Campers Beautify Their Environment

By Nancy K. Crevier

Following a little lesson on environmental consciousness and some brainstorming and practice sessions, Dickinson Summer Camp director Jeff Earle got several campers started on applying their artistic ideas to a 55-gallon oil drum on Wednesday, July 22, beneath the pavilion at Dickinson Park. The project is part of the nationwide Oil Drum Art Movement, in which unused steel oil drums are transformed into works of art.

On the Oil Drum Art Movement website, president and founder of the project Jack Lardis said: “The oil drum is a powerful metaphor that reflects many of society’s issues about oil — the environment, global warming, the economy, the energy crisis, our carbon footprint, and the Middle East conflict. It also reflects the positive aspects of the fossil fuel that has provided us with so many of our needs and comforts in the past century.”

By having unused barrels sponsored by individuals and organizations, and painted following an environmental theme, it is hoped that the art form will convey a message to the public.

Oil Drum Art first came to Newtown about one year ago when the Church Hill Road Starbucks sponsored an oil drum. Customers and staff members filled in taped off squares on the barrel over the course of approximately two weeks in August, using acrylic paints and brushes supplied by the general manager there, Peter Johnson. The finished trash barrel was presented to Parks & Recreation director Amy Mangold and assistant director Roseann Reggiano when it was completed, and is utilized at Dickinson Park.

The directors were so impressed by the program and the results of the Starbucks project, that they decided to implement it into the 2009 summer camp program. Four barrels were delivered last month, two each to Treadwell Park summer camp and Dickinson Park summer camp.

“I’m a science teacher,” said Mr Earle, “ so I gave them a little ecology lesson and we talked about what they wanted to paint, and we did some practice drawings yesterday so that they wouldn’t just start painting random things.”

The oil drums arrived primed, but the camp director placed strips of tape evenly about the barrel, dividing it into 24 equal sections that could each be painted by a camper. Flowers, turtles and the universal symbol for recycling were the first designs to decorate the barrel.

The campers working on the project on Wednesday ranged from 7 to 10 years old, said Mr Earle. They worked in small groups so that everyone had easy access to the paint and to the barrel. He hoped that the campers would be finished with the two oil drums by the end of the week.

Once the paint is thoroughly dried, said Mr Earle, the barrels will be polyurethaned to protect them from the elements, and put into use at Dickinson Park.

The oil drums are not the only painting project with which Dickinson campers have been busy, Mr Earle said. Campers also recently painted a large birdhouse with colorful pictures. The birdhouse has since been mounted on a cedar post in the field adjacent to Elm Drive, along Barbara’s Trail. If the birdhouse meets with the approval of the local feathered friends, campers should be treated to the opportunity to do some bird watching as the summer wears on.

At Treadwell Park camp on Thursday, July 23, staff members took a slightly different approach to decorating the oil drums that were delivered to them. One of the oil drums, explained staff member Jackie Alpert, was divided into sections representing land, water, and sea. With a little coaching and help from stencils made by one of the counselors, this barrel was then decorated by the older children in the camp, ages 7 to 10. Dolphins leap through the blue sky, and fish and sea stars populate a darker blue ocean scene. Snakes, skunks, and turtles crawl across the lower, bright green portion of the barrel.

The other barrel was reserved for the children ages 5 to 6, and counselors decided that the large group might do better with a simpler method of painting. The second barrel is covered with the children’s handprints in vibrant colors.

Six-year-old Kyle Pettit said that he was excited that the painted barrel would stay at the park where he could see it.

The project went so smoothly, that Jackie said she expected the barrels to be completed by the end of the day on Thursday.

To find out how to sponsor an oil drum project, visit OilDrumAart.org.