Rain Barrel program in partnership with River Network!

With the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and the loss of so many jobs, we understand how many of our neighbors are now struggling to make ends meet... Financial hardship could mean no food on their families' tables, nothing to feed their children.

We here at Kentucky Heirs To Our Oceans have been brainstorming solutions to help people in sustainable ways- in ways that also safe our waterways and reduce garbage. Helping people become self-sufficient while also becoming more environmentally conscious was one of our ideas. We wanted to integrate the idea to support people to grow their own food which in return will reduce packaging and waste.

We also wanted to integrate the factor of reducing, reusing, recycling and came up with a "vegetable garden-water barrel" support program.

Did you know that a well-maintained food garden yields 1/2 pound of produce per square foot per growing season, according to the NGA? So a 600-square-foot garden, the American average on which households spend $70 per year, could churn out 300 pounds of fresh produce worth about $600 annually?

Now we also did some research on water consumption and the money rain barrels would save while also cutting down on our water footprint:

The average American family directly consumes nearly 110,000 gallons of water each year, and if you include water used for producing food, energy, and consumer goods, that total jumps to 1.9 million gallons annually! However, a single 55-gallon rain barrel can save up to 1,300 gallons of water every year. Rain barrels collect free rainwater to water gardens, trees, and lawns. This saves you money on water bills, AND helps reduce demand for energy-intensive treated tap water, limits stormwater runoff and erosion, and saves water for use during droughts. Installing a rain barrel is one of the easiest ways to reduce your water footprint and help recharge our rivers, lakes, and aquifers.

We just heard back from River Network and we will receive water barrel kits for our upcoming rain barrel program that will help those who are currently struggling and would benefit from a vegetable garden and free rainwater barrel to collect free rainwater for their plants!

Please stay tuned for upcoming info. We are still working on the ideal logistics as we will follow all regulations addressing our COVID-19 health crisis that's been put in place by our government.