Posts

3/20

/in /by

Today was a great day we learned new methods and plant identification. The methods today included setting up 100 meter band transects. These consisted of Bush whacking through the brush laying out the 100 meter tape and using a 2 meter pvc pipe to delineate a 2 meter by 2 meter square band and identifying all species in the square. The first 2 bands are done as 1 by 2 meter band 1 meter down the tape by 2 meters wide. The transects numbers were written as the higher of the point (if it were point 0-1 it would be recorded as 1).

Than we looked at multiple aspects such as leaf and wood litter. Percent blackberry, ferns, native vegetation canopy and exotic vegetation canopy. We also recorded gps waypoints off of a Bad Elf gps attached to an iPod at 0, 50, and 100. We also took pictures showing the vegetation at these locations looking towards the 100 mark and out past in to vegetation. We also took plant samples for plant identification.

  

    
 Patrick and I using spicy food to keep the bugs away!

Day 4: First Day in the Field !

/in /by

image

Today was our first day in the field. We went into English Turn and starred collecting data on our transects. I was paired with Michaela & Sadie. We started on 250M trail marker and team or transect tape 100 meters to the right at a 90 degree angle from the trail.  After Michaela had hacked through all of the blackberry,  Sadie and I began make observations within our different quadrants along the transect.  Sadie did a great job with identifying the plants and I was the one recording all of the data.

image

Each quadrant was 1 meter wide on the left and right side of the transact tape. This process was related every 2 meters with the exception of the first two, which was from 0-1and 1-2.  We had to identify things such as the plant/tree species, the amount of overhead vegetation cover,  the amount of leaf liter/sticks on the ground and the percent of blackberry present.  We ended up getting through 2 transects. The plants we encountered the most were Box Elder, Elderberry, and our favorite,  Blackberry…. Tomorrow we will be doing the same thing. 

Day four: Our first transect!

/in /by

We had our first day if field work today! It was as difficult as I had imagined getting through 100 meters of the thick brush. The unwelcoming thorns of the black berry trees were a great surprise.

We started transact work today

/in /by

So we started working on transects today, identifying plants and looking at different aspects of the vegetation. Blackberry, which is very invasive, was very abundant and made the data collection very difficult. It was covered in tiny thorns that constantly got caught on my clothes and hair so we had to use a machete to clear them. Nevertheless I got a sense of what vegetation resides in the landscape and a lot of it was invasive plants.  

 

New Orleans Cooking School

/in /by

Yesterday the class started out at the New Orleans Cooking School where groups were assigned a different course of the meal. My team was in charge of salads, so we made Creole Salad. Here we are with the finished product!

  

French Quarters

/in /by

Today we started at the New Orleans  School of Cooking. The group picked fresh food from local market and prepared an appetizer, soup, salad, entre, and dessert. My group prepared the shrimp jambalaya entre with rice, peppers and vegetables. Everything came out delicious and was an amazing experience.
The rest of the day was left to explore the French Quarters. The light drizzle kept it interesting as visited this historic area of town. The music, food and culter are quite different than any other cities.

image

Cooking up a storm

/in /by

New Orleans cooking school was a blast! The French Quarter is a unique mix of sounds, smells, and colors. And the rain doesn’t slow any of it down! It was great to soak up some new cultures today.  

   

3/19

/in /by

Today we spent time cooking at the New Orleans School of Cooking learning to cook the Creole and Cajun style of food. Than we explored the French quarter and enjoy music and food. 

 

Vegetables

/in /by

Today we took a cooking class and for the first time since we got here we had a meal with delicious fresh vegetables from the local farmers market here in New Orleans. As Jay said earlier today, ” [we] didn’t think New Orleans believed in vegetables” given that we have been having a lot of foods with food really  high carbs, tons of brisket, pork, Mac n cheese, and coleslaw. Highlight of the day  was trying an amazing avocado Popsicle and exploring more of the city.      *Avocado Popsicle :)


Tomorrow will be our first day out in the field where we begin our wetland restoration work and really start getting intimate with the swamps and the unique ecosystem New Orleans has. Should be fun and exhausting. 

Day 3

/in /by

Today was a full day of fun in the French Quarter.  We attended the New Orleans School of Cooking that was led by our host Michael. We formed teams & he walked us to the farmers market. There we  had a $20 budget to but whatever we wanted to make our assigned course. Patrick & Sadie were my partners and we were in charge of the entré so we decided to make a version of gumbo (the best we could seeing as we wanted to accommodate our vegetarian friends!) So we bought shrimp, onions, tomatoes, carrots, & mushrooms. Back at the school we peeled all the shrimp and de-veined them with Kiki.

image

When everyone was done with their assigned course, we all gathered to eat together and as we ate each couse, the group who prepared it explained how they did it. The food was delicious!!!! Michael said he had never tasted a better red gumbo so that was exciting.
After the cooking experience we were let loose in the quarter to explore for the rest of the day. We stopped a lot to watch street performers (one of my favorite things to see!) We also went into the cathedral which was amazing. It was so intricate and detailed in the arcitecture. It was a result of the French influence in NOLA.
It started to rain pretty heavily so we stepped inside a coffee shop and played cards. When it settled down we made our way to Burbon Street to meet some others for food but got swept away when we saw Patrick, Jay & Michaela dancing away with the 2 line band barreling down the street. We joined in & it was one of the most fun moments I have EVER had.  There were so many people having a good time and the energy was amazing. Definitely a moment I will always remember (oh, and it was raining, how much better can it get?)
Once we were all together as a big group we went to D.B.A. where we saw John Boutte play/sing. It was a fun time! Overall an amazing day(: