The St. Bernard Parish Black Mangrove Project in Chalmette, LA had its second annual mangrove planting on April 20th. With the help of 20 local high school 4-H volunteers as well as the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office, 1275 black mangroves were planted in the outer marsh area of St. Bernard Parish. Black Mangroves are an amazing restoration tool that provide excellent shoreline stabilization, wildlife habitat, and a bird rookery.
The mangroves have been growing in the Chalmette High School greenhouses for 17 months, taken care of by students from the school. AFFTA’s Fisheries Fund provided a $7500 grant for the project to support the purchase of supplies for the propagule collection, potting of the seeds for the next year’s planting, this year’s planting supplies, supplies for the volunteers, as well as scientific monitoring of the planting sites by Nicholls State University.
We’re proud to support and see the collaborative effort and progress that the group has made and look forward to hearing more about the project in the months and years to come. Many thanks to Lucas Bissett, AFFTA board member, Orvis Endorsed guide and owner of Lowtide Charters, and one of the project’s coordinators, for the update and images.
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The AFFTA Fisheries Fund is a U.S.-registered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in late 2014 with the main objective of funding organizations and projects focused on fisheries conservation and education. The Fisheries Fund is initially seeded with revenue from IFTD, and is now open to donations from AFFTA members and the general public. Contributions are tax-deductible in the U.S.
To learn more or apply for a grant with the Fisheries Fund, please click here and submit the application form.