Cypresses and Snakes

We arrived at the campground at 3:00 this morning. After our harrowing 36 hour journey, we felt disgusting, so we showered. We were able to nap for a couple of hours before rising at 6:30 am to begin our mission. Amy got several hours of sleep on the bus, so she was feeling great. Despite only having three hours of sleep within forty-eight hours, I was feeling energized and excited as we ate breakfast.





After sorting out groups, chaperones, boots, water coolers, etc., we were on our way! My group (myself, Amy Pease, Deidra Stehlik, Lindsay Futter, Nick Rucci, Keagan French, Justyn Carll, Kelly Bischoping, Emily Bills, and Zack Horan) is named "Two Left Feet" because our group leader, Miss Walter, wore two left-footed rubber boots all day.





We had a half-hour bus ride through parts of New Orleans on our way to the wetlands. While most of the buildings were in decent condition, every block or two there would be a house or apartment building with a crumbling roof and water marks covering the siding. The most sobering part of seeing these wrecked houses (five years later!) were the spray-painted X's still on the sides of the buildings. The X's were painted there in the months following Katrina by rescue crews: they have the date, the name of the crew, and how many bodies they found.





Our task for the day was to plant 2,000 cypress trees in a wetland area in St. Bernard Parish. (The restoration of drained wetlands will help protect the city from the storm surges and high winds of future hurricanes.) We divided into groups of three or four, picked up our shovels and 'divels' and tape and bags of saplings...and went to work.





From nine-ish to noon-ish, we planted cypress saplings. After lunch, from noon-ish to four-ish, we planted more cypress trees. The planting went well, and we had a fun time doing it...especially with Lindsay smacking Amy with saplings (by accident of course!) while we coaxed her from section to section, reassuring her time and time again that there were NO SNAKES!! We saw a cute little brown and white jumping salamander, but no snakes. Towards the end, we discovered a pile of debris: a record player (with the record), purses, a ceramic pitcher, a large Mack truck, tires, etc.. While that was fun to poke through, it was sad to think that five years ago, they were in people's homes.





Perhaps the most prepared member of our crew was Miss Walter, who was able to escape the insects thanks to her mosquito-netted hat. Nobody, however, was able to avoid the prickers and mud that came with sloshing through the swamp and fighting through the brush.





Although we finished slightly sunburned, muddy, and quite tired, the trip was fun and rewarding. We were working on a section of wetland right off of a highway, and almost every other car honked in thanks as they passed our National Relief Network bus.





As it's our first full night in New Orleans, the group decided not to venture out on any cultural excursions this evening. We hung around the campground (which has very nice and clean accomadations, no worries) playing frisbee and walking along some trails in the hopes of glimpsing an armadillo. In the mess hall after dinner, a nice meal of spaghetti, salad, and garlic toast, almost everyone was enjoying a good card game (Spit, Spoons, Egyptian Ratscrew, and more!)





Preview of Monday's blogs: Half of the troops will return to planting cypresses, although in a surprise location! The other half of our group will visit Lower Ninth Ward to visit with Robert Green and help the community there. (The groups' roles switch on Tuesday.)

As we return to the campground, we're hoping for a Saints victory over at the Superdome!



Shout out to all you parents - we miss you too!

Well wishes to all the Yankees at home!





By Geneva Pond (and Amy Pease)