And I'll tell you why.
Our project today was somewhat of a mystery as we didn't know the exact work we would be doing, we only knew we would be working with the Audubon Nature Preserve in East New Orleans. Our contact had told us that East New Orleans was in as bad, if not worse shape than the Lower 9th Ward however, it's gotten little attention and minimal recovery aid.
Our group of 18 girls {ages 12-62} loaded up bright and early with willing hands and an open mind. We were prepared for any job and had no expectations to witness a "start to finish project". Upon arrival we were instructed to put on rubber boots since we would be in tons of mud and grab a pair of gloves. About 40 other random groups of volunteers showed up and we waited to hear instructions.
We learned that we would be planting trees today in an effort to restoring the wetlands. The director of the Nature Preserve Storm Recovery team along with the Executive Director of Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana shared with us the history and pre and post Katrina status of these wetlands. In a nutshell, over the past 100 years, over 2300 square miles {the size of the state of Delaware} has been destroyed. And every one square mile that is created or preserved can prevent one foot of a storm surge. Staggering facts.
So off we went with shovels, instructions and groups of 3-4.
...we walked past desolate buildings that were once the Preserve Ticket Office and Gift shop but are now considered bio-hazard because of the take over of mold. Then we approached this plot of land:
It was once filled with tall, beautiful, new and old trees that thousands of animal species inhabited, but after being under nearly 8 FEET of water through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, these wetlands are nothing less than destroyed.
We dug & dug, got muddy, had a fierce tree count competition {one group of girls even named every one of their trees and had some attachment issues}, talked, laughed {alot}, and planted, planted planted.
In three hours, we volunteers planted over 400 trees and our group alone accounted for at least 100 of those trees.
So this is where the yellow and blue comes in.
After we planted our trees we had to put blue and yellow sleeves on the bottom of each tree to protect them from the rabbits....
...but to us, the pops of blue and yellow that we saw as we stepped back and looked around us were a symbol of progress, accomplishment, success and pride.
We did that. In just a few short hours, we approached two plots of land that had no hope and were absolutely dismal and created a space that in 5-10 years will be flourishing with life.
Ellis said it best when she said "what was most amazing about our experience and the project today is that it was unexpected. When you think of New Orleans, and the tragedy and devastation the city has experienced, rarely do you consider the environment. Though for immediate and long term preservation these wetlands need to be revived and saved as much as the people."
We enjoyed being outside, loved being together and were proud of every single tree we had a hand in giving a new life.
{stay tuned for a special and awesome musical tribute to our work today from some of our crazy gals...will post tomorrow!}
-laurel
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