Saturday, September 24, 2011
New Orleans City Park, La
Tigers on the Trail
On Saturday September 24, nearly 60 LSU students and staff headed down to New Orleans City Park to aid in post-Katrina rebuilding. Along with City Park staff, the Tigers focused on restoring portions of the Coturie Forest—an expansive, 33-acre nature preserve tucked away in the roughly 1,300-acre Park. In the forest, participants mulched brand new trails for the Park’s avid bird-watchers, hikers, runners and other patrons.
After a short bus ride down to the site, participants got straight to work. Following a brief training on tool safety, groups of about 10 headed out to create some new trails. One participant noted how awesome it felt “to look back at the end of the day and see what [they] built.” Throughout the day, groups worked on two expansive trails at the Park that were already in use at the end of the event. “We actually saw a group of birders using our trail as we finished,” one student shared. While the work was tough, the weather was beautiful and volunteers worked together as teams. One participant commented that he was surprised by “the level of camaraderie and support [among] the volunteers” throughout the trip. Everyone worked hard and had great attitudes. The day was certainly a success.The participants also experienced the gratitude from the community first-hand as passerbys and joggers thanked them for their hard work and making it easier for them to find and utilize the trails that had previously fallen into disarray.
VLSU would like to thank everyone that made this day possible. It was a lovely morning in New Orleans and the participants accomplished a great deal. We can’t wait for our next big project. Geaux Tigers!
