I've added some photos that I wasn't able to while on the trip. These are the different groups who worked together. These were taken on Sunday, at the first area that they planted the Cypress trees in. - Dick Bennett

Final Thoughts

We made it back to Livonia High a little before 3 pm, nearly 30 hours after we left New Orleans. We had good, experienced drivers who got us home safely. Aside from some ice in Tennessee, the snow in Kentucky, and a lack of heat inn Bus #1, we arrived safe and sound. What a great surprise to be escorted by the Livonia Fire Department and welcomed by the many parents.

The ride down was memorable. We arrived early Sunday morning, but we were awake by 6:30 and left for St. Bernard County to begin planting cypress seedlings. We all were tired, so we ended the day early and went back to the cabins. Monday we divided into two groups; one going to the Lower 9th Ward to assist Robert Green with some work on his new house, the other continuing to plant seedlings and meet students from a local school. Tuesday the teams reversed their roles and we all took a break in the afternoon with a trip to the zoo and a walk in a small portion of the French Quarter after dinner. Wednesday we took the day off to make a visit to the USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, then to Fort Gaines that was attacked and taken over during the Civil War and then for some, a swim in the Gulf, and a dinner at a buffet in the area. Half a day of work on Thursday, then a busy afternoon at the Imax theater, the Aquarium, Insectarium or shopping in the French Quarter and a great dinner and dancing on the paddle wheel Natchez. We met many different people and learned of the courage and determination of the people of New Orleans.

Throughout the week the students assisted with the cooking and the cleaning at the cabins as well as the volunteering for the residents of New Orleans and surrounding area. Throughout there were few complaints and no major problems.

The staff of National Relief Network, Brent, Taylor, Kelsey and CEO Scott Harding were always supportive and went out of their way to make the week a fun, learning experience, all the while making sure the focus was on why we were there.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, even with the complications of the travel. The experience was educational, rewarding and very enjoyable. the students were hard working, generous and friendly. It was a pleasure to work with them this past week. - Dick Bennett

Hi Everyone,
This is Karen Bennett. Just an update that we are currently about 140 miles south of Louisville. The weather is snowy, not icy. We stopped for dinner and it is now 9:45 Eastern time and we are just about ready to pull out. We are monitoring the weather and will pull off if we feel it is dangerous. Right now, visibility is fine, and is snowing at a rate of about an inch per hour. We left at 8:00 a.m. to try and beat the ice, so we were able to do that, but the snow is another issue. Please know that we will keep our students safe before worrying about getting in on time.

Thanks,
Karen

The Final Day

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Thursday dawned with the first clouds we've see all week, though the sun was in and out all day. A standard breakfast and on the road again to the Mississippi levee where we did some final Cypress plantings and short met up with other students from Chalmette High School. Then it was off to the city to see the Imax presentation; "Hurricane on the Bayou" that gave us a further understanding of the importance of the Cypress trees in the ecosystem to assist in slowing down the storm surge of a violent hurricane. A visit to the Aquarium and a visit to the Insectarium or a walk through the French Quarter led us to the dinner cruise on the Nachez paddle wheel boat. I couple of doors eating dinner and then dancing to the sounds of the Dukes of Dixieland were a wonderful end to the week.

Given the news of an impending storm in our path back home led the decision to cancel all planned activities for Friday and leave as soon as possible in the morning. We left our home for the week just before 8 am.

As of 5:00 est Friday we are in northern Alabama. - Dick Bennett

Trip summary

This senior trip experience was very different from what I had expected. I personally had somewhat low expectations due to the work aspect of the trip, though the whole experience proved to be much different. The work was actually enjoyable at times, and allowed me to interact with students who I was barely on a first name basis with. Also, working with students from local high schools was rare opportunity. This cultural aspect of it I felt could have had more time dedicated to it, as walking the french quarter shopping was one of the more enjoyable parts, though seemed to go by much too quickly. Regardless, the trip was a very unique and enjoyable experience which I know will last a lifetime. On top of this, I was fortunately able to make some new friendships over the course of this trip.

