Daily archives "April 11, 2023"

NOLA 2023 Reflection

I have never been more tired and sweaty than I was on this trip. It was truly an exercize in patience and exercize in general. However, this was truly a special experience. I was right in going on this trip and I feel like it has given me great experience as an environmental scientist and as a person. I now know that I can do more than work in just Southern California and I’m capable of taking what I know across an entire continent.

This was my first time ever taking an airplane. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it but it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be. Turns out simulating high altitude air pressure puts me right to sleep. The worst part of all of it is really just the airport.

I also set out on this trip hunting for a hat since I left mine all the way in California. I managed to find the hat of my dreams at the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. Lucky for me I found it on day one and it didn’t leave my head for the rest of the trip. Nearly every picture of me on this trip features this beautiful hat from a very cool organization. Once this hat and I were together I felt like I was prepared for most anything.

What I was not prepared for was the mass of blackberry covering most of the preserve. Good luck and godspeed to those who go next year, it may be worse. And bring some paperclips. That’ll help keep all your data organized.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

March 23, 2023 | Le Petit Theatre

After a long day of transects, and walking through a bunch of blackberries, the class could finally relax and catch a laugh. This would be my first time watching a play live so I was very anxious to see what Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was all about. From the second I sat down I was captured by the set design, a simple bedroom, and on stage left a door that separated the room from the outside. Something else that caught my attention was the projections in the background and the sounds used in the scenes. Part of me wants to believe that because the set was easy on the eyes it allowed my other sense to pay attention to the meaningful details that tied the scenes together. I distinctly remember in the scene of Big Daddy’s birthday, at night you could hear the crickets just like in real life. Small details like such allowed me to feel much more invested in the show, on top of already being invested in the juicy family drama that was unfolding literally right in front of me. After watching, I understand the hype around the play and I appreciate its artistic way of making a social comment.

My NOLA Experience

Attending the NOLA trip was so amazing and was also the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It was exhausting, it was fun, it was beautiful, it was eye-opening.

This trip gave me a lot of varied experience: monitoring, construction, public education – even cooking!

I think the best thing I got out of this trip was the solidification of my dream job. At Fishstock, I was able to interact with the public and teach them about some of the fish that reside in the Gulf. I had an absolute blast and was even pulled aside and interviewed by the Plaquemines Parish government about my scientific background and more.

Here I am in the latter half of the interview describing the relationship between dinosaurs and fish with the help of two of our living primitive bony fishes: the aligator gar and the spotted gar.

I’m also grateful for the other students I got to know on this trip. Everyone was kind, fun, encouraging, and passionate. I think a lot of us will stay friends for years to come.

Em, Christian (OSU), and I snap a quick sunset selfie in the van.

Day 6 – A Sunny Day in Buras for Gardening

On March 22, 2023, we traveled about two hours southeast to the town of Buras to install a community garden on the property belonging to Carol and his family. This project had partnered with him in the past but the previous gardens that were installed had failed due to high saturation of water in the soil from storms. The soil in this area is very clay heavy which can compact tightly and make it difficult for plants to grow roots in it so they tend to fail. It can be difficult to work with but luckily Carol had tilled the ground prior to our arrival and we were ready to plant! Christian, our botanist student from Oregon State, led the charge, showing us how to loosen the root ball of each of our vegetable and herb starts so that the plant knows it has more area to grow out its roots and establish itself in the ground. He directed us where in the field to plant certain plants based on the sunlight it would receive and the amount of space the adult plant would take up. The chosen vegetables were: bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, corn, basil, thyme, cilantro, and orange trees. We got them in the ground and added fertilizer to help give them a boost. It was a great team effort on such a nice day and I hope we get some updates to see how they do, providing much needed healthy foods to the surrounding community.