Kevin Orlosky paints a monarch butterfly.
They weren’t exactly painting the town red, but it was a colorful endeavor nonetheless.
Chesterfield County joined with Art on Wheels and the James River Association for a “Paint Out Pollution” event last week, which involved painting storm drain covers.
Kevin Orlosky, founder and program director of Art on Wheels, said he used a laser to cut out stencils based on renderings from artists in the Richmond region. Art included a monarch butterfly, beaver, mink, bald eagle, great blue heron, northern water snake, mallard
On Wednesday morning, March 27, eight people worked on the project painting+ storm drains near the county government complex and Lucy Corr buildings along Government Center Parkway.
“It’s a really great outreach tool for us,” said Lorne Field, environmental outreach coordinator for the Chesterfield Department of Environmental Engineering.
He noted that anything that enters a storm drain goes into a nearby creek.
The goal is to provide a reminder for those who see the artwork to dispose of trash, motor oil and pet waste properly.
The event – which Field estimated would cost $2,000 – was funded by a grant from the Middle James Roundtable, a collaborative effort among various stakeholders from the Middle James River watershed.
This was the third year the county has been involved in the project, Field said, noting that previous efforts were done near schools, a park
