Results for category "NOLA"

Day five: Is that a thorn or a cut?

We managed to get through four transects for our vegetation surveys. The first three went fairly well and as we moved further into the trail and further into the transect we saw less densely packed black berry and that meant less thorns for us to deal with. For our fourth and final transect we ended up dealing with 30+ meters worth of blac berry bush and the only way was through it,
so naturally we solidified our machete skills. On the bright side, we found a small patch of wild strawberries(picture)!

Day 5: Field Day 2

Second day in the field was a success. Michaela, Sadie & I blew through 3 transects on Trail A and moved to Trail B where we did 6 more. (9 in total today!) We had quite a few invasive (Tallow & Chinaberry) in our Trail A transects and not as many on Trail B. Trail B was also not as difficult seeing also our first few transects were only 6 meters in length as opposed to 100m.

So for those of you reading our blog, we are probably using many terms that may seem foreign to our readers. I will attempt to explain what we are talking about. A transect is the line that that we run through the wetland for 100 meters. The tape we run through the forest is the “transect” tape.
For myself, being the data recorder, I have many duties. On my data sheet I am I’m charge of recording the transect stop, the natural & exotic overstory, the understory’s percent of ferns & blackberry, the amount of leaf & wood litter, and if there is or is not a fallen log on the quadrant.  Now to explain all of these concepts.  The transect stop is the length of the recording.  For example, if the transect stop is at 4 meters, we are recording everything in between the last stop (2M) and 4 meters.  Our quadrant for that stop is 1 M on each side of the quadrant.  The overstory is the amount of cover over the quadrant we are observing; native percent is the amount of native vegetation that covers the area and exotic is the amount of invasive species that cover the space.  The understory is self-explanatory in that we record the percent of ferns and blackberry we observe.  The leaf and wood litter is just the amount of leaves and sticks/branches that cover the floor; this section is measured in centimeters.  The final section I am in charge of is whether or not there is a fallen log, which is also self-explanatory because I literally circle yes or no. 
The last section of the data entry that I complete is along with the help of Sadie and Michaela.  The space calls for the identification of all plants in the quadrant we are focused on.  This calls for the name of the species, the height of the vegetation and the DBH (Diameter Breast height).  The DBH is determined only of the vegetation is larger than your breast height.  If so, we measured the diameter of the steam/trunk.  I hope these explanations were helpful!

Day 4: First Day in the Field !

Today was our first day in the field. We went into English Turn and starred collecting data on our transects. I was paired with Michaela & Sadie. We started on 250M trail marker and team or transect tape 100 meters to the right at a 90 degree angle from the trail.  After Michaela had hacked through all of the blackberry,  Sadie and I began make observations within our different quadrants along the transect.  Sadie did a great job with identifying the plants and I was the one recording all of the data.

Each quadrant was 1 meter wide on the left and right side of the transact tape. This process was related every 2 meters with the exception of the first two, which was from 0-1and 1-2.  We had to identify things such as the plant/tree species, the amount of overhead vegetation cover,  the amount of leaf liter/sticks on the ground and the percent of blackberry present.  We ended up getting through 2 transects. The plants we encountered the most were Box Elder, Elderberry, and our favorite,  Blackberry…. Tomorrow we will be doing the same thing. 

Day four: Our first transect!

We had our first day if field work today! It was as difficult as I had imagined getting through 100 meters of the thick brush. The unwelcoming thorns of the black berry trees were a great surprise.

French Quarters

Today we started at the New Orleans  School of Cooking. The group picked fresh food from local market and prepared an appetizer, soup, salad, entre, and dessert. My group prepared the shrimp jambalaya entre with rice, peppers and vegetables. Everything came out delicious and was an amazing experience.
The rest of the day was left to explore the French Quarters. The light drizzle kept it interesting as visited this historic area of town. The music, food and culter are quite different than any other cities.

Day 3

Today was a full day of fun in the French Quarter.  We attended the New Orleans School of Cooking that was led by our host Michael. We formed teams & he walked us to the farmers market. There we  had a $20 budget to but whatever we wanted to make our assigned course. Patrick & Sadie were my partners and we were in charge of the entré so we decided to make a version of gumbo (the best we could seeing as we wanted to accommodate our vegetarian friends!) So we bought shrimp, onions, tomatoes, carrots, & mushrooms. Back at the school we peeled all the shrimp and de-veined them with Kiki.

When everyone was done with their assigned course, we all gathered to eat together and as we ate each couse, the group who prepared it explained how they did it. The food was delicious!!!! Michael said he had never tasted a better red gumbo so that was exciting.
After the cooking experience we were let loose in the quarter to explore for the rest of the day. We stopped a lot to watch street performers (one of my favorite things to see!) We also went into the cathedral which was amazing. It was so intricate and detailed in the arcitecture. It was a result of the French influence in NOLA.
It started to rain pretty heavily so we stepped inside a coffee shop and played cards. When it settled down we made our way to Burbon Street to meet some others for food but got swept away when we saw Patrick, Jay & Michaela dancing away with the 2 line band barreling down the street. We joined in & it was one of the most fun moments I have EVER had.  There were so many people having a good time and the energy was amazing. Definitely a moment I will always remember (oh, and it was raining, how much better can it get?)
Once we were all together as a big group we went to D.B.A. where we saw John Boutte play/sing. It was a fun time! Overall an amazing day(:

Day 2

Today we all left the hotel and headed to the New Orleans Historical Collection and walked through the history of the city.

There were old maps and paintings as well as other artifacts. Pictured below was one of my favorite pieces. It is an illustrated newspaper that dip it’s sicknesses in the city.

After we went to a Vietnamese place called 9 Roses and I tried spring roles which were super good! Leaving we all walked through the rain and went on our way to our levee tour led by a professor from Tulane University. It was very informational and put the failure of the levees in perspective because we were able to see the neighborhoods effected.
Aside from the amazing history and science we learned, one of the highlights of the day was the flat tire on the Escalade. The second highlight was eating BBQ and watching Paul Sanchez perform all Chicke Wah Wahs.

Day three

We learned how to cook calas, which is a desert that was sold by slaves in an attempt to buy their freedom back. We definitely had a great meal today.

This is Jambalaya, and it was an amazing meal that we had throughout a five course meal.

Day two: Levee Tour

We had a great tour of the levee system and the construction failures that led to the flooding. We also got a flat tire on our way to the last levee sight, which gave us all an opportunity to learn how to change a flat tire.

Dr. Sean Anderson taking pictures on the levee wall that runs along the canal that connects the Mississippi River with Lake Ponchartrain