For their community study project, three Upper Dublin High School seniors, Tori Casale, Rebecca O’Toole, and Kayla Wolf built and installed six rain barrels throughout the downtown area of Ambler.

From left to right: Kayla Wolf,  Tori Casale, Rebecca O’Toole and owner of Holistic Apothecary, Dr. Phyllis Greco Bucci

Working with the Ambler Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) to implement green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff, they installed rain barrels at Forest & Main, Holistic Apothecary, Decks Hardware, Act II Playhouse, and Beautyguard.

From left to right: Tori Casale, Rebecca O’Toole and Kayla Wolf at Deck’s Hardware

Rain barrels are plastic drums that sit under a downspout and collect rainwater that can then be repurposed. This will lessen the amount of runoff and return the water back to the ground to naturally replenish the groundwater. The water stored will also help volunteer group, Plant Ambler, maintain the flowers throughout the borough. The barrels were generously donated by I Rice & Company Inc. in Philadelphia.

From left to right: Kayla Wolf, Tori Casale and Rebecca O’Toole at Beautyguard

Thank you to Mr. Joe Casale, a generous community member who dedicated his time and knowledge to the building of the rain barrels. Another thank you goes out to the Ambler EAC for their efforts to create awareness within the community and their work to improving our watershed. The rain barrels could not have been completed without the cooperation of the local businesses mentioned above. The students hope for the future that other downtown Ambler businesses will reach out to the Ambler EAC with interest in installing a rain barrel so that their community can continue growing the rain barrel population within Ambler.

The three seniors say they are proud of their work because they know that their project has made a positive impact on Ambler’s environment and Plant Ambler. They provide an easy and accessible water source to Plant Ambler’s volunteers. Through this, local business owners will have the opportunity to educate the public about their rain barrel. The seniors are excited to see how this will impact their community in the future.

“We loved this project because it gave us a sense of community. We were able to see how these environmentally conscience local businesses were open to us installing a rain barrel so that another community organization could use the captured rainwater runoff to water flowers that beautify our downtown area that we all enjoy.”  

*Contributed by Upper Dublin High School Seniors:Kayla Wolf, Rebecca O’Toole and Tori Casale