Storm drains around River Bluff High School got an artistic glow-up thanks to a collaboration between the school, the Lexington County Stormwater Consortium and the Congaree Riverkeeper. 

“It was a collaborative effort with everyone coming together,” said Taylor Brewer, the county’s environmental coordinator. “Susan [Yates] had an idea and everyone had their hands in it. The teachers figured out how to connect the curriculum. Hopefully we’ll change some attitudes with our grassroots effort.”

Susan Yates is the former environmental coordinator for Lexington County and who initially came up with the concept after a trip up to Greenville. 

“I had seen murals up in the Greenville area, and Greenville had professional artists [make] some storm drain markings up there and I thought this would be a good way to get students involved. River Bluff has a good arts program and this would be a good way to get murals out of the project. Taylor was my assistant at the time and she reached out to River Bluff.”

The process began rolling during the fall semester of 2021, said Yates. Brewer said it was a process. The students were educated by the Congaree Riverkeeper about how stormwater runoff is a top cause of pollution.

After being educated about the purpose of sewer drains and the pollution that can go with it, the project turned to the students.

Freshmen during the 2021-22 school year submitted designs, with the top 10 determined by a school vote. Students from the art club and the National Art Honor Society then ran with the project. 

The process took longer than the students and teachers initially thought, as they had to work around schedules, breaks and other interruptions. Some students worked on their murals over winter break.

Sara McGregor, River Bluff visual arts teacher and lead teacher for the fine arts department, said that while it took longer than anticipated, it allowed the “power of art” to boost awareness about an environmental issue. 

“The whole plan from the beginning was education all around for kids and adults who might visit [the school),” Brewer said, adding that the project was hoping to be completed in one school year so the students who initially started it could see the result of their hard work. There were seniors who worked on the project who are no longer at the school.

Two current seniors, Erin Connell and Lana Maas, who started the project as juniors last year, were able to see the project come to fruition.

“I’m really into environmentalism and people don’t realize how important water is to us. It contributes to literally everything in our lives,” said Connell. “Lake Murray and the ocean a couple of hours away from us. It comes back to us. It doesn’t get rid of the problem to just dump water down.”

Connell and other group leaders helped divide up tasks for the project. The drawings were initially chalked out before being painted and secured with a sealer. 

Maas said one mural behind the school was “a struggle from the beginning.”

“We combined three different images and I redid the drawing three times until all were OK with the revision.” she said. “We redid the grass until it was ok. There were different pieces from original drawings revised to be a more comprehensive image.”

“As art students, we’re prepared to adjust,” Maas added.

As far as paying for the project, the paint came by way of Columbia’s CityArt at a significant discount. The business also helped with the concrete sealer. 

Plans for another sewer drain mural project at River Bluff aren’t currently in the works, but Brewer said they’d love to take it to other schools and elsewhere in the community. She said a couple other schools have shown interest.

“It would be a great way to involve the community,” Brewer said. “In Greenville, they had professional artists come. It would bring arts and science together and it would be a prideful piece of work the community can be a part of.”