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Will this Stormwater Poem Get Your Creative Juices Flowing? A Stormwater Poetry Challenge? Write and Win!
We’ve closed an important chapter and started a new year
Yet there’s still much to do so we’re still in high gear!
But before we move on we thought we’d look back
2010 in review, stormwater unpacked.
We start with Prop O which saw lots of action
As a few River Projects finally got traction.
BMP chatter, Wetland conservation
And even a couple Green Street Presentations.
Speaking of Green Streets, there’s Riverdale too
Whose green reconstructions made their debut.
And we brought out an army to Playa Del Rey
An army of kids for Kids Ocean Day.
The plastic bag ban in LA County happened
As biblical rain left all of us dampened.
But rain is a resource as much as annoyance
Or it will soon be with the LID Ordinance.
23 (and counting) underground low flow diversions
And a NoHo retrofit alley conversion.
Yes, one year goes down and it’s on to another
With your help we’ll make 2011 great for our water.
Are your creative juices flowing? Want to give your own water poem a go? Put together a couplet, haiku, sonnet, epic, any sort of poem about LA water or stormwater in the comment box below. All entrants will receive a free clean water t-shirt and then we’ll pick a couple of our favorites to publish in the next issue of the LA Stormwater e-newsletter. Entries are due by end of February– we can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store!
| Print article | This entry was posted by LA Stormwater on February 8, 2011 at 11:49 am, and is filed under Contests. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |












about 1 year ago
LA Stormwater knows what to do,
The LID Ordinance comes none too soon!
Rain is a resource, invaluable and real,
People of opposition will just have to deal!
If we think outside ourselves and see from above,
how can anybody review and declare “that’s enough!”
We need to be sustainable and protect our resources,
return to the earth, love bestowed upon us.
Do you part and act in good faith,
let’s work together for a greener, healthier place.
about 1 year ago
Can’t tell where the verses are ‘spose to be submitted. Here’s mine…
Stormwater drops in the barrel
instead of out in the sea
bring home grown flowers and veggies
to thrifty gardeners like me.
about 1 year ago
Rainwater flows downhill,
We must save this precious liquid,
but do we have the will?
The ocean is home to our fishes,
The land is home to us folks.
We must learn how to wash our dishes
So our kid’s future isn’t so dry.
Our sprinklers must be timed shorter
The shade trees must be grown tall.
We must share, recycle and reuse
And we must carpool and not be shy!
about 1 year ago
My poem:
Eating candy bar
Put wrapper in my pocket
Ocean is happy
about 1 year ago
Clanking along with my water bottle.
Staying hydrated.
Landfills are happy.
about 1 year ago
If people had
as many
rain barrels
as phone apps…
about 1 year ago
Water filters through
A grassy lined bioswale
Water is now clean
about 1 year ago
bags have no place here
oh we are the tide flows here and now
great blue heron dreams
about 1 year ago
If we get the rain to percolate into the ground,
Our water supply would abound,
Our conservation efforts would astound,
And by imported water we would not longer be bound!
about 1 year ago
Filling a trash bag
While walking my leaping dog
Keeps creeks, ocean clean.
about 1 year ago
Once I felt gloom in Los Angeles rain,
And stayed dry inside, waiting out the cascades.
Now doors I fling open, sing joyous refrains,
Dance in the puddles, let cheerlessness fade.
The reason is this: a rain barrel have I,
A huge jar of plastic, shaped like a bean,
That sits in my driveway to capture the sky
And keep our town wetter and healthy and green.
about 1 year ago
Keep the water clean
Or else I get MEAN
about 1 year ago
Rain, the resource
Runs its course
Until the course runs over
And floods freeway shoulders
Then the program from LA Stormwater
Manages the flow without barter
So that the usuable that remains
Is clean and fresh, we ascertain
From the oceans and streams, rivers and the Bay
We thank the City of LA!
about 1 year ago
Rain, the elixer of nature
So clean and so pure as can be
A gift to be respected and treasured.
As it moves from the clouds to the sea.
about 1 year ago
Silver flickering
catching sunlight in river
I see a hubcap
about 1 year ago
Waterways of L.A. long ago
Scenes of beauty, life, and work
Tongva sipped waters pure
Frogs leaped from rock to shore
Birds bathed
Fowl floated
Fish swam
Sun rays bounced
Currents rippled and gurggled
and made
Stones roll merrily downstream
Shady oaks lined arroyos
Cienegas covered the flatlands
Lush wetlands welcomed wildlife
and so
Such was the way in L.A.
