We’re committed to projects that protect our natural environment and restore our coastline.
Scientists warn that Louisiana will not be able to build land fast enough to keep up with how quickly wetlands are erodinging. The rapid, devastating land loss is the result of a variety of factors, including saltwater intrusion, subsidence, and man-made disturbances. St. Bernard is on the front line of the battle to save our coast. And with land as our primary asset for effecting change, we prioritize coastal protection and restoration initiatives. More than just the land, though, it’s about protecting our way of life: our homes, our culture, our economy.
Our coastal and environmental initiatives range from helping prepare students for high-wage careers in blue-green industries to growing and planting grass along marshes to designing multimillion-dollar restoration projects.
“Our coasts and marshes are not just critical environmental concerns, they’re an incredibly important part of who we are culturally and economically. Lose them, and we lose so much more than the land. That’s why we’re so heavily invested in a variety of strategies, big and small, to save our coast.”
CWPPRA Projects
In collaboration with many partners, the Meraux Foundation has seen success in plans carried out under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act of 1990 (CWPPRA, pronounced “kwip-ruh”). The Act provides funding, approval, and legislative oversight for coastal restoration efforts. We are involved in the design and implementation of CWPPRA projects, including Bayou La Loutre Ridge Restoration and Marsh Creation and Reggio Marsh Creation and Hydrological Restoration. Additionally, we have successfully proposed plantings along the MRGO in Shell Beach, Bay Denesse, Lake Machias, and elsewhere as part of CWPPRA’s LA-39 Coastwide Vegetative Planting project.
Coastal Plantings
We identify erosion or degraded ecosystems and design coastal plantings that are restoring and conserving critical wetlands on the front lines of Louisiana’s imperiled coast. Our nonprofit organization is responsible for planting hundreds of linear miles of vegetation with partners like the St. Bernard Wetlands Foundation, Common Ground Relief, Crescent and Soil Water Conservation District, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service. Many of the plants we raised in our state of the art greenhouse at Docville Farm and through a partnership with Chalmette High School.
Chandeleur Sound Living Shoreline
This program is improving the environment, protecting our eroding coast, and providing young people with skills and career opportunities. Through the program, Artificial Oyster Reefs (AOR) are built by students and installed to create breakwater barriers off Comfort Island in eastern St. Bernard. The AOR are cages filled with rocks and installed in a row. Over time, they grow into living oyster reefs that serve as barriers against tides and storms, protect against coastal erosion, provide a home for marine life, and clean surrounding water.
Through the program, students from Chalmette High School dual enroll in Nunez Community College and learn to weld while building the AOR. They earn course credits, welding certifications, and even wages for their work through the Louisiana Department of Education’s Jumpstart Summer program.
The Living Shoreline program is made possible through a partnership that includes the Meraux Foundation, Louisiana Department of Education, National Wildlife Federation, Nunez Community College, Southern Service Equipment, St. Bernard Parish Coastal Division, St. Bernard Parish Public Schools, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Vanishing Paradise.
Oyster Shell Recycling
This program collects shells from local restaurants and uses it to build oyster reefs that help protect Louisiana’s eroding coastline. Launched in June 2014, this is the first program of its kind in Louisiana, and it has collected nearly 10 million pounds of oyster shells. The Meraux Foundation, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), and Two C’s Enterprises, Inc. partnered to bring oyster shell recycling to St. Bernard Parish. CRCL plans on deploying oyster shell reefs in St. Bernard Parish in 2023.
Black Mangrove Program
This program is adding healthy black mangrove stands in the Biloxi Marsh while educating local youth on the benefits of revegetation as a coastal restoration application. Since its inception, partners have potted and cultivated over 6,000 black mangroves in the Chalmette High School and Meraux Foundation greenhouses and planted some 3,000 mature plants in the marsh. The Black Mangrove program, which is part of the Parish’s Coastal Master Plan, is an integral part of the “Multiple Lines of Defense” strategy to reduce risk and protect communities from storm surge.
Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research
We provided the infrastructure for the Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research, the anchor of a comprehensive program for strengthening the Louisiana citrus industry. On Docville Farm, the center serves as a permanent demonstration of best practices for containerized citrus production. Growing citrus trees in containers and within protective screens provides pest control and allows more trees to be grown per acre. And the microclimates provide a buffer from freezing. We further established a $320,000 endowment to create four LSU professorships to support citrus and commercial horticulture research that will take place at the Center.
Cook Off for the Coast
Held at Docville Farm, the annual Cook Off for the Coast celebrates the bounty of Southeast Louisiana and raises awareness about coastal restoration. It supports funding for local restoration projects while providing educational and engagement opportunities for large-scale restoration, coastal protection, and community resilience measures. Teams compete for titles in categories like: “Crawls, flies, swims, student and best of” at this free event. The Cook Off for the Coast is a program of Restore the Mississippi River Delta, Vanishing Paradise, the Meraux Foundation, the Saint Bernard Parish Coastal Division, St. Bernard Parish Tourism, and the Southern Food & Beverage Museum.
Waters to the Sea® Mississippi River Delta Institute
MRDI is an annual professional development program focused on Louisiana’s unique ecosystem and how the Mississippi River connects us to other communities. It gathers teachers from near the river’s delta and its headwaters and instructs them on how to incorporate outdoor learning into their classrooms. Educators who excel are invited to participate in the Mississippi River Institute (MRI) at the headwaters in Minnesota. This program is produced in partnership with the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Ducks Unlimited North American Wildlife Conservation Act Grant
The Meraux Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, and St. Bernard Parish Coastal Division are partnered on a plan to build a linear group of islands behind the levee near the 40 Arpent Wetlands observatory in Chalmette. It will slow down the wave fetch and create more wetland habitat for waterfowl. This is being made possible through a NAWCA grant.
Other Environmental Programs Include:
Working on the Water, a program to help fishermen grow and pursue new businesses
Environmental impact investments and sponsorships
Wetland plantings
Urban gardening
Plant giveaways
Community meetings
Endowment for LSU AgCenter’s Livestock Show