Meditation on Ecological Restoration by Lana, Diana, Emily and Carly

The SEE Team New Orleans trip has been an interesting, fun and educational experience. When we went on the Katrina tour, we saw things we will never forget; houses were blown fifty yards away from there original spots, there were empty lots where houses used to be and people were left with nothing but the sidewalk for their homes. None of us had any idea how much devastation was left three years after Katrina. We were glad that we were able to help, though. The second day here, we cleaned up the beach which resulted in everybody running into the Gulf of Mexico in all of their clothes. We went to stay in a dorm close to the next day's work site, so that we could get started ASAP. 

On day three, we woke up to Mr. Holt parading/stomping up and down the hallway beating a strainer with a spoon and singing at the top of his lungs. That started our hard day of work. After breakfast, we took a bus/boat ride to Fifi Island to plant native species in mud and water. Some of the mud was so floppy that some of us sank in up to our waists. After we were all done and had time to look around, we were quite proud of ourselves.

You may be wondering how this workday affects the people of New Orleans. When a hurricane approaches land, it creates huge walls of water that keep building until it hits something (i.e. land, building, etc.). However, when there are plants in the water, the waves decrease in size and strength, and there is less devastation on land. We have been doing some helpful work these last couple days, and we can't wait until tomorrow!