JEFFERSON, LA – On Saturday, February 1, more than 150 volunteers from throughout the parish and region joined forces for the Jefferson Parish 30th Annual Christmas Tree Recycling Shoreline Protection Project.
Volunteers placed trees in pre-constructed shoreline structures (cribs) with the goal of reducing coastal erosion and increasing public awareness of wetland losses.
According to Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, “It may be your Christmas tree that is being used in these cribs. I just want to thank all the people who came out. This is so very important to our wetland area and it’s a project we are very proud of.”
The annual project continues to reduce erosion in Lafitte, LA, located in the Barataria Basin, and annually diverts thousands of Christmas trees from ending up in the Jefferson Parish Landfill.
Since 1991, more than 800,000 Christmas trees have been recycled, which is roughly the distance between New Orleans and Washington D.C.
“For 30 years, the Christmas Tree recycling program has played an important role in rebuilding the marsh and protecting our coastline in Louisiana,” said Council Chairman Ricky Templet, Division A.
“When you see all these volunteers, it tells you the community impact and how much we want to be a part of pretty much anything that is coastal improvement of the overall community,” said Councilman Dominick Impastato, District 4.
The boats were provided by the Jefferson Parish and Municipality Fire Departments, including Police Departments, the Jefferson Parish Coastal Management Department, as well as volunteers.
“This project would have not been a success without all of our volunteers,” said Jason Smith with the Jefferson Parish Coastal Management Department.