-Kyle Otto

In the beginning iI was dreading this senior trip to be honest. No one I talked to was going nothing planned sounded fun, and the thought or working on my senior trip just seemed like a joke to me. Now after being here for this week and doing all I i did I can say my early thoughts were very wrong. Throughout the week people that have never talked in school or any other place are now talking. People I honestly thought would be stuck up and mean are opening up and come to find out they are very nice. The work we did will impact a lot of people I know this for a fact, I helped mow and weed-whack this little old ladies lawn and just the joy in her smile could of brought a smile to anyones face. While the work we did was rewarding i think the best part of it was just being around one and other. Lets face it, if this trip never happened most of us would pass each other in the hall like no one was there at all. I know the point of this trip was to put us around people we are not normally with. At first this sounded just ridiculous to me but now I see it actually worked. People are talking with people they never talked with or even thought about talking to before and too see how being around each other for only one week can make us open up and be comfortable around people we once thought we would never talk to is great. Personally I had a great trip although certain times were very aggravating all in all the trip was rewarding for me. I will always have these memories and I hope the friendships i made here will actually carry on to when we had back to school. You can say oh it was dumb work sucked blah blah blah but in the long run. it was rewarding and me probably being one of the people most against going on this senior trip in the beginning can say i will most likely be one of the happiest i went along.i know i didn't say al I had to say but generally I know everyone is glad they came and are happy they got the chance to talk to people they never talked to before. Its funny we have been together in school for years but some people dont know others even exists. After this trip i know that will be different and I'm happy for that I will never forget sitting on the back of the boat going down the river looking at the city it was the most relaxing time ever. Thank you to everyone that made this possible.

Sincerely

Cody Stidfole

Homeward Bound!

So amazing can't even begin to describe this experience here. Everything from the places we went to the people we met, it's all something I believe none of the Livonia senior class will ever forget. Most people think that coming down here and volunteering was a waste of our time and money, but to me it was all worth it. I met kids from a local high school today on our last day of planting cypress trees to help restore the wetlands. The girls I talked to were so welcoming and it's refreshing to know that you can be a complete stranger to these people, but they welcome you with arms wide open and don't seem to judge you. We also met a man named Robert Green while down in the lower ninth ward helping with houses. Out of all the people I've met, Robert probably touched me the most. The things he told me about the hurricane and the levee breaking were mind blowing, my jaw dropped to know how courageous these people were, and how strong they all were to survive through that at keep up hope. What got me the most about this trip was the people being so thankful for the little things we've done. I will always remember this past Tuesday the 26th when Robert was leaving the bus and told us that everyone around appreciates what we have done, and in his eyes we have made a bigger impact than Brad Pit and donating his money to the make it right foundation that helps builds houses for Katrina victims. It just gets to me when something so small could mean so much to so many people. It really touches me to know that even though these people may not remember our names, they'll remember what we did. I know for a fact I'll remember this trip for the rest of my life, as well as all the people I've come across down here. It truly was an amazing experience. :)

Samantha McCollister

The Last Day

Hello Everyone:)

We just arrived back to the camp from the beautiful Natchez boat cruise. I enjoyed an amazing buffet filled with catfish, pork, noodles, potatoes and salad. After dinner I went outside on the decks of the boat and took in the amazing skyline of the city and the beautiful weather. In the beginning of the trip it started out rocky for everyone. For me I was easily stressed out from being stuck on a bus for 36 hours and getting around 2 hours of sleep before our first full day of work. But once the trip got rolling things started panning out. Everyday was an eye opening experience for me. I have never really gone away from my family for this far for this long, so it makes me realize how fortunate I am because some people down here don't even have family anymore. Today we saw a documentary called "Hurricanes on the Bayou." It was so touching I teared up during it. Its crazy to think that we all planted over 5,000 cypress trees and how it is going to save the wetlands. Everyday when we drive by people I catch someone starring and taking notice of what we are doing. Sometimes we get waves and huge smiles from people! Makes me smile and that touches me as well. Some people may think we are crazy for spending $750 for this trip. But in the end after looking at every single event we have done, every laugh, and every joke that was made makes it well worth the money. I couldn't of asked for a better group to go on this journey with. This trip will forever stay with me along with the memories. I can not wait to get home and make a difference for my town and start planning my trip for later in the years to see the progression of the lower ninth ward and all of our cypress trees:) Well now I have to finish packing, get a shower and get rested up for the long bus ride home! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Samantha McNinch

Senior Fun

Melissa Emerson: Last night it was my group's turn to make dinner. Mr Wayne, the man who is in charge of where we were planting trees and works at LSU in the Forestry division, made jambalaya for us. We also had salad, goulash, fresh baked French bread and fresh juice. All this was after a long day. To start the our day I went to work in a field next to a levee that was 9 miles long to plant more Cypress trees.We were all dirty and all Seniors found out there was NO SHOWERS to go to before we went to the zoo. I had a blast working with my group !! Here is one thing you have to remember, you can only be a senior once! I am so glad I came.!!

New Orleans, Battle ship, Fort Gaines,Beach, Trees, and More Friends!

