Lafayette Family Adventure Day

On Saturday, March 16, as part of Family Adventure Day, a fundraiser for Healing House, a non-profit in Lafayette offering grief counseling for children, families explored 42 stations around town. Each station offered a free activity that could engage family members of all ages. Our table was set up at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) headquarters near the Cajundome. Some of our neighbors were the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, one of our managing agencies), the Acadiana Park Nature Station, and LDWF .

 

At our station, families could hold baby alligators and touch a few different animal hides with LDWF; play with Einstein, the albino corn snake from the Acadiana Park Nature Station; practice their fishing technique, plant seeds for pollinators, or identify different bird species using binoculars with USFWS. Our public outreach office brought our habitat toss game that highlights the differences between wetland habitats in Louisiana and why an animal species would live in one habitat but not another, as well as give some examples of species that use more than one type of habitat. We also brought plenty of educational publications.

An estimated ninety families passed through the LDWF headquarters during the day , so we saw about 300 people over the course of the event. Families visited locations like the Lafayette Science Museum, the UL Marine Survival Training Center, Bayou Vermilion District, and more. Our posters, magnet sheets and stickers were popular with the kids, and several families signed up to receive WaterMarks.

Family Adventure Day is an annual event, so be on the lookout for next year! We had a great day and we appreciate LDWF and USFWS for hosting us this year. We would also like to thank all of the families who came to support Healing House and learn about our area’s wildlife. Please enjoy the attached photos of families engaging with us and our neighbors.

 

Family Adventures in Wetland Science

Families in the Lafayette area spent Saturday, March 10 exploring their community and trying a range of activities as part of Family Adventure Day in support of Healing House and the local non-profit’s work with grieving children.  Outreach staff from the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act collaborated with members of US Fish & Wildlife, NOAA, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Acadiana Nature Station, and other groups to provide information and fun for the families who stopped by the Estuarine Habitats and Coastal Fisheries Center. Participants could hold juvenile alligators, make buttons and magnets, learn about local pollinators, and take part in other activities.

CWPPRA staff helped children think about the importance of different types of wetlands while matching native species to the correct habitat. Families could also get Henri Heron Activity Books and Protect Our Coast posters. A general theme of the activities offered at the Estuarine Habitats and Coastal Fisheries Center was citizen science, and participants learned how to use binoculars, identify birds and bird calls, and about a variety of on-line and app resources for identifying and recording what they see in their own backyards. These data can then be used by scientists to look at where certain species are, how those populations are doing, and when seasonal events like migration occur. Hopefully finding more ways to interact with the species and habitats outside will lead to more family adventures.

Families Learn about the Importance of Wetlands

Families enjoying a Saturday adventure together on March 11th had the chance to explore different aspects of the ecosystems around them, including ways that wetlands help them and native wildlife. Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration staff exhibited materials and games at the Estuarine Habitats and Coastal Fisheries Center as part of 2017 Family Adventure Day to benefit the non-profit Healing House in Lafayette, LA. This annual event sends families to different locations throughout Lafayette for experiences that range from face painting to coming face-to- face with a snake.

Over 250 people stopped by the Center where they had the opportunity to see a demonstration of how coastal wetlands protect interior communities and wildlife habitat from storm surge. Visitors could pick up recent issues of WaterMarks and other materials on wetlands restoration projects in coastal Louisiana. Kids also received Henri Heron’s activity book and helped match Louisiana wildlife with the wetland habitat they need to survive.

Other exhibitors, including US Fish & Wildlife Service and Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries, focused on topics like bat conservation, beekeeping, endangered species in Louisiana, and fishing. Helping families understand and appreciate the diversity of natural environments in Louisiana helps ensure that those environments will be present in the future.