Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Natural disasters happen uncontrollably and usually catch people and communities off-guard. The news provides weather that is expected, however it can underestimate how bad the storms will actually be. Many communities have extreme weather condition procedures to help the possible affects and improve the safety for their community and its residents. When everything fails, it is up to surrounding volunteers to contribute time to restore the damaged area.
Hurricane Katrina was one natural disaster that caught families in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, LA off-guard. The streets were filled with water, the whole parish was flooded. Families that were able to evacuate did. Others went to their roofs or higher ground in the local school. There was a nursing home filled with elders who were left to die in their beds. Having no power, no clean water, little food to share for days and knowing that everything would have to be rebuilt must have been very hard. There were precautions to avoid this from happening; however it is hard to prevent the levees from overflowing to trap water in the St. Bernard Parish.
The residents loved their parish and would not leave it even though it was going to be a major restoration period. One man from central New York, who went to college in New Orleans, heard about the disaster and made it his goal to reach out to his friends in the beloved area. He gathered other people to help raise money, recruit others, and plan each trip. The group soon became Operation Southern Comfort. This is where I got involved. I went to New Orleans over my February vacation to be a part of the rebuilding. I was not sure what to expect from this life- changing experience. It was five years after the flood and to me that was a long enough time to rebuild. Hearing stories and seeing pictures did not compare to what it felt entering the Parish with a broken amusement park to the left and water stains on the buildings. The trees in the Bayous were dead and houses had crazy markings spray-painted on the sides. Even after five years the whole town was still suffering, which motivated me to get much done during the week.
That week, a lot was accomplished. The whole group was split into smaller ones and were each given a project. The group I was in focused on the Cyprus tree issue. Cyprus trees are trees that need both salt and fresh water to survive. During hurricanes, the Cyprus trees that line the levees and are in the Bayous provide a bearer for the strong winds. Yet, during Hurricane Katrina, the trees received too much salt water intake and died. A couple days out of the week I potted Cyprus trees in pots to be maintained and planted in the Bayous the following year when they were stronger. The rest of the week I learned how to plant them in the mucky swamp area. It was a different experience than what I was used to. The Cyprus trees had a huge role in protecting New Orleans. Restoring those trees was really a fulfilling task.
Houses were gutted, rebuilt, sheet rocked, and painted, trees were planted and friends were made. Throughout the week the locals told testimonies from their experience during the flood. From talking to the survivors of the flood, the pride they showed in their community and the love they had for their history and homes impacted me. It inspired me to develop that love and pride in my own town and to be thankful for the many blessings I had. Seeing the hope and the joy in the people that lost everything five years ago made all the small things that challenged my life which I complained about in the past seemed selfish. When I said it was a life-changing trip, it was a trip that altered my attitude, improve my character and expand my appreciation.
The wilderness project to restore the Bayous of New Orleans does not directly affect my community in Central New York nonetheless it created changes that would make a huge difference. The volunteers saw the impact of helping other communities. The past fall, areas in near my community were also affected by hurricane flooding. Reaching out in our own community became important to us after the trip. It is not hard anymore to get a group of neighbors together to get a project done. I even shared this story to children in town and planted their own trees with them. The knowledge and morals gained from the trip was not left in Louisiana but brought back to New York.
Natural disasters are horrible. They are a huge test of character, faith and hope. Like hurricanes, they come at unexpected times and create challenges to overcome. Residential areas as well as wilderness areas, like the Bayous, get destroyed. Out of these experiences, however, show the sense of a huge community and family in the United States. It takes one person to rally and an infinite amount of people to make a difference. Wilderness projects are definitely important and can each be a life-changing, inspirational event.