THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls State University is calling on the community to volunteer in an annual effort to remove trash from Bayou Lafourche.
The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program hosts the Bayou Lafourche Cleanup. BTNEP is located on the Nicholls campus.
Last year, the Bayou Lafourche Cleanup removed 18.45 tons of trash from Bayou Lafourche. This year, the goal is to top that number.
Bayou Lafourche, the regional source of drinking water, is an important community resource, said Dr. Allyse Ferrara, the Jerry Ledet Endowed Professor of Environmental Biology.
Last year, 825 volunteers cleaned the bayou from Donaldsonville to Leeville. More than 100 Nicholls students, faculty and staff volunteered. Nicholls volunteers removed 2.45 tons of debris and trash at the Nicholls site from the Thibodaux weir to the Percy Brown Road bridge.
“Our campus is located on Bayou Lafourche and we must help to maintain the bayou,” Dr. Ferrara said. “This is an eye-opening, hands-on experience that often surprises volunteers. You can’t see all of the debris and trash that is in the bayou unless you are on the bayou or at the bayouside.”
This year’s event will be from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 21. The deadline to sign up for the Nicholls section of the cleanup is noon on Friday, March 13. Pre-registration is required.
The first 1,000 pre-registered volunteers will receive a t-shirt.
If you are a Nicholls student, faculty or staff sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZ6hHT_Zp-Sxx4FdkINhqeU8vr68e-yMp6qT4HhBHSRyAnNw/viewform.
To sign up for a location other than the Nicholls campus, visit www.btnep.org/.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 28, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@nicholls.edu