Bienvenue én Louisiane.
By Payton Suire Bienvenue én Louisiane. The beautiful state of Louisiana is the Sportsman’s Paradise, and as residents, we want our paradise to last for generations on. The Sportsman’s Paradise experience isn’t so scenic when the Louisiana estuaries and habitats are covered in cigarette butts, plastics, cans, tires, etc. Litter doesn’t just make Louisiana or our neighborhoods look bad, but it is also destroying our wildlife and environment (Keep Louisiana Beautiful). Every morning I go on a five-mile walk on a trail surrounding my neighborhood. The surrounding wildlife and their habitats bring tranquility and peacefulness to the route. This is my little piece of paradise every day that I want to preserve. Some days, I run into this lovely couple who dedicates their morning walk to picking up the trash along the route. By simply bringing a trash-grabber and disposable plastic bag, they keep our walking trail presentable. If trash covered the walking trail, no one would be motivated to exercise and enjoy our trail’s little paradise. So, what is litter? Litter can be anything disposed of improperly – bottles, plastic bags, candy wrappers, even biodegradable items (Keep Louisiana Beautiful). Why is litter so harmful? Birds, marine life, and other species can become entangled in trash or consume toxic or harmful trash (Keep Louisiana Beautiful). Fishing hooks or broken glass and bottles can puncture skin causing infections in different species. If species eat plastic, the pieces stay in their digestive systems filling up their stomachs causing them to starve to death (Trash Effects on Wildlife). Research also proves that plastic in our waterways never goes away but breaks down into small pieces that hurt ocean species and release chemicals into the environment (Trash Effects on Wildlife). Louisiana spends an estimated 40 million dollars from taxpayers each year on litter removal, education, and enforcement (Keep Louisiana Beautiful). Litter is preventable considering 81 percent of it is intentional with pedestrians generating 70 percent of all roadside litter. Credit: Keep Louisiana BeautifulHow can we take action? Clean all trash out the bed of your trucks before going on a drive. Don’t throw your trash out of the car or boat. Keep a trash bag inside your cars or boats and take them with you to places you know won’t have trash cans, dumpsters, or waste bins. Secure your trash bins to prevent animals from snooping inside and making a mess. If you spot littering or illegal dumpsites, call the anti-litter hotline to report it: 1-888-548-7284 (Report Littering). There are also volunteer opportunities like Bayou Lafourche Clean Up Day, or you can take matters into your own hands like the lovely couple I know. Sources:Research. Let’s Face the Facts. We Have a Litter Problem. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://keeplouisianabeautiful.org/tools-resources/research/Report Littering. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/report-litteringRocksey’s Toolbox: Trash Effects on Wildlife. (2016). Retrieved March 24, 2020, from https://keeplouisianabeautiful.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Rocksey-Lesson-Plan-6-Trash-Effects-on-Wildlife.pdf
The Nicholls Farm
By Robbie Trosclair The Nicholls Farm, started in 2006, has since become a project to grow wildlife that is necessary for the protection of our coasts. Following my recent podcast with Quenton Fontenot, Professor and Head of Biological Sciences, I also got the chance to sit down with Keith Chenier. He’s a 5th year Marine and Environmental Biology double major who also works at the Nicholls Farm. We got to talk about all of the efforts the Farm is doing to keep Louisiana’s coast intact. Chenier is so passionate about this project because he grew up with it. After Katrina, Chenier said that he started to realize how hard Louisiana got hit and how it’s important to do his part to keep it flourishing. Attending Nicholls made him realize how fragile the coast could be without help. He’s loved to fish in Grand Isle all of his life and he’s now doing his part to make sure it’s still there for the next generation. I also spoke to Coral Foster, a graduate student also studying Marine and Environmental Biology. She told me that the farm is unique simply because it exists. “ Not many smaller sized schools have access to or owns a piece of land like the farm. It provides many opportunities for the school and the biology department,” said Foster. “The Nicholls Farm is helping to make the coast a better place through the research going on there and the plants grown there. The plants are used for coastal restoration projects. The restoration projects and research are helping to create land reversing coastal land loss, return collapsed ecosystems to a more stable functioning state, and restore the natural ecosystem services of a landscape.” The Nicholls Farm’s main contribution is all of the flora grown there that is relocated to our coasts and barrier islands. Among the plants grown are black mangroves, beach dune grasses, and saltwater-tolerant oak trees. The mangroves are a tree that grows on top of the water. The seeds are left on the surface and the roots find their ground. The mangroves are a huge buffer for hurricanes and help slow down winds before they can get to the mainland. The beach dune grasses and oak trees help hold the soil together, but, the oak trees are unique. It’s a special breed of oak that grows on the coastline and also on the Farm. It can survive the brackish water that is bountiful in Louisiana, unlike most oak trees. The Nicholls Farm recently received irises directly from the Greater New Orleans Iris Society to help keep the Louisiana native flower plentiful. However, moving the irises to the coast and any plan to move wildlife to its necessary position have been halted due to safety measures put in place to avoid the spread of the Corona Virus. The Nicholls Farm does an amazing service to Louisiana’s coastal community. On their own budget, they grow what the state needs to keep from floating away. The Nicholls Farm grows the necessary plants to keep Louisiana alive but also does its part to help us preserve its beauty and culture. If Louisiana’s coastline is saved but there isn’t any culture left, what’s the point? If you’re looking to help do your part in #SavingtheBoot, specifically with the Nicholls Farm, you can find them on Facebook by searching Nicholls Farm. Also, remember to follow our Facebook and Instagram, @savingtheboot
