Today was awesome! We started out our morning volunteering at Grow Dat, a youth farm in New Orleans. After that we entered data and then went to see the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. I had never seen live jazz before and it was such a fun experience!
Today we visited a nonprofit organization called Grow Dat. This program creates opportunities for youth in the Louisiana area to experience real responsibilities of having a job, while also providing a useful service to the public. The following positions are available through the program:
March Schedule of Activities
A view of part of the farm
We picked weeds and cleaned up some of the garden beds so that the produce can be harvested and enjoyed another lovely afternoon in the gardens.
Basil, Lettuce, & Arugula
This evening we attended a show- 50 Shades of Miles. A true New Orleans event.
Show Program
Today we volunteered at Grow Dat which is a farm dedicated to growing organic food and helping the youth of the area by giving them jobs. Some of their food is sold to restaurants around town which is really cool. My job today was to pull weeds out of growing gardens as well as laying down and securing a black tarp over a new garden. The tarp is used to control weeds and protect from the environment. It really felt great to work hard on helping these gardens and I know my efforts really help the farm move forward with its goals.
Yesterday we woke up to a beautiful morning sky, ate our breakfast and headed out to tour the plantation with the owner Foster.
He told us the history of the buildings and how most of them have been moved from different locations onyo the plantation. We stayed in the old plantation house (it was thrilling and delightfully spooky) it was the original building from the 1800s.
Foster fed the gators that live in his ponds and we all watched as the massive gators chomped down on a fish snack.
After the fun, we all went to a newly built pavilion and helped to coat it with an oil sealant to make the wood last longer. It started to rain so we headed out and grabed some lunch. Following lunch we went to the hotel, settled in and went to the city garden where we went to the Chinese Festival of Lights. We watched an acrobatic performance and walked around looking at the lights. The highlight of the night was everyone reading their Chinese sign (based upon birth year) and all posing by our animal.
From there we went to check out another local musical artist and ended the night with fresh beignets.
We had the most amazing experience listening to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. It’s one thing to experience the music but another to be born into it, and watching this band perform was absolutely amazing and it showed
me that difference. I absolutely loved watching the orchestra play tonight.
We spent the night at Woodlands Plantation and in the morning had a tour of the grounds. We learned that the house we stayed in is the one featured in the Southern Comfort whiskey label. After a delicious breakfast, we had a tour of the grounds, learned some history, and fed some alligators.
In the evening we enjoyed the Chinese Lights festival in the New Orleans botanical gardens.
Thursday morning we woke up and had breakfast at the Woodlands Plantation and got a tour of the Plantation grounds, including an opportunity to witness the alligators getting fed.
In the evening we went to watch Kermit Ruffins perform. We also got to see a Chinese Lantern display at the New Orleans City Park.
Wednesday night we stayed at the Woodland Plantation, and it was ideal. After a day of planting a garden from scratch, coming to this place was better than any of us could imagine.
The Main House
The Porch
On Tuesday we went to a place called Capstone, located in the lower 9th ward of Louisiana. The lower 9th ward was one of the most dramatically damaged places after Katrina, and there is a very serious problem concerning food availability there because of that damage. The existence of a farm in a place like this would be special on its own, but what makes this place even more special is that all the produce grown here is grown through a process called aquaculture.
Greenhouse at Capstone
Foundation of a House in the Lower 9th Ward
