May-September 2021
Meet the Team! Darrah Bach Sofia KGiordano ellyn LaCour-Conant Restoration Programs Director kellyn.lacour-conant@crcl.org OSRP Coordinator darrah bach@crcl org Oyster Shell Recycling Technician sofia.giordano@crcl.org Community Engagement Specialist hannah.cohen@crcl.org Hannah Cohen Contact Hannah to schedule a volunteer event for your staff. Hendrik Vanderwall Recycling Contractor 504-472-2080 Contact Hendrik, our recycling contractor, for any last minute changes to your typical pickup schedule. Contact Kellyn with any invoicing, development or programmatic inquiries. Contact Darrah for pickup, bin delivery and special event logistics. Contact Sofia for Quarterly Report questions and to schedule shift meetings. All other general inquiries or restaurant referrals can be sent to oysters@crcl.org. Our team continuously monitors this account and will connect with you!
Plaquemines Community Reef Deployment- July 2021
Throughout the month of July, our team and more than 120 volunteers spent their weekends in Plaquemines Parish deploying our Plaquemines Parish Community Reef. This reef site will be protecting the Lemon Tree Mound a sacred site stewarded by the Atakapa Ishak/Chawasha of Grand Bayou Indian Village. This mound has been part of this Indigenous community for generations, and we hope our oyster reef will keep it protected from erosion for future generations. Big thanks to our volunteers who were happy to get down and dirty, the members of Atakapa Ishak/Chawasha of Grand Bayou Indian Village who oversaw the project and provided boat captains, our sponsors for making this project possible, and of course our partner restaurants for providing the shells!
Rosina Philippe, Atakapa Ishak/Chawasha Tribal Elder and Historian, leads volunteers in loading oyster boats during the Plaquemines Reef deployment in July
On July 27, our team headed to Pointe-au-Chien to conduct annual monitoring of our first volunteer-constructed reef. We noticed lots of oyster recruitment on the shell and other critters living happily on the reef. Happy 2nd Birthday, Pointe-au-Chien Reef! From left to right, Kellyn, Sofia and Darrah collecting data on oysters from the reef. Kellyn, rear, and Sofia after adding additional oyster bags to the reef.
Shell Collection
Since May of 2021, we have collected over 161,000 pounds of oyster shells! Note that recycling was paused for most of September due to Hurricane Ida. We are hoping to get back to pre COVID levels soon, and we are continuously adding new restaurants and more bins to existing restaurant partners!
Chef's Brigade Update
Through our partnership with Chef's Brigade, we have been able to add more restaurants to our program with even more to come! On September 24, Troy Gilbert and David Schmit of Chef's Brigade had the opportunity to visit our newest reef in Plaquemines Parish.
Front row, from left, Kellyn LaCour Conant and Gardner Goodall, our Native Plant Program Coordinator Back row, from left, David Schmit, boat captain Richie Blink and Troy Gilbert.
Post-Ida Reef Visits
After the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, our team conducted reef visits to see how our projects, the surrounding area and our community partners withstood the storm. We visited our 2-year-old Pointe-au-Chien Community Reef and our newly constructed Plaquemines Parish Community Reef. Both maintained their structure, and a Pointe-au-Chien Tribe member told us he believes their large oak tree would not be standing if not for the reef.
Pointe-au-Chien Community Reef
Plaquemine's Parish Community Reef
Darrah, left, and Kimberly Ortiz, our Monitoring & Remote Sensing Technician.
Kellyn walking down the reef
Reef site post Ida. Reef site post Ida
We will soon be
Pre-Shift Meetings
Restarting!
meetings
as to receive
to
educate
feedback to improve
resuming pre-shift
with our restaurant partners. Prior
the COVID-19 pandemic, our team regularly visited OSRP restaurants to
staff on our program and procedures, as well
any
our partnership. If you are interested, please email sofia.giordano@crcl.org to schedule your pre-shift meeting.
Volunteers working hard and having fun during an oyster bagging event.
Oyster Bagging Events
We are resuming our infamous oyster bagging events! We will be hosting several volunteer events in the coming months that restaurant partners are welcome to attend, or feel free to email hannah.cohen@crcl.org to set up a private bagging day for your staff. Oyster bagging events will take place at our new shell collection site in Violet, LA.
Need more bins or to adjust your pickup schedule? If so, shoot an email to darrah.bach@crcl.org If your restaurant has a change in staff and pickup/ invoicing contact needs to be changed, please keep us updated at oysters@crcl.org
Thank you for helping us restore the coast!
Please
let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Support
for the Oyster Shell Recycling Program provided by:
