Day 5

Alex Agudelo'13 

Matt Ryan '14    

 

 

        After a busy day yesterday working at the Chahta-Ima school, we woke up exhausted. With a big day ahead of us, Liam made delicious pancakes for breakfast. We then set out on a five minute drive to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Bayou Lacombe Center. Our job today was to aid in the restoration and maintenance of the Camellia garden and the plant refuges. We split into two groups, both in varying locations but working at similar tasks.  We weeded, pruned, and cut down unwanted trees in the Camellia garden. This backbreaking work was tough however rewarding. By the time we were done, we were able to step back to see how nice the garden looked.

         After a nice lunch in an open field outside, we explored the visitor center in preparation for our canoe journey.   Although there were a couple of mishaps, such as Shaun and me (Matt) were trapped on top of a rock for about ten minutes, it was an absolutely spectacular day to go canoeing. Unfortunately, we did not see that much wildlife. Some of us saw a couple of mullet fish jumping out of the water and a hawk. Next, we finished the self guided tour of the devastated areas of Katrina. We drove through the towns of Gentilly and Lakeview, which were less devastated areas of the city, although it got just as much water as the Lower 9^th ward. These areas were wealthier, so they rebuilt and recovered faster. We ended the tiring day with a typical Louisiana cuisine in the Unitarian Universalist Church conversing with the members of the church.