On Wednesday, we had a cultural day, we went to see the USS Alabama and got to walk around and explore, the boat was humongous! It was really cool to see all the weapons that the navy used during the wars. We then went to Fort Gaines, that was really cool too, only we heard confederate stories from the southern point of the war that I'm sure Mr. Genthner would have laughed at it. They had a 10 person latrine, i thought that was funny, i would not have enjoyed that too much.. After that we spent the day at the beach... it was kinda chilly but the water wasn't too cold so some of us crazy people ran in. We also played football, had kite wars, dug holes, and built sand castles, not to mention the obvious that us girls were working on our tan =). Today were planting more trees, we have already planted over 5,000. I think it will be cool because we get to work with another high school and have a chance to get their stories, i think thats the coolest part about the trip. I love hearing other people's stories and asking them about the how Katrina affected them. They are so grateful for what we are doing, and it was really surprising how much work is left. The biggest thing for them is that they really want to know that the rest of the United States still cares about them. I'm really glad that we were able to come down here i feel like these experiences will effect me for the rest of my life. The stories you hear from people are truly amazing, and every person has found a way to impact my life. Not to mention the impact this has had on the rest of the class as we are going out of our usual cliques to hangout with people we normally wouldn't. We are making friends with people we should have been friends with many years ago. ~Courtney S.~

How big did you say that hurricane was?

Katrina was immense. I know that from the news reports and pictures I’ve seen. However, the reality of the storm is being driven home each day we are here. Today, Wednesday was a day of cultural activities. We drove nearly 150 miles east to Mobile, Alabama this morning. New Orleans bore the brunt of the storm, with the eye moving ashore just south of the city. However, Mobile also sustained significant damage. The USS Alabama, for example, weighs 70 million pounds. After Katrina hit, the battleship was found listing 60⁰, having been pushed by the force of the storm surge through Mobile Bay. Imagine the force of the storm 150 miles from its center.

The next stop was the former Confederate Fort at the one side of the mouth of Mobile Bay that was successfully attacked by Union forces early in the war. It was at this battle that Admiral James Farragaut is said to have exclaimed: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Torpedoes, at the time, was the name given to what we call mines today.

We ended the day in a relaxing manner at a beach not far from the bay. The temperature was in the lower 60s, and the water was cool, but some of the students braved the conditions and tried the water. Others played Frisbee, tossed the lacrosse ball, built sand castles, flew kites or took a walk.

The time is flying by. I’ve certainly learned a great deal from this experience. – Dick Bennett

An eye-opening trip

This trip has been a really gratifying experience for me and well worth the time, money, and preparation. While the work may have been tedious it felt great to know I was part of the effort to get this great city back on its feet. The presentations from Robert Green and Marshall Pierre were extremely enlightening and I learned a lot about specific details of the storm that I never got from watching the news on television - all I wanted to do afterwards was shake their hands because they had some truly inspirational stories to tell. All of the nuisances and complaints that everyone had seemed to go away when these fine men told their stories and we realized that there are much bigger problems in the world.

The beach today was perfectly timed because we were all getting a little tired of planting the cypress trees and needed a little R&R. Walking along the water today it finally hit me that I was on vacation and that I never want to go back to our frigid Livonia winters. All my worries seemed to have been left thousands of miles behind when I'm walking under the bright Louisiana sun.

I really think that this trip is doing great things for our senior class because kids are really starting to branch out of their social circles, if only for a little while. People are really opening up and being themselves and everyone's getting more comfortable with each other - and it's really creating a little bit of family atmosphere within our class which I'm very excited about.

Well it's getting pretty late and we have another packed day ahead of us for tomorrow. It will be tough coming home (especially over 20+ hours) but I guess all good things come to and end at some point. Until next time...

-Matt Kelly

The People I Met

Yesterday I had the chance to work with a girl from New Orleans. She was here when Katrina hit and what her and her family went through was crazy. She told me that after they were evacuated she wasn't able to see her house again for eight months. When she finally saw her house it was covered with mold and just about all of her belongings were ruined.

Yesterday we were given a tour by a man named Robert Green, a survivor of Katrina. He witnessed his mother and three year old granddaughter lost their lives during the storm. He showed us where the levee broke (which was broken open by a barge) and where his house was actually picked up and swept about 200 yards down the street from where it was originally built. He thanked us for coming down to help out and told us that we are not only helping re-build but we give them all hope and make them feel that other people throughout the country actually care about them.

Mike D

Kate Klube baby!

