CARY, NC – The entire ninth grade of Cary Academy will be working to help the Town of Cary protect the environment by stenciling storm drains during class time on October 17^th and 18^th. Storm drain stenciling is part of an effort to increase public awareness that what goes into storm drains eventually ends up in our rivers, not in the Town’s wastewater facilities as many people believe. Cary has about 13,000 storm drains which empty into either the Neuse or Cape Fear watersheds.

"We’re very excited about these students’ interest in and commitment to the environment," said Cary’s new Stormwater Specialist Betsy Pearce. Launched jointly between the Town of Cary and the Neuse River Foundation in 1998, the stenciling project is one component of the public education program for the Town’s Stormwater Management Program for Nitrogen Control which aims at improving the water quality of the Neuse River.

Storm drain stenciling involves small groups of volunteers attending a brief training session and then using stenciling kits provided by the Town to spray-paint each drain with a "Flows to the Neuse River" or "Flows to the Cape Fear River" message. All six Cary Academy classes of 16-18 students will take one of the following stenciling time blocks:

To minimize travel time, Cary Academy has chosen to work in nearby neighborhoods, including Weston Point, Silvercliff, Springbrooke, Silver Oaks and Silver Creek.

"This is a great activity for families, homeowners associations, or civic groups," said Pearce. "We’re hoping that a few folks in every Cary neighborhood will take part to increase awareness in their segment of the community." Other volunteer groups currently stenciling in Cary include the Isaiah 40 homeschooling group and Green Hope High School’s Environmental Club.

Anyone interested in participating in the storm drain stenciling project should contact Pearce at bpearce@ci.cary.nc.us or via telephone at 469-4038. For complete information about all of the Town’s stormwater efforts, visit www.townofcary.org.

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