Archive for month: March, 2016

Yesterday we went to a non-profit farm called Grow Dat.  They grow crops for the local community and involve high school students in order to educate them and occupy their time after school and on the weekends.  For this service we pulled weeds and placed a plastic covering over the newly crafted rows.  When we were done we went back to the hotel and entered data.  We left at 5 p.m. and ate some fried chicken.  From there we went to see the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra featuring Irvin Mayfield.  It was a great experience because I have never seen a jazz band so large.  The variety of sounds was breath-taking. 
Following the show we were ushered to the VIP section were we met with Irvin and the other musicians.  I talked to the only female performer.  Her name was Emily.  She had been playing the trumpet for 14 years and had been with the orchestra for 4 years.  There was also music so we all danced together and had a great time.  This night was definatly one of the highlights of the whole trip for me.

Today we went back to Woodlands Conservancy to continue our fieldwork. The purpose of us doing fieldwork at Woodlands is so we can count and measure the types of native and invasive species we see along the trail. We walk along every trail there, and every 50 meters, we walk 100 meters into the forest and measure what we see every two meters along the way.  

 
We started at 9am this morning and it is now 7:50pm. It was a long hard day of work but we are now being rewarded with homemade gumbo from Ms. Carol, one of the fine ladies we met at Capstone this past week. 

Today we visited a nonprofit organization called Grow Dat. This program creates opportunities for youth in the Louisiana area to experience real responsibilities of having a job, while also providing a useful service to the public. The following positions are available through the program:

• Grow Dat Youth-The farm aims to create a healthy and supportive work environment for high school-aged youth from New Orleans who face limited job opportunities. 
• Grow Dat Apprentice- This Grow Dat adult program is an opportunity for adults interested in advancing their knowledge and skills in sustainable urban agriculture to learn through hands-on experience, instruction and support from mentor farmers.
• Volunteer- Individuals (ages 10 and above, minors must be accompanied by guardians) are welcome to help with farm tasks such as weeding, non-native plant removal and harvesting on select days during the 2015–16 farm season. 
• Farm Share CSA-Farm Shares are a form of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a way for the community to become “member-investors” who receive a weekly portion of the farm’s harvest during the growing season. 

 

  

We picked weeds and cleaned up some of the garden beds so that the produce can be harvested and enjoyed another lovely afternoon in the gardens.   

 

This evening we attended a show- 50 Shades of Miles. A true New Orleans event.  

  
  

Yesterday we woke up to a beautiful morning sky, ate our breakfast and headed out to tour the plantation with the owner Foster.

He told us the history of the buildings and how most of them have been moved from different locations onyo the plantation. We stayed in the old plantation house (it was thrilling and delightfully spooky) it was the original building from the 1800s.

Foster fed the gators that live in his ponds and we all watched as the massive gators chomped down on a fish snack.

After the fun, we all went to a newly built pavilion and helped to coat it with an oil sealant to make the wood last longer. It started to rain so we headed out and grabed some lunch. Following lunch we went to the hotel, settled in and went to the city garden where we went to the Chinese Festival of Lights. We watched an acrobatic performance and walked around looking at the lights. The highlight of the night was everyone reading their Chinese sign (based upon birth year) and all posing by our animal.
From there we went to check out another local musical artist and ended the night with fresh beignets.