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Nature Explore
Rain Forest Rescue
Connecting children with nature is the goal of Nature Explore. The initiative is a collaboration between the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, and is comprised of outdoor classroom design services, workshops and conferences, and family resources. There are more than 200 Certified Nature Explore Classrooms across the nation, according to the Arbor Day Foundation.
More far-reaching than its other programs, Rain Forest Rescue is an effort helped by donors to preserve precious rainforests. One recent focus of the Arbor Day Foundation has been centered on Central America’s Maya Forest, which includes 13.3 million acres of tropical forest home to jaguars, macaws, eagles and monkeys, according to arborday.org. The foundation has worked closely with the locals in this area to implement
sustainable forestry and managedlogging approaches to help residents earn income while living in harmony with the forest.
Community Tree Recovery When natural disasters strike, the Arbor Day Foundation provides tree relief to help restore air and
SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2014 water quality, as well as beauty and shading that can be compromised by tornadoes and hurricanes. You can get involved in this vital program by donating to its Community Tree Recovery Fund, which allows the foundation to provide trees for distribution in communities when its partners in forestry are ready for that stage of disaster recovery.
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Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day BY MONIQUE ROTH L’OBSERVATEUR
LAPLACE – The 16th annual Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day was held recently in the River Parishes. The event offered sites in LaPlace and Luling for residents to bring household hazardous materials for proper disposal and/or recycling. Oil-based and latex paints, solvents, tires, batteries, household cleaning products, used oil, antifreeze, aerosol cans, used computers and electronics were among the materials accepted at the event. With approval from Louisiana Department
of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, this annual event is financially sponsored and staffed by volunteers of the following River Parishes companies as a community service: Air Products, ArcelorMittal, Cornerstone Chemical Company, Dow, DuPont, Entergy, Evonik Industries, Galata Chemicals, Marathon Petroleum Company, Momentive, Monsanto, Mosaic, Nalco, Noranda, Norco Manufacturing Complex, Nucor, Oxy-Chem, Plains Marketing, Praxair, Shell Pipeline LP and Valero.
Hazardous materials are unloaded from a pickup truck at the LaPlace dropoff site for the 16th annual Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day. (Staff photo by Monique Roth)