The Pollution Solution

A major issue affecting the health of urban bayous is pollution coming from surrounding neighborhoods. Many people do not realize that litter and pollution from their neighborhoods and property ends up in local waterways. Storm drains in city streets carry untreated storm water, litter, oil, fertilizers, etc. directly into local bayous. In May 2010 the GCCDS talked with students from the Learning Lighthouse about this form of pollution and how it harms a place like Bayou Auguste. The students were then asked to draw and make up slogans to convey an anti-pollution message to their local neighborhood.


The GCCDS turned several of the pictures and slogans created by the Learning Lighthouse students into large stencils. These stencils were used to mark storm drains near the bayou with pictures of local wildlife and slogans like “No waste down the drain. Just rain.”


The stencils were also used to make a mural on the Braun Street Bridge, which crosses over the Bayou Auguste. The mural depicts a section of the bayou with the many plants and animals that live in it. Along the top of the mural the clever anti-pollution slogans written by the students encourage people not to litter.