Bayou Blue Presbyterian Church in Gray, Louisiana has found a passion for hospitality and education. They invite volunteers at the Houma Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Volunteer Village to for dinner and to an educational program on the shrinking of Louisiana’s wetlands. The church is looking to expand this program to include many other facets, including study materials for volunteer groups to use at home to learn more about wetlands issues. Currently Bayou Blue is looking for people who would be interested in helping create these study materials. If you have interest in this project, please email Kristina Peterson at krajeskipeterson@msn.comor Gloria King at disappearingcoast@gmail.com. A big thank you to Kristina Peterson for sending the following information on wetlands erosion and the program that Bayou Blue is working on.
Even though wetlands are a small portion of the nation’s landmass they play a vital role in the hemispheric ecological health. To name a few roles, wetlands provide valuable carbon sinks that mitigate against climate change, they help purify water from pollutants that pass through them and they provide protection for communities from storm surges. They are home to traditional communities and they offer spiritual and economic support to the nation through their work, their culture and their faith. Louisiana contains 25 percent of the United States’ coastal wetlands and 40 percent of its salt marshes.