Today! I got to! plant! trees!!
(7. tupelo)
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Foundation were hosting a planting event, mainly for visitors from Environmental Defense Fund and similar organizations who were in Louisiana for a conference. I tagged along because it was open to the public (and because I like trees).
We planted in Big Mar, a wetlands area that is growing thanks to the Caernarvon Diversion, a freshwater diversion that is bringing new silt. The area has grown over the past 10-15 years. Planting trees speeds up the ecosystem restoration a little bit by anchoring the new land and expanding wildlife habitat.
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I didn't take to many pictures of the actual work because I was too busy doing it, planting with another volunteer, Gertrude, a retiree who cheered on every baby tree as I dug each hole. Yes, she actually called them "baby trees". She also let me dig all of the holes while we cheered for the cypress and tupelo gum saplings together. We were obviously a perfect pair.
It was a beautiful day!
I went for my first air boat ride to get to the site!
I got to play in the mud!
All in all, the group planted 250 trees. Gertrude and I planted about 30 of them ourselves, setting up plastic shields on each one to protect them from nutria and other critters until they are a little more established (CRCL will return periodically to track the growth and success rates as well as to eventually remove the shields).
I like my work.
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