Wow... this has been such an eye opening experience for me. Along with the fun we have had, making new friends and seeing the sights and the NEVER ending bus rides, I have seen how much work is still needed to be done. Planting trees doesn't seem like a lot, but when we went to the zoo I was stopped by someone to say thank you! It's good to know how trees really can build so much hope here.

I have been struggling with coming home. I have had the fights with Mr. Sheldon about me staying here, doing more work and being Super Woman... but sadly, I lost. I'm not ready to leave here on Friday knowing I can still be here to make a difference to some more people. I think that this trip has taught everyone so many things that it would be impossible to put on paper. I hope to return someday soon to do more work and get Nawlans back to it's original state.

Days 3 and 4 (Monday and Tuesday) were workdays in which the two buses switched jobs. On alternate days, they worked in the Lower 9^th Ward or out on a levee on the Mississippi in St. Bernard’s Parish planting more Cypress trees to act as a block on future storm surges.

Robert Green lost his three year old grand-daughter and mother within 12 hours while trying to stay alive as their house was swept from its foundation following a breach of the levee about 200 yards from Robert’s house. As you can see from the pictures, he has since built a new home with the help of the “Make it Right Foundation” and National Relief Network. Livonia students sanded the exposed wood on the bottom ‘lattice’ work and then brushed a clear coat on it for protection from the elements. They also sanded and painted metal railings.

Working all day Monday and half a day on Tuesday, Livonia students planted more than 5,000 cypress seedlings near a levee along a wetland that borders the Mississippi River. This is an important job and could only be accomplished at this time of the year. In the warmer weather the alligators would be active and we would not be able to work safely in the area. We worked along with students from Chalmette school who are from the area. On Tuesday there were also a small group of students (coincidentally on their senior trip) from northern California. Also on site both days were three men from the local correctional facility. These three men worked ahead of the students clearing brush and debris to make it easier for the plantings.

Tuesday afternoon we took a break from work to visit the local zoo. For dinner, one of Scott Harding’s contacts here in New Orleans (Wayne Burgess, who also helped supervise the planting and drive the tractor) cooked an authentic jambalaya dinner for the group.

After dinner Sgt. Marshall Pierre told of his experience. Sgt. Pierre was head of security at one of the local hospitals and took home movies of his experiences. The hospital survived the wind and the rain, but all 800 at the hospital became stranded when the city became flooded after levees broke. Hospital doctors and nurses cared for their patients for five days without power or running water for five days.

My Experience

Our whole group just got done watching videos composed by Sgt. Marshall Pierre. It was a touching first hand account of what he went through when Hurricane Katrina came through New Orleans. He worked at Charity Hospital, which was left without power and water. He had live footage of the water levels in relation to the hospital, displaced people coming in and out of the building while trying to reach higher ground, and the whole hospital atmosphere that was going on. Temperatures reached 100 degrees at midnight, the hospital was still really dark inside even though it was during the day, and water levels were so high that people started moving up to the second and third floors. Help arrived on the third day, but stopped after shootings occurred. The hospital banded together to survive through five days of heat, smell, rations of food and water, no electricity, and rising tensions. They all came together to raise morale and save as many lives as they could. By the fifth day, help finally came for good and everyone was evacuated. Marshall Pierre was rewarded for his bravery, courage, and strength of will to stay and help the patients and coworkers when all help and hope seemed lost.

Our new BFFs

Today started out like all of our other days here in NOLA, but we soon found out we would be making deeper connections and memories to last a lifetime. As we pulled up to our worksite, we saw a group of uniformed kids sitting on a bus. We waved like fools, thinking we wouldn't actually be conversing with them. We walked over to our worksite in anticipation of the school we were meeting, and that's when we realized they were the other kids we were working with. Scott corralled us together when he pulled Kate Halstead over to the "other group," loudly introducing her to our new workmates, students from Chalmette High School in St. Bernard's Parish. We were awkwardly segregated while planting when Mrs. Bennett strolled over. She asked if there were any outgoing students from Livonia who were willing to venture a couple hundred yards to plant with Chalmette students. We paired off in twos and Hannah and Justyn worked with a group of high school senior boys. Chelsea and Kelly ventured over towards two other planters, and, as they put, "planting virgins."

From Hannah's point of view...

Justyn's courageous and outgoing personality made it easy to start up a conversation with the boys. He looked for things that we all had in common. We started talking about music, sports, and even classes. The boys warmed up to us and told us about their summer jobs and their hobbies, which surprisingly turned out to be very similar to our own jobs and hobbies. They asked us about snow, and they remarked that they have only seen snow every several years while we see it almost every day. We moved from talking about our lives to talking more about Katrina, and how the storm affected them. Two of the boys that we worked with lost everything, and their houses were swept away. The other boys we worked with had lost all of their possessions when their houses were flooded. It was so comforting to see that, despite everything that happened to these kids, they were able to laugh and joke with us, and share their experiences with us.

