Education
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s Education Department’s goal is to educate the public on important issues affecting the Basin. Our staff works to involve the community in efforts to help Save Our Lake and Save Our Coast. With increased awareness of water quality, habitat and coastal issues, citizens of the basin become better stewards of the region where they live.
The Foundation provides adult presentations, children’s activities, field programs, written educational resources, and volunteer opportunities free of charge to teachers, students, schools, and civic groups. LPBF also works in partnership with other organizations to teach and keep the community informed about basin issues.
For more information, please contact our Education Department at (504) 836-2238 or e-mail joann@saveourlake.org.
The 23rd Annual Beach Sweep will be held on Saturday, September 15, 2012.
The sweep area includes local beaches, Northshore and Southshore lakefronts, bayous, canals and streets as part of the International Coastal Cleanup which is sponsored by The Ocean Conservancy. Businesses, school groups, scout groups, church organizations, and individuals are encouraged to participate in the annual event.
We offer several different levels of participation:
- Sponsor: There are 4 levels of financial sponsorship. For more information on how you or your company can become a sponsor,contact Angela at angelap@saveourlake.org
- Partner: Oversee a neighborhood or community area and host one of the thank-you picnics. Bringing people together for a celebration picnic after the sweep helps foster stewardship in keeping the lake clean.
- Zone Captain: Attend a planning meeting on Tuesday, September 6, then bring a group of 3 or more to participate the day of Beach Sweep. Captains are also responsible for filling in the summary data cards to record the collected items that are listed on individual data cards.
- Volunteer: Call the office at (504) 836-2238 anytime after August 1st to register. Then join us on Saturday, September 17th to help collect trash and fill in the data cards.
If you would like more information, please contact JoAnn at (504) 836-2238 or joann@saveourlake.org.
Coastal Crew & Volunteer Opportunities
Join LPBF's Coastal Crew
Since the 2005 hurricane season the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has greatly increased its efforts in teaching the public about the critical coastal issues of our region and the coastal restoration necessary to provide essential hurricane protection. In order to do this the Education Department has created a Coastal Crew of volunteers. These volunteers are invited to periodic training sessions. Armed with information and educational materials, the Crew then goes out to community events and festivals to help spread the word on the coastal needs of our region. Basin residents, 18 years or older, who enjoy meeting people, are willing to “table” at weekend or evening festivals and are interested in the health of our basin can call JoAnn at (504) 836-2238 to join. Training updates are also provided. We can use your help!
Group Presentations
 One of our staff will be happy to visit and give a presentation on basin related issues. We can also tailor subjects to suit your needs.
Waterways and New Orleans: New Orleans was founded in 1718 on a high piece of ground to serve as a major gateway to the country. Surrounded by water, New Orleans, along with SE Louisiana, is critical to the rest of the nation. Learn how the waterways played an important role in New Orleans’ past. Also hear how they will affect our region’s future as we move forward with increased hurricane protection.
Hurricanes and Coastal Restoration: The affects of the hurricanes of 2005 on the Pontchartrain Basin were far reaching. This presentation will help you understand how the region was inundated and what can be done to protect it. The Multiple Lines of Defense strategy created by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation provides the blue print for South Louisiana’s future. Hurricane protection as well as coastal restoration will allow us to continue to live in the area while keeping our basin viable as an economic driver for the rest of the nation. You will also learn about the updated status of the area’s storm protection.
Subsidence, Global Warming and S.E. Louisiana: Global warming is very controversial. SE Louisiana has been dealing with annual subsidence before global warming’s affects were even considered. How will our basin survive in the future? What can be done?
Non-point Source Pollution & Habitat Protection: Non-point source pollution causes the majority of water pollution affecting our basin. Learn about the sources of pollution and the work being done to stop it so our many basin habitats can flourish.
Habitats of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin: The Lake Pontchartrain Basin consists of many different habitats. Stretching from Uplands in the northern part of the basin to salt marshes to the south, these habitats provide home to many types of seafood and wildlife. What is safe, what is endangered? How is LPBF working to protect the habitats that make up the basin?
