A brief reflection

I came into this trip not really knowing what to expect. I’ve heard nothing but amazing this about this trip, and I was so excited to go on it. I learned so many things and life lessons from this trip. Any expectation I had was beyond surpassed. The days spent at Woodlands were long, and tiring, but very rewarding. When feeling worn out or tired, all I had to do was look around (past all the blackberry) and see all the green, and that was enough to keep me going.Our days at Woodlands were spent surveying the area. We set up transects, and took count of native and invasive species. We got to see armadillos, snakes, turtles and even an alligator! Although the mosquitos were pretty bad, bug spray was there to save the day.The days we weren’t at Woodlands, we helped out planting food gardens. Our first garden was for our friend Carol, and the second was for Capstone Community Gardens. We were able to spend time in the French Quarter being able to experience the full culture of New Orleans. We got to see the Mardi Gras Indians, parades, and local musicians. All of these experiences were so amazing. We were able to fully dive into Louisiana culture in 10 days. While sitting on the plane ride home, I tried to pick my favorite part of the trip, and I honestly couldn’t. Each day was an adventure within itself. The days were long and often dirty. We sweat, got attacked by bugs, and got pretty dirty, but it was all worth it in the end. I learned many things on this trip, and will forever be grateful for the friendships that were made. Its hard to express how much fun the past 10 days have been. I now know what it is like to miss New Orleans.

Helping Out at the Capstone Community Garden

We were fortunate to visit and help out at a community garden in Louisiana’s Lower Ninth Ward, called Capstone Community Garden. The man running the garden, David, moved to Louisiana post-Katrina to do what he can to help out the locals. The garden contains an aquaculture setup and a variety of livestock, and makes use of empty plots of land that have not had houses re-built on them yet.

Capstone Community Gardens

Capstone Community Gardens is located in the lower ninth ward, one of the neighborhoods most drastically affected by Hurricane Katrina. The organization’s mission is to tackle food insecurity in a sustainable and community oriented fashion. They achieve this by employing a variety of techniques, such a aquaculture (with goldfish and koi), gardening on multiple plots (15) throughout the lower ninth ward, raising animals (goats, chickens and ducks) for fertilizer, capturing rain water, beekeeping, and using solar energy.

At Capstone, we split into two groups. One group worked on gardening, and the other cleaned out the animal cages. The animal waste was dumped in the compost pile, which will later be used to add nutrients to the garden soil. The gardening consisted of pulling weeds, planting vegetables, and distributing mulch and bits of cardboard. David explained to us how important it is to focus on both of these aspects- the animals and the plants. The balance between them is key and is what makes Capstone so successful and productive. Since it’s opened, they have given away 16,000-18,000 lbs of food! It was wonderful to participate in such a kind and helpful endeavor.