Environmental Educator: Aimee Klein, Barbara Helveston, & Amy Hulin

Aimee Klein, Barbara Helveston, & Amy Hulin are middle school Gifted Enrichment teachers in Lafayette Parish who work hard to inspire curiosity and compassion in their students with the hopes that they will become guardians of our communities and ecosystems. 

Q:  What subject(s) & grade(s) do you teach? 

A:   We teach 5th through 8th grade Gifted Enrichment students from schools all over Lafayette Parish (21 in total, both private and public). Our program is housed at Edgar Martin Middle School in Lafayette. Teaching Gifted Enrichment gives us the freedom to develop our own curriculum and allows students the opportunity to explore concepts at a deeper level as they consider challenges and potential for growth and change in varied and diverse situations.

We believe by exposing our students to some of the environmental issues we are currently experiencing, we are able to allow them to create potential solutions, ones that may currently seem impossible, but may one day be the answer to some of our most pressing challenges.

Aimee Klein, Barbara Helveston, & Amy Hulin

Q:   Why is it important to you to teach about Louisiana wetlands, and how does it align with your teaching  philosophy?  

A:   Any time we have an opportunity to allow our students to delve into complex topics, whether in science, linguistics, mathematics or the arts and humanities, we are eager to do so! We believe that by exposing our students to some of the environmental issues we are currently experiencing, we are able to allow them to create potential solutions, ones that may currently seem impossible, but may one day be the answers to some of our most pressing challenges.

Q:  In what ways do you encourage your students to be proactive/involved in environmental stewardship?  

A:  We believe in the innate goodness and service of our students and recognize their desire to be involved leaders and agents of change. We understand that awareness is one of our greatest weapons in cultivating citizens who want to effect change in the world. By exposing them to subject matter of importance such as wetlands preservation, we hope to engage our students in lessons that give them the freedom to further explore topics and encourage them to participate in deeper conversations about ways to problem solve to improve current situations. 

Q: Describe your favorite lesson/activity that you use in your classroom to teach about Louisiana  wetlands.    

A:   One of our favorite activities with the wetlands unit was the creation of our wetlands quilts. To further tie in Louisiana cultures and the peoples who inhabit the areas in and around the wetlands, students learned about the Houma Indians, who are known for their elaborate handcrafted quilts. Students worked to create quilt squares out of found objects based on the natural elements of the wetlands. Crabs, alligators, birds and trees took shape to create a piece of artwork that currently hangs at the Wetlands Center and the LPSS Special Education Office. Additionally, several of our students won monetary prizes for their exceptional wetlands poetry. We are so proud of the work our students did on this part of their wetlands unit! 

• 

• 

Q:  What would you say to a student who is hesitant or not interested in participating in a lesson about  Louisiana wetlands?

A:  It is always important to us that our students are engaged in their own learning. Striking a balance between what they need to know and what they want to learn can be a challenge. By creating opportunities for students to participate in a variety of activities, we hope to excite and encourage them to learn more about the world around them. For our wetlands lessons, we shared a variety of videos to provide them with ample background about the topic, allowed them to create poetry to get their creative juices flowing, looked at maps to discover how much the wetlands are threatened and calculated wetlands loss through science experiments. We hope that by tapping into the 4 core subject areas, each of our students had an opportunity to get excited about at least one aspect of our wetlands study. 

2021 Wetlands Writing Contest Winners

All three finalists for the 5th-8th Grade Poetry Category were students in the Edgar A. Martin Gifted Program.

1st Place – “Weeping Wetlands” by Dason Worthen

My Native Tribe,
Sat by the riverbank
Waiting for the ghosts of the land
To show me the way

With dirt on our sleeves
We have tears in our eyes
Seeing our hut of a house
Being filled like a bowl

At the Crack of dawn
I see the rain
The crows calling
In the middle of the flash-flood

The rain outside poppin on the window
Calls my name like silver and gold
I run to the village to get the boat
My grandfather tells me, “It’s sold”

Our brushes filled with paint,
Recovering our home
The insects landing in out hair
The finished Product stands in its glory

2nd Place – “Her Loss” by Gabrielle Carney

The ground has it’s trails
The butterfly has a beautiful flower
A song has its notes

The mosquito bites
the tireless nights
Left her sleepy in the shade
Under the elder oak
She waits upon her uncle
to bring the boat by
It isn’t until the heat of the sun
Warms her to her bones
That she is fully alive
The wind in her hair
A salty kiss from nature
Nurturing ever still

On the far side of the levee
The water wanders
The scent of the spring
Revitalizing
The song of the wind
A sweet lullaby
Singing softly to the child
Eyes losing hope

Like a boat and the fish
However in the end
One is always lost
Like the ground on which we stand.

