Species Benefiting From Restoration:
   • Contact Refuge Headquarters for complete lists of biota

Acres of Habitat To be Restored:
Approximately 10 acres

Project Summary:
This project will engage local students, community members and visiting volunteers in wetlands restoration through plantings. At the same time, two substantial areas within two wildlife refuges near New Orleans will be restored through plantings, which trap the soil and therefore reverse the erosion caused by hurricanes in recent years. Moreover, the project will train a cadre of youth to be restoration specialists by teaching them the techniques of water quality and habitat assessment as well as nurturing and growing out wetland plant species.

Project Objectives:
The plan is to install mechanisms that trap sediment, serve as habitat, reverse subsidence by creating a matt of biomass, and accomplishes these tasks as nature intended: these mechanisms are salt tolerant plants.
The primary goals of this project are:

• to use the army of willing participants in the area to plant wetland species at the NWR sites near New Orleans
• to engage and train a cadre of local students and community members to monitor the wetland sites as well as learn how to plant
• to educate visiting volunteers about the urgent issue of wetland loss and restoration in Louisiana while providing them a hands-on restoration experience

Community Involvement:
The educational component of the project involves four sessions for each school: First, in the classroom, the students learn about causes of wetlands loss and methods of restoration. In their schoolyard they learn to propagate wetland plants and create a wetland plant pond where they grow out plants. Next, the students take two field trips to a local park with lagoons, where they learn why and how to test for water quality and then get a lesson in habitat assessment. Finally, the students bring their plants to the wetland planting site, assess water quality and habitat, and then plant.

The volunteer planting component will be ongoing, but tied to the school program through student involvement. A local volunteer planting day will be held one Saturday each month and plantings will be coordinated for visiting volunteer groups during the busy volunteer months of March and June. In the winter months the project will be focused on the education program, as it is not the best time of year to plant. The students in the spring will become involved during the grass-planting phase, bringing their plants and helping out at plantings during the summer as they take place. In the fall, the first group will mentor the new group of students.