By: Phyllis Giffard
Pam Blanchard, coordinator of the LSU Coastal Roots Program
This month we salute Dr. Pam Blanchard, coordinator of the LSU Coastal Roots Program along with Dr. Ed Bush. Coastal Roots is a seedling nursery program in dozens of Louisiana schools and four schools in Chile. Students from second grade through high school are taking part in this project to learn about and become environmental stewards of their natural resources by establishing native plant nurseries at their schools. Students managing these nurseries oversee the entire growth cycle of the plants, from seed germination to the planting of one-year-old seedlings or grass plugs on their yearly restoration trip. Between 2000 and May 2022, more than 30,000 Louisiana students have planted over 197,000 plants on 515 restoration trips. Native tree species such as the Water Oak, Tupelo Gum, Swamp Red Maple, Loblolly Pine, Nuttall Oak and Longleaf Pine are grown, as well as bitter panicum, a coastal dune grass species. This program teaches students how and why Louisiana is losing land in the coastal zone, from both human influence and storms, and how to help repair that damage. Since the year 2000, over 20,000 kids have participated in the program attending over 400 field trips to plant over 185,000 seedlings!
Now you can see why we are so grateful that Dr. Blanchard serves on the ANPP board and provides valuable advice for education and outreach and propagation at scale. Thank you Pam!
From the May 2022 ANPP Newsletter
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