3rd Place – “The Fisherman’s Tale” by Victoria Guidry

Early in the morning
as the sun is rising
I step outside
moss covers the trees
webs glistening in the morning light
the land, flooded
from the thunderstorm the night before

I take a seat on my porch
tell stories of old journeys in the South
fishing, shrimping, crabbing
it takes a lot of patience
to thrive in this kingdom full of life
but our land is worth far more than it seems

It could look as though
we have it all
but there are some restless nights
knowing our land is washing away,
everything we’ve ever known and loved
but still we smile,
singing and dancing through the pain
as our girls and boys will never remember
the land that has shaped us
into who we are now,
and who we will always be

Wetland Warrior: Blaise Pezold

The Meraux Foundation’s Blaise Pezold works to empower the residents of St. Bernard Parish to tackle coastal wetland loss through community built restoration projects.

Q:  What is your job title and affiliation? 

A:   Coastal and Environmental Program Manager for the Meraux Foundation
 

Q:  How did you get started in this field and how long you’ve been doing this type of work? 

A:   I have been volunteering for Coastal projects since 2006 and started managing them around 2008. In 2011, I graduated from UNO in Earth and Environmental Science (Coastal Restoration) and have been working professionally in the field since then.

Q:  Describe the part of your job/role that you enjoy the most. 

A:   I am an “idea person.” I love to dream of how our community in St. Bernard Parish can be a better place. The Meraux Foundation, and its Docville Farm campus, gives me resources and a platform to partner with like-minded partners to move the needle in protecting and improving our ecosystems.

The “Environment” and “Community Building” are two central areas where the Meraux Foundation focuses its work.

Blaise Pezold – Coastal Environmental Program Manager for the Meraux Foundation

Q: Describe the part of your job/role that you believe is the most impactful.   

A:   The “Environment” and “Community Building” are two central areas where the Meraux Foundation focuses its work, and through my role, I’m able to advance both a great deal.  Two of my favorite projects exemplify this best. The Chalmette High Schools 4H Black Mangrove project is very rewarding. We’ve formed a partnership with several stakeholder groups, including high school students, to collect, grow and plant Black Mangrove to increase our coastal lines of defense. To date we have planted 5,150 Black Mangroves! The other program we are super proud of is our Chandeleur Sound Living Shoreline. It also pulls together numerous partners to, not only protect our coast, but prepare our young people with technical skills that can help them enter high-wage careers. It’s a win-win!

Q:  What do you think is the best/easiest way people can help restore or preserve wetlands? 

A:  Get your hands dirty, plant marsh grasses and trees or build a wild oyster reef. 

Blaise presenting coastal restoration project idea at CWPPRA Regional Planning Team Meeting in 2019.

Q: In your opinion why is coastal restoration in Louisiana important? For folks out of state, why is Louisiana’s coastal restoration work important for the nation? 

A:   I got involved in coastal restoration after I saw the sheer devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I was looking for answers and went back to school to find them. Around the same time, my daughter, Isabella, was born. I felt called to defend my homeland and my daughter’s right to grow up in her culture, which is tied to the land that is disappearing at an alarming rate. 

As for the rest of America, why would you not want to defend your country? Louisianans have been doing that since the Battle of New Orleans in 1815!  

All Americans have a responsibility to protect one of the most beautiful and vast wetland environments in the world.

Blaise Pezold

Louisiana’s coast plays an important role in the life cycle of seafood that feeds our nation. It protects communities from hurricanes and storm surge, which can cause destruction that the federal government has to pay to repair (using American’ tax dollars!) Our coast also plays important roles in the energy all Americans depend on and the goods shipped across the country from our ports and waterways. Beyond these examples, all Americans have a responsibility to protect one of the most beautiful and vast wetland environments in the world.  