From Kelly's and Chelsea's point of view...

It started off rather quiet. Will and Brandon introduced themselves, but didn't say much else. As Will started complaining, we realized their lack of planting experience (and in our opinion... muscle). Now that we had some common ground, we jumped in to save the trees. Joining together made things less awkward, and soon we were asking multiple questions. While we tied and they planted, Kelly asked the first dreaded question. Afraid to bring up vicious memories, she asked Brandon if he was home when Katrina hit. He told us that he was home, and up in his attic with his family. They were there for one night and got picked up in a boat the next day. They were then taken to the levee and left there for a night. After that, they were picked up by a helicopter and later taken to Atlanta. He was separated from his family for a day. He was with his father and uncle, and unable to contact his mom, sister, or brother. After they met up with each family member, they had to stay in Atlanta for a year. Brandon said that starting at a whole new school was difficult, but didn't comment on it any further. Then we asked Will whether he was weathered the storm or evacuated. He became quite confused and we finally found out that he had left a day before the storm. He came back a couple months after and that was the extent of his comments on Katrina. We planted a whopping twenty-two trees before we moved on.

From Hannah, Kelly, and Chelsea's point of view...

We met up over the "hundred mile trek." The mixed-school group stood in a circle as if we were standing with our classmates. As two trailers of Chalmette students and Livonia students passed us, we could see the segregation still evident. It seemed strange to us because this group of kids we had just met, we couldn't and didn't want to stop talking to. Maybe it was our outgoing nature or our desire to understand, either way we learned a lot about ourselves today. We may live over a thousand miles apart, but if we had switched schools, we would have fit right in. Our efficiency today was lacking, but only because we wanted to learn more than we wanted to work. On the very first day, Scott told us that we weren't here to build trees or houses, but that what we were here for was to build hope. It became a realization today because even though we may talk and look different from some Chalmette students, when 11:15 rolled around, no one wanted to leave. Our plans to meet again on Facebook are going to become a reality when we come home, and until then, we have these memories to talk about from this ordinary day that turned into the best day of the trip so far.

Tuesday

Today we went to the levee to plant more trees. It was only a half day trip. Apparently someone saw a water moccasin, so a man chopped it up into three pieces. After planting the trees we walked to the bus and ate our lunches as we drove to the Zoo. There wear a few close calls with the bus hitting a lamp post and a car but we survived. We had a little over two hours to walk around and look at the animals. We saw lions, white tigers, monkeys, alligators, and more. We wandered the gift shop and hopped back on the bus to head back to the bunks. We cleaned up and are now waiting to eat real New Orleans cuisine. Tomorrow we are driving to Alabama to visit a beach and a museum. The trip has been pretty fun so far and we're all looking forward to going back to the French Quarters for some shopping and touring.

*Bridget and Meghann M.

Cypress Swamp Delight

Thirty-seven hours after leaving Livonia we pulled into our group camp at Bayou Segnette State Park just northwest of New Orleans about 4:45 AM eastern time. Schedules were set for Sunday, so we awoke at 6:30 CST for breakfast, a quick orientation on the program and then we boarded the bus for about an hour ride to St. Bernard’s Parish where we split into teams and planted cypress seedlings for the day.

St. Bernard’s parish was one of the hardest hit areas by Katrina. A barge left by a company slammed into one of the levees surrounding the Parish inundating the area with water. The company that was responsible for not taking care of the barge (either taking it out to the gulf, or sinking it) is now out of business due to the number of lawsuits filed against it. Where the students were planting the cypress seedlings would have been under 10 – 15 feet of water during the flood.

Why cypress trees? Cypress trees are one of the primary defenses against the storm surge and wind of a hurricane. Cypress trees survive in the swamp. The mature trees assist in breaking the speed of the wind and, as with any vegetation, soak up the water from a flood, lessening its impact or allow more time for evacuation. Unfortunately, one of the levees that broke contained salt water that quickly killed all the mature cypresses. Livonia students along with other student volunteers from around the country will plant up to a hundred thousand cypress seedlings through March or April of this year.

We worked until 3:00 PM and drove back to the state park. On the way, we passed the Superdome. As you can see from the image taken from the bus, the fans were waiting at the gates to get in with three hours to go before kick off.

Lisa Mallaber took the picture of Matt Kelly and the group of students without a chaperone. Dick Bennett took the other three pictures.