Thoughts from A Special Place
"Be good to the environment and you'll be able to smile like the alligator." - John Taylor
Thoughts from A Special Place
"Bayou Bienvenue has been good to us, it's time for us to be good to it." - John Taylor
Dreams Of An Orchard Project: Before & After
With hard work, funding from Blue Moon, help from Historic Green, help from LA Green Corps, help from LSU Landscape Architecture Students, and countless volunteers, the CSED is close to completing its Dreams Of An Orchard Project at 4817/19 Dauphine Street. Task remaining; installation of landscape fabric, completion of fence, completion of permanent rain catchment, completion of brick pathways, additional plantings and DIY Handbook.
BEFORE
AFTER
Thoughts from A Special Place
"There is always a way to find beauty in something you really care about." - John Taylor
John Taylor works for the CSED as Wetlands Specialist. "Thoughts from A Special Place" will be made of his quotes and photographs about the Bayou.
John has spent most of his life enjoying Bayou Bienvenue hunting, fishing, admiring, interacting, (teaching people) and taking photos of the bayou and the wildlife in and around the triangle
Please stay tuned to this blog to see some of his beautiful work!
The Trumpet Returns to the Lower 9: Art, Life, Nature and Recovery
The March/April 2013 Trumpet once again shines the spotlight on the Lower 9th Ward: with features on Art in the 9, Food Security, restoration of Bayou Bienvenue, the Lower 9th Ward Village and so much more! Be sure to read this great issue!
Marquette Mardi Gras Madness
Marquette Mardi Gras
Making A Real Difference In Gulf Region Areas Surrounding
Students from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are in town performing Mardi Gras Madness with all their volunteer work! Today, in only 2 hours, they created a border of recycled slate roof tiles for our Community Garden at 4819 Dauphine Street! Throw them something Mister! ;)
Rochester Mission Group Rocks!
We would like to extend great gratitude to the Rochester Mission Group from Rochester, New York which included hard-working volunteers from Webster, Greece & Ogden Baptist Churches. Just look at what they helped us to accomplish at our 4819 Dauphine Street Community Orchard in just TWO DAYS!!
Donated ginger was planted along the perimeter French drain which they dug & filled with broken brick pieces unearthed from the soil. The French drain will redirect runoff into the soon-to-be-built rain garden. Along with general debris & trash removal, the first entrance pathway was created using broken brick, cement, & recycled roofing slate.
Holes were dug & measured & nine fruit trees were planted, watered, & mulched. Neighbors will be able to enjoy the harvest from 2 Satsumas, 2 Ruby Red Grapefruit, 2 Blood Orange, 2 Meyers Lemon, & 1 Persian Lime! Dreams do come true.
The efforts of many continue to bear fruit as countless volunteers
generously keep coming to help us rebuild & grow our community.
Double Entry to Plants Galore
Thanks to a generous donation of a truckload of plants by Mr. Harold Applewhite of Harold's Indoor & Outdoor Plants (at Press & St Claude) http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/harolds-indoor-outdoor-plants/Content?oid=1672363, our blight beautification project at 4819 Dauphine Street has received a major enhancement! We've planted camelias at the entrance, red tipped photinias along the future pathway and we've outlined the space for a rain garden. A nod to the historical streetface has been given by the creation of a dual entry to the garden reminiscent of the original 4817-19 Dauphine Street double shotgun that existed on this lot.
Additional beds for the fruits trees have been staked and double dug http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPeAvYrfKkU in an effort to improve the aeration of the soil and to facilitate root penetration. Our dream for a community orchard continues to unfold :)
Our Dream Is Becoming A Reality
Our Dreams of an Orchard Project at 4819 Dauphine Street is coming true. Acquisition, design, implementation, & resource foraging continues to be driven & accomplished with great enthusiasm by CSED staff Kathy Muse, Vincent Fedeli, Charles Reddick, & John Taylor aided by significant input & assistance from surrounding neighbors. This blight beautification effort was made possible through Louis Lauricella's donation of this vacant lot to the CSED. We are grateful to Mr. Lauricella & to Stephanie Bruno who acted as liason.
Check out our recent progress. Before the bobcat work began, trees cleared from the overgrown lot were chipped to provide mulch. Excellent bobcat services were provided by Troy Moore who lives right around the corner! He was assisted by CSED staff members Vincent & Kathy. The never-ending debris was unearthed, a neighbor's damaged fence was removed along with a very tough & extensive poison ivy vine (ouch!), and a neighbor's clothesline pole was righted for future use:
Community members stopped by to help out:
Wood chips were relocated, grass was removed, soil was graded with a slight downward slope to the left for drainage into a future french drain. Troy surveys his work thus far:
River sand was delivered, dumped & graded to cap the lead soil where the planter boxes will be built. Two trailer loads of debris were hauled away. Kudos to neighbor & friend Troy Moore for a job well done!