Q: What is your favorite recreational activity to do in the wetlands? OR Which wetland inhabitant (bird, fish, plant, etc) do you think best represents you? 

A:   I am definitely a plant guy, but I am fascinated by birds and love to eat any and all seafood.

The Meraux Foundation

Meraux Foundation Joins with Partners on Chandeleur Sound Living Shoreline Deployment

Wetland Warrior: Maida Owens

Maida Owens, of Louisiana Folk Life, has worked with hundreds of tradition bearers and organizations to help support Louisiana’s traditional cultures.

Q:  What is your job title and affiliation? 

A:   Louisiana Division of the Art Folklife Program director
 

Q:  How did you get started in this field and how long have you been doing this type of work? 

A:   I have an MA in cultural anthropology from Louisiana State University.  I’ve been with the agency since 1986 and have managed the Folklife Program since 1988. Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of tradition bearers and organizations to help support our traditional cultures in many different projects. but in 2019, with the Louisiana Folklore Society, we began the Bayou Culture Collaborative. Since then, I’ve focused on sustaining our coastal cultures. 

Q:  Describe the part of your job/role that you enjoy the most. 

A:   I enjoy working with all the tradition bearers who have a deep appreciation and love for their culture and want to pass on their traditions. They are one of our state’s richest cultural treasures.

Q: Describe the part of your job/role that you believe is the most impactful.   

A:   The Bayou Culture Collaborative with the Louisiana Folklore Society can make a difference in what Louisiana’s traditional cultures become in years to come.  There has been significant movement of people already around or away from the coast and more is predicted. Many Louisianans move nearby, which is good for maintaining our traditional cultures, but many move farther away to different eco-systems and away from their cultural networks. They are at risk of loosing important parts of their culture.  My work now is to encourage everyone to approach this issue with intention and ask ourselves, What would our great-grandchildren wish we had done to pass on our cultures?

Q:  What do you think is the best/easiest way people can help restore or preserve wetlands? 

A:  I don’t have any specific answers, and I doubt there is an easiest way to preserve the wetlands, but I do think we need to include in the conversation tradition bearers who really know the land. We also need to consider the impact on our cultures.

Q: In your opinion why is coastal restoration in Louisiana important? For folks out of state, why is Louisiana’s coastal restoration work important for the nation? 

A:   I work with the cultural side of the wetlands and those who have deep traditional knowledge about the ecology, known as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) — the practical experience of knowing the land and water from living off the land.   Saving this knowledge is as important as saving the wetlands.

I work with the cultural side of the wetlands and those who have deep traditional knowledge about the ecology, known as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) — the practical experience of knowing the land and water from living off the land.   Saving this knowledge is as important as saving the wetlands.

Maida Owens

Q: What is your favorite recreational activity to do in the wetlands? OR Which wetland inhabitant (bird, fish, plant, etc) do you think best represents you? 

A:   To be perfectly honest, I just love being in the wetlands whether it is just relaxing, crabbing or fishing. Some of my fondest memories are going out with my family and then cooking what we caught.

Louisiana Folk Life

Bayou Culture Collaborative

Wetland Warrior: Jacqueline Richard

Jacqueline is a thinker and a doer. Her passion for learning and exploring nature bleeds into everything she does, and she works to protect the spaces she loves so that others can appreciate them as well.

Q:  What is your job title and affiliation? 

A:   My current job title(s): Interim Dean of STEM, Associate Professor of Geology, Fletcher Institute of Coastal Studies Director, Phi Theta Kappa Advisor all at Fletcher Technical Community College

Fletcher Technical Community College

Q:  How did you get started in this field and how long have you been doing this type of work? 

