"Tony Briscoe reports that a giant algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico is being fed by agricultural and urban runoff from the Midwest flowing into the Mississippi River. "While the agricultural runoff from farms — exempted under the Clean Water Act — is the main driver of the Gulf dead zone, Chicago’s sewage is the largest single source of phosphorus pollution."
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2019/06/104921-polluted-chicago-water-travels-
We can't continue damaging rivers and seas with polluted waters. To raise awareness of this issue, we are planning an Art on Drain contest with the Girls Scout Troops of the Greater Chicago Area. To participate:
1) Join your troop at the ReWild Urban Landscape project: www.changex.org/us/urban-thinkscape/715-seward-st-evanston-il-60202-usa-cook-county. The "join" button is located on the bottom left of the page.
2) Paint around a water drain ONLY USING CHALK the troop art, take a picture, and post it on THIS PAGE, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #WOD2021-Art-on-drain. Before planning your drawing, imagine the impact of pesticides in all species from Chicago to the Mississippi River and then to the Ocean.
3) The arts will be judged by famous experts, soon to be announced. There will be one winning troop per county, which will be announced on June 30, 2021.
4) Winning troops will be awarded a camera trap, which is an outdoor camera used to capture footage of the wildlife that surrounds us. I will train the troops to work remotely to observe species on their cameras and upload them to iNaturalist (a wildlife observation app). Leaders and scouts will gain a better understanding of the wildlife in our area encouraging teamwork between troops.
6) Get ready to shine in defense of our planet!!