Cool Projects U.S. Gulf States - Louisiana

An Electronic Field Trip: Conservation and Protection of the Gulf Coast

The Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) will produce an electronic field trip consisting of edited video featuring coastal restoration and conservation activities, future plans, economic value and benefits of the Gulf of Mexico, and possible citizen actions to protect the Gulf of Mexico. Viewers will interact by email or phone. Environmental experts in LPB's television studio will respond live on-air. The trip will be streamed live over the internet and will be accessible by all schools in Louisiana, the five Gulf States, as well as the general public. The trip will be archived for public on-demand access. *Stay tuned for this resource to be complete.
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Coast to Classroom

Contact: Tricia LeBlanc. Director of Education & Volunteers

Audubon Aquarium of the Americas educators are "traveling" (via online classes) across the Gulf States to teach students, who may not otherwise be exposed to the ocean environment, about Gulf issues. Audubon Nature Institute is giving students across the Gulf States quite the environmental experience!
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Estuarine & Marine Lab Awareness Program

Contact: Myron Fischer, Biologist Supervisor

The Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries is engaging local school and community groups with a new Marine Lab Awareness Program. Participants in the program explore the estuary environment and learn about organisms as well as laboratory techniques. (The new Marine Lab will be finished in May 2009, ready to educate the public about the wonders of the environment around them.)
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Going Beyond the Bayou

Contact: Jennifer Conover, co-Principal Investigator

Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) takes students Beyond the Bayou where they conduct environmental exploration through field-based and stewardship activities. Students learn about issues of water quality, nutrients and conservation as a context for learning science by putting it into practice.
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Gulf Saver Solutions

Contact: Leslie Carrere

Restore the Earth Foundation, Inc. had the first major wetlands restoration deployment on the ground in an oil soiled site following the oil spill, using a new
coastal restoration technique, Gulf Saver Bags ®.
The Gulf Saver Bag is a package of native marsh grasses with its own supply of totally natural nutrients and billions of oil eating micro-organisms to support, feed and protect the marsh grasses, promoting survival and growth to stabilize and restore the ecosystems and habitats.

This restoration was in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) at Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area in Louisiana, one of the most heavily impacted areas.

This deployment was phase one of multiple deployments for marsh restoration. Accessible only by airboat, a crew of volunteers were assisted by LDWF Coastal personnel on Dec. 16th-17th, 2010 to distribute Gulf Saver Bags at the Wildlife Management Area that forms the southeast tip of Plaquemines Parish where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

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Keep Your Eye on the Prize: Contest

Contact: americaswetland@mcopr.com

Americas Wetland Foundation conducts contests to help preserve habitat that is shrinking fast. Louisiana students in grades 4-12, are eligible to compete in the "Keep Your Eye on the Prize" Student Art, Photo, and Essay Contest which was created to emphasize the importance of Louisiana's coastal wetlands, known as America's WETLAND. To view winning artwork from the Keep Your Eye on the Prize Contest and for information on upcoming contests, please visit the above website.
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Louisiana Environmental Literacy Plan

Contact: Venise Ortego

The mission of the Louisiana Environmental Education Commission (EEC) is to create a comprehensive and balanced environmental education initiative that results in literate citizenry who will make informed decisions, effectively solve existing problems, prevent new ones and maintain a sustainable environment for future generations. In order to achieve this goal, the EEC proposes to take the lead in developing a state environmental literacy plan. The first planning session for development was held on July 13, 2010 at the Louisiana State University Rotunda and conference area. Educators, scientists, university professors, business leaders, state and federal agency leaders, non-profit representatives, and legislators were invited to this groundbreaking event. Members of the planning sub-committee are currently drafting the plan and discussing the appropriate mechanism for enlisting State of Louisiana's support and endorsement.

Training Future Scientists, Teachers, and Families in Coastal Wetland Conservation and Restoration

Contact: Dr. Deborah Dardis

This project seeks to create an environmentally literate public who are good stewards of the Gulf and associated watersheds. Innovative, field-based and classroom opportunities will be provided for K-8 teachers, students and families in southeast Louisiana. Teachers will attend a workshop and return with their students on field trips to collect and analyze water quality data, perform flora/fauna analysis and participate in wetland restoration projects. Discussions and activities will focus on the quality and quantity of coastal ecosystems in the region, be aligned with state education standards and environmental literacy principles and encourage family participation.
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Wetland Warriors

Contact: Nicole Cotten

The goal of 'Wetland Warriors' is to educate various community groups about the complexity, importance and restoration methods of wetlands so they can make well-educated decisions about wetland conservation in addition to accurately informing and engaging their constituents in wetland conservation issues in coastal Louisiana. The project will achieve this goal through a series of four audience-specific, overnight workshops that will each involve two excursions into wetland habitats, presentations about wetlands, a group discussion session about promoting action to their audiences and a reference binder. *Check the Announcements-Continuing Learning page on this website for dates of these workshops.
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If you would like to submit something for posting to one of these pages, please email goma@disl.org with 'submittal' in the email title.