Water Quality: For the past half century, the water quality of the Pontchartrain Basin suffered until the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation was founded in 1989 with the goal of restoring and preserving this natural resource. Learn about the programs that were successful in improving the health of Lake Pontchartrain, resulting in the lake’s removal from Louisiana’s impaired water bodies list in 2006.
Wetlands: What are wetlands made of, where are they located in our basin and how do they serve us? Critically important to the economic and ecological health of the basin, learn about the role they play and how we can protect them.
Lake as a Watershed: (children’s activity): What exactly is a watershed and how does it relate to water quality? Using a hands-on activity, children can see the results of not caring for our basin and what we can do to help SAVE OUR LAKE.
Keeping Our Coast: (children’s activity): What strategy can we use to care for our coast and be protected from storms? The Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy provides an answer. Students will make a bead bracelet that represents the 11 lines of defense that will help SAVE OUR COAST and protect us from storms.
What are Wetlands: (children’s activity): What 3 things make up a wetland, how many wetland types do we have and how do they function? In a hands-on activity, the students will see what wetlands look like and how they work to protect our region.
Swim Program & Free Lessons
Ashley Kelly Swim Program is now FULL.
(NOTE: Additional FREE swim lesson programs are available in Orleans Parish through the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC) and the American Red Cross. Read about it here or call Red Cross for more information at 504-620-3135.)
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation partners with the Ashley Marie Kelly Foundation, the American Red Cross, NORDC and Tulane University to provide a free weeklong swim program in May to anyone in the Pontchartrain Basin who is age 5 or older.
The swimming lessons are provided by Red Cross trained Water Safety
Instructors and are held at Tulane University. They consist of 5 weekday classes, each a 40 minute session of swim
instructions. In addition to this, each day there is a 5 minute
session about issues that affect the Pontchartrain Basin. We live surrounded by
water and need to know how to be caretakers of our environment as
well as how to safely enjoy the recreation it offers.
Volunteers are needed each year to assist in this program. To provide an adequate number of instructors, an additional program was created to train strong swimmers 16 years or older to be Water Safety Instructors (WSI). Normally a $250 class, the WSI students attend a week of classroom instruction free of charge and complete training the following week by serving as swim instructors for the Ashley
Kelly Swim Program. Classes are offered in the evenings.
The 2012 schedule: SWIM LESSON REGISTRATION OPENS TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2012
WSI Classes May 7-12, 2012. Email erin@tulane.edu NOW for more information.
Swimming Lesson Classes May 14-18, 2012. For more information, call JoAnn at (504) 836-2238 or email joann@saveourlake.org.
Water Watch Program
Water Testing for Classroom Instruction
LPBF facilitates teachers in the basin who are interested in having their students perform water monitoring tests and collect real time data to measure water quality. The teacher picks one site, such as a drainage canal in the New Orleans metro area or a river or stream on the North Shore. The teacher commits to collecting 10-12 water samples with her students. All samples must be taken from the same site. These are analyzed for five parameters and the results are sent to LPBF.
After an introductory presentation by one of our staff, the teacher is given the necessary supplies and arranges for the students to test water at the site. Students take measurements for temperature, fecal coliform bacteria, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. At the end of the school year the students present their results to LPBF staff members and an audience of their choice in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.
This program provides the perfect opportunity for students to be exposed to actual data collection as well as graphing and charting information, forming hypotheses and testing to get conclusions. To get your class involved, email joann@saveourlake.org or call (504) 836-2238.
John Clinton Burrus "School of Fish" coming in 2012.
John Clinton Burrus "School of Fish"
A one day free" learn to fish" program will be held at the New Canal Lighthouse to give children, aged 9-16, information, fishing tips and practice with rods and reels. Fishing instruction will be led by LPBF's partner, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Email joann@saveourlake.org for details. |
