Of all of the programs that we do in New Orleans, what we do during day 2 is the hardest to explain. Today's work was dedicated to environmental restoration. When I tell others that we are doing this, the response usually is "that's really important." I concur. However, with only a few days in New Orleans, why spend the day doing environmental work? To do what is necessary, we wind up going to a remote location without any interact with the people of New Orleans. We spend the day cutting down large stalks of grass and then replanting them in mud on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
Truth be told, on our first two trips in 2008 and 2009 environmental work was not on our radar screen. Then, in 2010, the Gulf was impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. That fall and again this year, we have devoted a day to working on environmental projects.
We don't go to the Gulf of Mexico or clean up any oil. Rather, we drive about 45 minutes westward to an area known as the Bonnet Carre Spillway. It was a beautiful day. The skies were clear but it was a bit colder than it was when we volunteered last year in October. What else was different? Last winter saw record snow fall in the northern regions of the US. The Mississippi River was swollen and threatening to flood major cities. So, for the first time in decades, the Army Corps of Engineers opened major spillways along the Mississippi including the Bonnet Carre Spillway. This allowed massive amounts of water to be diverted sparing cities such as New Orleans from catastrophic floods.
We worked in the same area last year, cutting down grass from one area and replanting it. It doesn't sound glorious and the work is tiring and dirty. What amazed me is that what we planted last year had done its job. The grass was preventing erosion and allowing silt to accumulate, providing a protective barrier which keeps salt water from invading fresh water area and killing off cypress trees and damaging other areas that are critical to stopping future environmental disasters.
I mentioned earlier that this was not an easy project to describe. Yet, if you ask the students we worked with this year, they will tell you that what they did was quite meaningful. They know about environmental concerns mostly because they hear about them. By going to these areas, they were able to see dead cypress trees with their own eyes. They were also able to do something about it with their own hands.
Following our day of work, we returned to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. The transition to Shabbat was so beautiful with everyone dressing up for services and dinner at the Gates of Prayer congregation in Metairie. I could write pages about Gates of Prayer and Rabbi Bob Loewy. Their hospitality towards our groups over the years has been extraordinary. We were welcomed during services and had a tasty and filling dinner of Louisiana dishes. Jackie and Dan Silverman were there and I enjoyed reconnecting with them. Following dinner, the community shaliach spoke about the Maccabiah Games. We concluded our meal with Birkat HaMazon the traditional blessing following meals.
For Shabbat dessert, we went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets. What a sweet way to celebrate Shabbat.
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