IMPACT: Since the program began, 5,500 students have planted more than 46,000 restoration plants on nearly 130 trips to Louisiana’s coastal areas. Coordinated by Associate Professor Pam Blanchard of the LSU College of Education, the program touched more than 40 schools in 18 parishes last year.
Strengthening Roots The LSU Coastal Roots Program received $11,337 from Plow & Hearth Country Store as part of the company’s “Campaign to Reforest America.” In July 2009, Plow & Hearth pledged to donate a tree for every transaction completed between October 15 and December 31 of that year. Thanks to higher than expected sales, the company donated more than 729,000 trees to be planted in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The amount LSU received is the equivalent of 226,739 seedlings. The LSU Coastal Roots program provides handson learning in environmental studies and science for grades 2-12. Students grow seedlings and grass plugs, which are transplanted to sites across Louisiana.
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