Coastal Roots

The eighth grade class spent the day planting trees at the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge outside of Centerville. As part of Louisiana State University's Coastal Roots program, students planted 500 pecan and oak seedlings germinated by last year's eighth graders. The reforestation effort along Bayou Teche will create a corridor for Louisiana black bears. Students donated an additional 300 seedlings to the project. ESA is one of only four schools out of the 40 which participate annually in Coastal Roots to make a trip this school year. Last year's eighth grade class planted this year's crop of seedlings only a week before the state shuttered schools last March. In a couple weeks, eighth graders will plant another batch of seedlings with their advisories for the current seventh graders to plant next year. A special thanks goes out to our chaperones - Mr. Fuller, Mrs. Bouy, and Mr. Gould - for making this trip happen this year!