R O O T S O N T H E B O O T
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H I G H L I G H T S
CRCL'S NATIVE PLANTS PROGRAM
2022/2023 Totals
14 volunteer events
2,744 trees planted
407 volunteers engaged
20 acres of coastal forest restored
Upcoming Restoration Events
June 23 & 24 - Marsh
Grass Planting in Big Branch Marsh
Founded in 2000, CRCL’s Native Plants Program (NPP) leads our efforts to restore Louisiana’s coastal habitats by engaging volunteers and stakeholders to be a part of the solution by planting trees and grasses.
Our volunteers plant trees in coastal forests in the late fall and winter to help reduce effects of storm surge and flooding, as well as improve water quality and create habitat for fish and wildlife. Coastal forests across Louisiana’s coast offer protection from hurricanes and safeguard our communities.
The native trees that our volunteers plant will grow dense root systems that help hold the sediment in place, encourage land growth and reduce the impacts of subsidence. Restoring these swamp habitats helps to ease the burden on our levees from storm surge energy and protects the surrounding communities. The return of the area’s natural hydrology through larger restoration efforts is improving the reproduction and recruitment of the native trees we plant.
PLANTING SITES ACROSS COASTAL LOUISIANA
This year we planted trees at eight sites across seven different parishes. We plant trees in areas that were historically wetland forests or that are suitable for forestation. Large areas of these beautiful wetland forests in Louisiana have been lost due to both natural and anthropogenic forces, and many more areas are highly degraded and in danger of disappearing.
MANGROVE PROPAGULE DISTRIBUTION
OCTOBER 22, 2022
Volunteers spent a day collecting black mangrove propagules from a healthy mangrove community in Barataria Bay We brought them back to shore and soaked them overnight. After soaking them, we distributed the propagules around a mound with historic and cultural importance to the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe.
VIOLET CANAL
As part of the 2022 Restoring America's Estuaries conference, we planted 250 bald cypress trees along the Violet Canal. Conference guests had the opportunity to leave the city of New Orleans and spend some time in the Louisiana wetlands restoring the coast
POINTE-AUX-CHENES WMA
DECEMBER 4, 2022
JANUARY 13 AND 14, 2023
With the help of volunteers, we planted 500 bald cypress trees over two days This planting site was once a crawfish pond, but the Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area has long hoped to transform it into forested wetlands We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to join them in their effort!
Adams Bay, Empire, Plaquemines Parish
Violet, St Bernard Parish
Montegut, Lafourche Parish
TCHEFUNCTE RIVER
Madisonville, St Tammany Parish
We had so much fun working with William Pitcher Junior High School eighth-graders planting bald cypress trees on the banks of the Tchefuncte River Over two days we planted 150 trees to act as shoreline stabilization on the river banks in an area that often gets flooded out during storms. Go Panthers!
AVERY ISLAND
JANUARY 24 AND 25, 2023
ATCHAFALAYA RIVER BASIN
FEBRUARY 3 AND 4, 2023
We partnered with the Avery Island Company to plant 500 bald cypress trees over two days The planting site was the location of an oil spill that killed acres of forested wetlands years ago. After a multi-year cleanup process, the area was suitable for reforestation. Avery Island is a unique ecological site unlike anywhere else in Louisiana, and we are so glad we got to help restore it
MARCH 18, 2023
This planting was the final one in our CRUSH series, a five-year EPA-funded tree planting grant! A group of amazing volunteers spent the day planting 500 bald cypress trees in the Atchafalaya River Basin, one of the only places in Louisiana where land is currently being built We broke our record for trees planted in one day!
Avery Island, Iberia Parish
Atchafalaya Bay, St Mary Parish
MARCELLO CANAL
MARCH 24 AND 25, 2023
We partnered with the Jefferson Parish Ecosystem and Coastal Management Department for this tree planting project We spent two days on the Marcello Canal planting 700 bald cypress trees!
NEPTUNE PASS
Our final planting event of the year, we planted 150 bald cypress trees in Bay Denesse by Neptune pass, working with this natural sediment diversion to build land in Breton Sound. We also stuck 150 willow cuttings into the water bottom in Quarantine Bay, which will slow the flow to encourage sediment to drop out of the water column and accelerate shoaling and land building
NATIVE PLANTS NURSERY
APRIL 6, 2023
Throughout the year, we made developments and improvements to our native plant nursery whenever we could This year, we potted 3,000 black mangrove propagules and 2,000 bare-root cypress trees to be grown out until next winter. We also started 17,00 cypress seeds, which will grow for two years before being planted Additionally, we began our fruit orchard, planting five satsuma trees and three pawpaw trees!
Barataria Basin, Westwego, Jefferson Parish Quarantine Bay, Plaquemines ParishNATIVE SEED DRIVE
This year, our Native Plants Program also launched our native seeds drive, which sources tree seeds from around coastal Louisiana to be planted and grown at our Restoration Headquarters in Violet. Seeds were collected by CRCL staff and community volunteers from various locations, stretching from Lake Arthur in southwest Louisiana to the Bird's Foot Delta in Plaquemines Parish. After being grown out for two years, these trees will be planted back in the same region the seeds were sourced from. Plants grow to adjust and adapt to their specific conditions, so planting trees grown from seed in the same region where the seeds originally fell will maximize their potential for healthy growth and survivability. Stay tuned for future opportunities to collect seeds and add to our native plants nursery!
THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND SPONSORS!
