THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls State University is proud to announce that for the third-straight year it will partner with the Port of South Louisiana to help boost coastal restoration research at the Nicholls Farm.
“This is something we take very seriously,” said Paul Aucoin, executive director of the port. “We are proud of the program here at Nicholls. I tell the students that I hope, because of their efforts, when they are my age they will not be underwater.”
The Port of South Louisiana provided $18,000 to the biology department for research at and maintenance of the Nicholls Farm.
“I just want to thank the Port of South Louisiana,” said Dr. Allyse Ferrara, Jerry Ledet Endowed Professor of Environmental Biology. “We very much appreciate the partnership. It enables students a unique opportunity growing plants and planting them for restoration projects.”
The 277-acre Nicholls farm, located approximately three miles from campus, serves as an environmental research and educational center for Nicholls and other partners, such as the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. The farm includes a lab, classroom, greenhouses, shade houses, storage barns, fields for research and a 7.5-acre pond for wetland plant production.
In recent years, Nicholls biology students and faculty have spearheaded coastal restoration efforts by growing, harvesting and planting nearly 30,000 plants in coastal habitats.
As America’s largest tonnage Port district, the Port of South Louisiana is the premier sea gateway for U.S. export and import traffic. Headquartered in LaPlace, the Port of South Louisiana, which stretches 54 miles along the Mississippi River, is the largest tonnage port district in the western hemisphere. The stretch of river accounts for 67 industries and 30,000 jobs.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 30, 2018
CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@www.nicholls.edu