When the water ran free
about 1 year ago
H2O on Earth
Water is valuable
H2O we need
about 1 year ago
Ignorance will not be my scuse
now I know about recycle and reuse
I will do my best to keep it clean
and keep it green
cheers to a wonderful future
about 1 year ago
Birds feed at ocean’s edge
Dolphins, whales and surfers play
Clean water sustains
about 1 year ago
If you catch your own runoff
you can shoot for the stars
and raise fish in a barrel
about 1 year ago
Oh Stormwater, Rain Water, water
Those some Californian welcomes you
Others give you a blue whine
Regardless of what Californian thinks
Yearly you come refreshing our ground
For what you’ve done and will
We, the LA City cleans your way
Welcome you with a golden drain
‘Cause you’re our princess and prince
and ’cause we want to say thanks.
about 1 year ago
Oh rain water, why wash down our streets,
Not be harvested and reused isn’t neat,
If everyone could collect a little they would see,
that their plants will be glowing .
with happiness
yes sir reee…
If people would care the planet would glow.
Having the City of LA give rebates
for home grey waters systems
would be so special you know.
Save the planet while you have time
or sit back and do nothing
with a glass of cheap wine!
about 1 year ago
Hooray for LA LID.
We are happy for you here in BC.
Your efforts will be used to show,
what we can all do to manage rain, and in the case of BC … snow.
From: Surrey, BC (British Columbia), Canada
about 1 year ago
The color of money has always been green,
but the forces of money caused the ocean to sheen
The public realized something must be done,
but this is not a crime that was a result of a gun
To truely correct and right the wrong,
we must all work together and just get along.
about 1 year ago
Water is nice.
It’s better when it’s clean.
When it falls from the sky
it can be put it a container. Save it for later.
Where’s my shirt?
about 1 year ago
Rain is fun.
Water is clear.
It’s good to be clear for fun.
about 1 year ago
Keep it clean and green
For the next generation
So the diversity can be seen
about 1 year ago
Water should be clear not the color of beer
about 1 year ago
Haiku!
Clean streets are awesome
Reduces urban runoff
I love clean beaches!
about 1 year ago
love the water,
love the sea,
oh how happy I’ll be
following all the rivers
keeping them clean
gives me the shivers.
about 1 year ago
Stormwater runoff in LA city,
Can be loaded with bad stuff, can you say gritty?
Diligence is the key – we cannot snooze,
If even one slacks off – we ALL lose,
With a result that won’t be pretty.
about 1 year ago
rain gurgles down gutter
captured in barrel
saving rainy day for later.
about 1 year ago
water sparkle bright
feeding birds and full of life
not greening my lawn
about 1 year ago
Ode to the Stormwater Division, Two versions
When I thought of water resembling beer,
My initial thought was, ‘oh dear!’
But, with City folks at work,
As they cleared the murk,
My sad frown gave way
To a smile that day!
When one thinks of stormwater resembling beer,
The initial reaction may be “oh dear!”,
But with City folks hard at work,
Collecting, cleaning and disposing of murk,
That sad, sad frown soon fades away,
Replaced with a smile that very same day!
about 1 year ago
I used to think, “Heal the Bay? -
Yeah, that will be the day.”
But thanks to the Stormwater Program
We’re on our way.
In neighborhoods big & small
Smart Stormwater Projects help our City stand tall
Thanks to native planting and river beautification for all,
Toxic brew is being replaced
with clean water, filtered at mother nature’s pace
about 1 year ago
To recycle our trash we have a plan,
To clean our air we do what we can,
To recycle our water just stop the flow,
Give it back to the ground and watch the world grow.
about 12 months ago
Don’t dump that used oil
Into the street my neighbor
Respect marine life
about 12 months ago
My Haiku:
Storm drains are filling,
Rainfall batters the City,
Rain barrels needed.
about 12 months ago
Protect LA River & local creek
by keeping pollution off the street
Polluted stormwater harms the sea
So be aware; it’s up to you and me
Clean up street before the rain
So it won’t end up in the storm drain
In place of asphalt, concrete and brick
Plant a tree; use your shovel and pick
Help urban run off with rainwater harvest
Also because of drought in the west
Participate in a beach clean up day
Help marine life and “Heal the Bay”
about 12 months ago
Respect our water
hold yourself accountable
throw away your trash
about 11 months ago
Cool, Fresh, Sparkling, Clear,
All the year through,
Strongly pulling through the swell,
Swimming like this completes you.
It makes you, every week, every day,
But Oh-Oh – raining today:
No swim tomorrow,
Or the days after,
Yet.
about 11 months ago
heavy winter rains
coming down for days, non stop
brings much needed water
about 11 months ago
Thank you all for participating in our poetry challenge! Great job coming up with awesome and fun to read poems! Make sure to be on the lookout for an email requesting for your name and mailing address so we can send you a FREE clean water t-shirt!
about 4 weeks ago
Clean the water
Save the whales
Fill your pails
Do your part
And soon you should start
For the longer we go
While the oceans a-flo
The cleaner the ocean will be
about 4 weeks ago
Hi Karsen, Thanks for submitting a stormwater poem! This contest has ended, but you’re in luck because we are currently running a Clean Water Video contest where you can win a FREE T-shirt! All you have to do is answer 5 easy LA Stormwater video questions and you’ll win a FREE T-shirt! Submit your answers in the comment section of the post: http://www.lastormwater.info/blog/2011/12/19/la-stormwater-video-trivia/