THIBODAUX – Approximately 40 employees of Shell, all from southeast Louisiana, lent a hand to Nicholls State University employees and students on Tuesday, July 20, with the university’s oil-spill recovery efforts.
The three-hour, cooperative endeavor took place at the University Farm, where university personnel and students have been attempting to increase the abundance of plant materials for post-disaster replanting along the Louisiana coast.
Volunteers trimmed more than 3,000 black mangroves and planted approximately 500 smooth cordgrass propagules for marsh planting; 1,500 bitter panicum plants for beach and dune planting; and 50 marsh hay cordgrass plants, also suitable for beaches and dunes.
“We are most grateful to the Shell volunteers for their assistance in this project,” Dr. Allyse Ferrara, associate professor of biological sciences, said. “They are a fantastic group – efficient and goal-oriented.”
The Tuesday project was the first of a three-day, interstate volunteer effort by Shell employees. West Louisiana and east Texas employees conducted a beach-cleanup in Cameron Parish on Wednesday, July 21, and Houston-area employees planted mangroves along Galveston Bay on Thursday, July 22. The core team of Shell organizers participated in all three events.
