We had a blast spending Oct. 6 with the New Orleans’ Office of Resilience and Sustainability (ORS) for Park(ing) Day.

As part of the nationwide event, municipalities and groups throughout the nation converted parking spaces to mini-parks for the day. Green Light New Orleans was happy to join with our friends from ORS and Energy Smart for a park(ing) space near the intersection of Loyola and Tulane downtown.

The idea of the event is to help people rethink how we use public space and bring attention to organizations working within the community. Oh yeah, and to have fun.

We set up a rain barrel and invited passersby to help us take it from drab to fab. By the end of the day the barrel was done up with homages to the city (“Geaux Saints”), heartfelt thoughts on the environment (“I love water!”) and timeless truths (“chocolate! yum!”).

We think these artists really outdid themselves. This barrel was installed at a New Orleans home in early November, but if you’d like a similar piece of authentic New Orleans art in your backyard, fill out a rain barrel application here. The barrel is sponsored by the City of New Orleans.

So what is the purpose of the rain barrels? Subsidence, or the sinking of the ground, is a major threat to the city of New Orleans’ resiliency. Subsidence is caused in part by the city’s pumping of storm water during flood events. If residents are able to capture more water on their property, the city will not have to pump as much out during rain events. We believe that large-scale implementation of rain barrels could contribute to the lessening of subsidence’s effects and lead to a healthier, more resilient city.