What it means to miss New Orleans

Posted from Camarillo, California, United States.

We have been back from New Orleans for about two weeks now, and life has somehow returned to normal routines and busy schedules. However, taking the time to reflect on my experience in New Orleans reminds me how much I have grown from this trip. It’s one thing to learn about a place via photos and lectures, but to really learn about a place you have to go there, talk to the people, and experience the culture, history, politics, and landscape. New Orleans is really such a unique place, everything about it is different than what I am used to. Seeing the powerful Mississippi River, salt water eroded marshes, swamps, and Cypress trees made me appreciate a new kind of ecosystem. Seeing coastal erosion and extreme wetland loss was very eye opening to me.
Spending time in the Woodland Conservancy reemphasized the importance of conservation. All of these realizations made me happy to be an environmental science major, and I am excited to take what I have learned in this program and apply it to helping important areas like New Orleans.

Building food gardens was also a very eye opening experience for me. Sometimes you take advantage of having easy access to food, but not everyone has that luxury. It was rewarding to be able to help build these gardens and take part in giving a community access to food that we normally take for granted.

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in New Orleans. Dr. Anderson really did an amazing job at teaching us about every aspect of New Orleans that you can think of. The most important thing I learned from this trip is to never stop asking why. I learned it is crucial to always stay engaged with what is happening in the world, and even though it may seem impossible, everyone can make a difference.