Happy February! It’s a wonderful time in Louisiana as we start to emerge from our winter burrows to kick off festival season. With everything from the new Coastal Master Plan, Mardi Gras and Black History Month happening, it’s a great time for contemplation and celebration! Here at MRD we’re gearing up for lots of fun activities for the coming festival season and helping you stay on top of the latest happenings on our coast. We’re also excited to highlight some of our DEIJ partners and their work, as well as some Black owned bakeries for your King Cake and bakery needs all year round! 

To introduce myself, my name is Brett Pickett, and I’m an AmeriCorps member serving as the outreach assistant at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. I grew up in Mandeville, Louisiana and have been so excited to work on restoring our coast through engaging with our communities and supporting much needed action. Like everyone, I’m very excited for Mardi Gras and I want to share the organization Grounds Krewe to all those who want to have some sustainable throws or volunteer to help make Mardi Gras more environmentally friendly! 

Check out all the festivities below!

Black History Month

Black History Month serves as a reminder to celebrate Black culture and the countless contributions that the Black community has made to this country. It is also a reminder of the injustices, past and present, that we all need to continue to work towards dismantling on both personal and systemic levels. In honor of this month, we gathered some ways of learning about Black history and ways to take action against racism below.

• Recently, several staff members took a trip to the Whitney Plantation. The Whitney Plantation is one of a few plantations in Louisiana where visitors can learn about the institution of slavery and the day-to-day lives of those enslaved in Louisiana. It is an incredibly moving and insightful visit for anyone wanting to learn more on the topic.
• Educational workshops are available across the web, but we support the great work of these two organizations. They are a great resource to those interested in actively furthering their knowledge of allyship, anti-racism, and principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
  • People's Institute of Surviving and Beyond
  • Equity in the Center
• Lastly, here are some resources to support local, Black owned bakeries for carnival season and beyond!
  • List of Black-owned bakeries and other businesses in NOLA
  • Info for the King Cake hub that exclusively features Black owned bakeries at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum

Supporter Spotlight

To continue to celebrate Black History Month, we have been spotlighting some of our community partners who are dedicated to environmental sustainability and coastal restoration efforts within underserved communities. You can learn and see more on our Facebook page, where we will spotlight a different partner and their important work every Saturday for this February. You can catch a glimpse of the first one below! 

• Our first partner spotlight for February is Arthur Johnson who is the CEO of the Lower 9th Ward’s Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED). Arthur has been a leader in sustainable development on the local level for years in the city of New Orleans. He works closely with staff and volunteers to help advance CSED’s key initiatives on food security and sustainability for both the natural and built environment. Arthur also works as a philanthropic member of the River Network’s Climate Justice Flow Funder Circle, offering grants to assist grassroots organizations and community advocates secure funding. You can learn more about Arthur’s work at the CSED and beyond from the link above or check out our Facebook post here.
• Our Second partner spotlight this month is Dr. Angela M Chalk. Dr. Chalk is the Founder and Executive Director of Healthy Community Services, located in the 7th Ward. In her professional work she has had impact on both the national and local level including co-authoring policy that will help the National Science Foundation be more inclusive of Black, Brown, and Indigenous groups as they seek funding. Furthermore, she currently sits on CRCL’s advisory committee, and several other committees aimed at community engagement and inclusion. For her efforts, Dr. Chalk has had such accomplishments as her 2022 Eco-America Climate Ambassador award, and her 2021 Marquis’ Who’s Who in America induction. Her leadership also helped Healthy Community Services receive the US Water Alliance’s 2022 Outstanding Non-profit Organization Award. You can see more of her work at our Facebook post here or check out the link above.

Submit a Comment to the 2023 Coastal Master Plan

Friendly reminder that the CPRA is accepting public comments on the 2023 Coastal Master Plan until March 25th. This is a great chance to have your voice heard on this crucial plan for the future of our coast. To see the new Coastal Master Plan you can click here. If you would like to submit a comment, you can see the different ways to do so below.

• Voice your opinion at one of the public hearings! See more info on the next public meeting in Lake Charles on February 16th under the upcoming events header below.
• Send an email to [email protected] with ‘public comment’ in the subject line.
• Submit an online form.
• Mail comments to Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority, Master Plan Public Comments, 150 Terrace Avenue, Baton Rouge LA 70802. Letters must be mailed to arrive no later than March 25, 2023.
   

Cook-off for the Coast

Cook-off for the Coast is back! Come join us March 11th for a fun time at Docville farms featuring an art contest, a cook-off, live music and more! The event is free to attend and aimed to raise awareness about coastal restoration and celebrate Louisiana. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Chandeleur Sound Living Shoreline Program, a partnership with Chalmette High School and Nunez Community College, and Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program! The day will also feature lots of local orgs working on saving our coast and a live cooking demonstration from chef Isaac Toups! See below how you can join the art contest and the cook-off!

• Art contest deadline – March 3rd! We are calling all artists to come and participate in our Coastal Art Contest! Please join in if you are interested or share this with any artist friends or art teachers you may know. Those who enter will have a chance to win money and be featured at Cook-off for the Coast! You can see the rules for the contest and how to submit your art here!
• Come show off your cooking skills! We are looking for some new cook teams to join us and test their culinary strengths against the competition, anyone that is interested can sign up here or reach out to info@mississippiriverdelta.org with any questions.

Upcoming Events

• February 16th – The final public hearing for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan will take place in Lake Charles, LA. There will be an open house at 3:30pm and then the public comment and presentation portion will start at 5:30pm and go until 7:30pm. The meeting will be held at the Burton Coliseum Complex, 7001 Gulf Hwy
• March 17 and 18th – CRCL is having a tree planting event for their Communities Restoring Urban Swamp Habitat (CRUSH) program in Atchafalaya, LA! Come volunteer and help restore our wetlands by planting much needed cypress trees. Sign up to for both days can be found here.
• March 31st – Shell-A-Bration is just around the corner and this year will be held at the Audubon Zoo! Join CRCL for a fun night featuring live music, a silent auction, delicious food, and more as we celebrate their Oyster Shell Recycling program! Head to the link to buy tickets!