ribbon-cutting.

These kids are both expert gardeners and professional chalk artists.

Another PWD-sponsored yarn bombing by ishknits