Climate Confusion

With our ying yang weather, our citrus orchards are producing their fragrant flowers and the butterflies and honey bees are taking full advantage of the nectar in our Dauphine Community Garden.  Meanwhile, across the neighborhood in our Butterfly Island on our Florida lots, the monarch butterfly caterpillar devours milkweed.

"Hanging In There"

An exciting new development for a Happy New Year!  We have our first monarch butterfly chrysalis hanging from the milkweed in the butterfly island at our Environmental Learning & Research Center!  Learn more about the importance of monarch butterflies at Hanging In There

 

Raised Beds Brought to New Heights

Stop by our new Center at 5227 Chartres to see our raised beds built by Historic Green volunteers & learn more about growing in containers or contact Kathy Muse at 504-939-9028.  Make gardening easy on your body :)

See more photos of all the industrious Historic Green volunteers accomplished Historic Green 2015

Related articles

Almost There...Moving In Soon to Our New Location at 5227 Chartres

 

Thank You Tulane City Center Students!!!

 

 

Come out and see the wonders wrought by the Tulane City Center / Tulane School of Architecture students on our properties at Caffin and Florida Avenues.

 

View more images on Facebook.

Join us this Friday at our Outdoor Wetland Education Center

Please join us as we celebrate the completion of the CSED Outdoor Wetland Education Center this Friday, May 8, 11:45 a.m., at Caffin & Florida Avenues. Tulane City Center students made it happen and will be on hand to share their incredible design/build process.

Check out the planting plan and building scheme. 

See photos of the design/build!

Herb Spiral Springs to Life at our Dauphine Community Garden

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers from American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts TABCOM, we now have an herb spiral in our Dauphine Community Garden.  They worked tirelessly to create this beautiful, environmentally-friendly structure from old bricks found on property.  Neighbors will now be able to harvest basil, garlic, marjoram, parsley, sage, thyme, and nasturtiums (an edible flower) in addition to the rosemary, chives, and mint already present. We are very grateful for the many hands and hearts of our generous volunteers...a gift that keeps on giving.

 

Learn more about herb spirals at http://themicrogardener.com/15-benefits-of-a-herb-spiral-in-your-garden/

 

CSED & Tulane City Center Partner to Create Outdoor Wetland Education Center

CSED has partnered with Tulane City Center to create an outdoor wetland education center on two of our lots at Florida & Caffin Avenues. The project aims to raise awareness of coastal restoration efforts by creating a K-12 environmental learning space that will include exhibits on local plants, outdoor classroom space, a bio swale and rain garden, and access to kayaks that will encourage hands-on learning directly adjacent to the Bayou Bienvenue Triangle.  The existing cypress and red maple trees, the community orchard and the butterfly island will remain and be enhanced. 

You can view the entire project plan at our office at 5130 Chartres Street or just stop by the site.  As always, we welcome and value your comments as we "Sustain the Nine!"

Bayou Bienvenue Triangle

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/layoftheland/2014/08/restoring-our-urban-waters-a-spotlight-on-new-orleans-bayou-bienvenue.html

Bulrush Grass @ Bayou Bienvenue

Coalition to Restore Coastal LA, CSED, Common Ground, GRN, Global Green, Groundworks, Sierra Club, and over 20 volunteers coming from as far as CA plant over 1000 plants in the Bayou.
Photo By: John Taylor

CSED Purchases NORA Properties

The Lower 9^th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development (CSED) has purchased the vacant lots at 2639 Caffin Avenue, 5620 Florida Avenue, 2636 and 2640 Lamanche Street from the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA). 

The purchase of these properties will support and enhance our ongoing effort with partners to restore the Bayou Bienvenue Triangle into a healthly wetland which can once again serve as a natural surge barrier and a recreational haven for our community.  In 2007, we helped to build the Bayou Bienvenue Platform located directly across Florida Avenue from these lots.  The CSED acts as the caretaker of the platform site, provides tours by a Lower 9th Ward native bayou guide, and engages in community outreach and environmental education.  Use of these properties will further enhance our mission to reconnect Lower 9th Ward residents with the Bayou Bienvenue Triangle & the waters that surround them.

Current CSED plans for these lots include regular maintenance, soil sampling, fencing, tree plantings, and the development of a community orchard. We are honored to be able to give new life and purpose to these former homesites of displaced Lower 9th Ward residents.