A:   I’ve always been into Geology – I was a Geology major in undergrad and grad school. For most of my college career, I focused on Vertebrate Paleontology and still spend parts of my summers in ND & MT on field expeditions. While I attended grad school at the University of New Orleans, I took a course in Coastal Restoration with Denise Reed. Since I am not from Louisiana, that was my first real exposure to coastal issues. Shortly thereafter, around 2008, I began volunteering with as many agencies as I could find to assist with coastal planting & dune fencing. There is something to be said for getting your hands in delta and know that you are making a difference one mangrove, spartina, or one quarter mile of fencing at a time. After planting thousands of plants, the landscape becomes a part of you, because you helped shape it in a small way. 
As a deep time geologist, I also have a fascination with the sediment coming down the Mississippi that is building new land. The sediment coming down the river could be from ancient rocks, over a billion years old, holding a record of an environment and information from ages past. Yet when it reaches the end of the delta, it could be deposited to form “new” land. The previous record isn’t erased, it is just folded into a new and more complex history. 
These two things together are what really drove me into coastal research and restoration. 

Q:  Describe the part of your job/role that you enjoy the most. 

A:   There is nothing better than bringing college students or those going through the Master Naturalist program out into the field. We spend a lot of time in the classroom, and while I truly love educating, it is a different experience to educate while in the environment. Watching students piece the information together and make the connections from the classroom to what they are seeing in real life is the reason why I teach. Those lightbulb moments are absolutely priceless.

Q: Describe the part of your job/role that you believe is the most impactful.   

A:   Truly, it is being out on a planting, dune fencing, or beach cleanup project with students, master naturalists, or the general public that is the most impactful. People hear about coastal land loss and the issues we face all the time, and we try to put it in terms that are tangible; such as losing a football field every 100 minutes. However, people really don’t get it until they are out there and can see it with their own eyes and feel it with their hands. I like being there to help navigate to those deeper, more complex discussions. Meshing together science, engineering, and social issues is a complicated task, and those conversations are incredibly important to have. 

 I always enjoy watching people at the beginning and the end of a project – at the beginning it seems a little intimidating. There are hundreds or thousands of plants that need to go into the ground, miles of beach to comb, or miles of dune fencing to erect and the task feels impossible. By the time we are at the end of a project, there is a massive sense of accomplishment and pride along with a visible connection to place. That connection to place is one of the most important things to be instilled, it is what will help shape the passion for saving this place for future generations. 

Q:  What do you think is the best/easiest way people can help restore or preserve wetlands? 

A:  The easiest way for people to help preserve our wetlands is to help out in your local community. It doesn’t need to be a large orchestrated feat –keeping trash out of our wetlands, planting trees thoughtfully on your property, asking new businesses to be ecofriendly in their building design and practices, these things go a long way. Find the one thing you can do easily and consistently, it makes a difference. We can all be an advocate for our home, and it is absolutely going to take all of us.

Q: In your opinion why is coastal restoration in Louisiana important? For folks out of state, why is Louisiana’s coastal restoration work important for the nation? 

A:   While I am not from Louisiana, I have lived here nearly twenty years. Louisiana has become my home. Every finger of the river, every bayou, every ridge, has its own culture, stories, and history. I have travelled the United States pretty extensively, and I have never experienced a place that is more connected to the land and cultural heritage than coastal Louisiana. We can’t afford to lose that history or that generational connection to this land.  

The river is teaching us an important lesson, and we need to be here to learn it. The river is really teaching us that we have to figure out how to be successfully adaptable in a changing environment. We know what short and long term trends look like with climate change locally and nationally. In Louisiana, we truly have a front row seat the effects of climate change. But that also means we have an opportunity to pave the road to how the country and world responds to this threat, we could, and should, truly be leaders 

Q: What is your favorite recreational activity to do in the wetlands? OR Which wetland inhabitant (bird, fish, plant, etc) do you think best represents you? 

A:   My favorite recreational activity is kayaking. I love being eye level with the marsh, it’s a perspective we don’t get to see often. After 45 minutes of being on the kayak, I’m no longer aware of the kayak or the motions – it’s like I’m a part of the landscape and I just enjoy being immersed. 

I wanted to answer this second part too! If I could choose a wetland inhabit to represent me, it would definitely be the Roseate Spoonbill. We know birds are dinosaurs, so it’s very appropriate for me. But I love everything about them – their feather color, like my personality, makes them stick out in a crowd. But they’re often hard to find, hiding in the deeper recesses of the marsh, away from humans. 

• 

•