Beauty of The Estuary
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Welcome by Professor Nicki Boudreaux
“On average, Louisiana loses a football field of land per hour.” We’ve all heard that statistic time and time again in reference to land lost to coastal erosion, sea level rise and other factors. The first time I heard it was in the late 1990s, and my passion for all things Coastal Louisiana was born. But for me, the story has always gone much deeper than the loss of land. It’s the other stories that speak to me. The fisherman who lost his favorite fishing spot because the salinity of the water has changed. The resident who used to stand on his front porch to gaze across his acreage of property, now looking out at an expanse of sea. The communities who face a loss of their culture because their land is no longer sustainable. Those stories are sometimes hard to tell, but they are necessary for people across the world to understand the plight of Coastal Louisianians. But not all stories are sad. There are the stories of new land being built from ancient sand in the Gulf. There are the stories of the American Indians who have worked so hard to keep their culture alive with each passing generation. There are the stories of residents who have worked to adapt their lives and their livelihoods to the changing landscape. As a communication professional, I have been intrigued by how these stories are shared, and in Fall 2018, the Mass Communication department introduced an Environmental Communications course to do just that. Through this course, students became coastal storytellers. They studied and told stories of how invasive species threaten our coast, how fisheries have changed, how the oil and gas industry has worked to right the wrongs of the past, and how the state is building new coastline through Master Plan projects. But the students learned so much more. Some saw the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. Some boated down beautiful Bayou Lafourche, studying the banks of the bayou from a different perspective. They all sank their toes into new beach built on Elmer’s Island, and got a first-hand look at the economic powerhouse that is Port Fourchon. They met shrimpers and fishermen, scientists and coastal natives, and they told their stories. This semester, that same class is educating our campus community on our beautiful estuary and ways we can all make a difference in “Saving the Boot.” What started as an opportunity to tell stories of what was happening to the land quickly became an opportunity to tell the story of what was happening to the people and the wildlife. Through partnerships with Port Fourchon, Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Restore or Retreat and The National Audubon Society, Nicholls students were introduced to the people, the culture, the economy, the science, the government and the community initiatives behind saving and restoring our coast. Before teaching this class, I thought I knew and understood all things Coastal Louisiana. After all, I was born and raised on Bayou Lafourche. I have read extensively about coastal issues. I have worked with BTNEP on their management plan. But while teaching this course, I realized there was so much I didn’t know. I learned about how our people are working to make their communities more resilient at a Coastal Wetlands Community Forum hosted by the America’s WETLAND Foundation on the Nicholls Campus. Here, I discovered that the issues of flood insurance and property values were making it near impossible for many young families to choose to settle in their hometowns. At a Coastal and Marine Safety and Emergency Response Meeting hosted by CAMO and the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, I learned the various ways industry, government and environmental groups are working together to keep our waterways and wetlands safe. And as the facilitator for GNO, Inc.’s Legislative Policy Institute Coastal Panel, I was able to see first-hand how our legislative leaders are considering economic development, workforce, funding, and community in making policy decisions to continue the fight. But perhaps what I learned the most is that the collective voice of Louisiana residents is not one of despair or panic. It is one of resiliency and adaptation. The fighting spirit of Louisiana residents lives on, and that is the story that needs to be told. So many government and non-profit agencies are working to solve the problems related to our vanishing coastline. And those stories are important. People across the country need to know how Port Fourchon impacts the national economy, how hurricane protection is imperative, and how public policy must shape our future. But they also need to know the humanity. The Cajun fisherman who has found a new fishing spot rather than retreating. The resident who has embraced the water that is where land once was, and who uses every opportunity to tell his story. The communities who have kept their culture alive by relocating en masse, not letting the loss of land be the end of their story. And at Nicholls, our Mass Communication students will continue to tell those stories, helping our nation and our world remember why ours is a home worth saving. I was able to tour Port Fourchon by boat with Joni Tuck, Nicholls Mass Communication graduate and former communications director at the port. I had the honor of moderating the Policy Institute Series on Coastal Restoration for state legislators at Greater New Orleans, Inc (GNO, Inc.).