COASTAL ROOTS
Participating Schools

Program information

Nursery instructions

Information for Teachers

Helping Hands

LSU Coastal Roots:
Seedling Nursery Program for Habitat Restoration

What is Coastal Roots?

Students from grades 3-12 across 18 parishes of south Louisiana are taking part in this project by establishing wetland plant nurseries at their schools.  Students are growing native plant seedlings that they will plant in a coastal habitat restoration project in south Louisiana.

Students are working with a variety of seeds, including the water oak, southern baldcypress, southern wax myrtle, black mangrove, red mulberry, and Spartina alterniflora grass - just to name a few.

In 2008, 775 students in grades 3-12 participated in 16 restoration plantings at sites in Louisiana. They transplanted a total of 5,465 plants. In the spring of 2009, 338 students in 8 plantings transplanted 3,388 plants.

Since 2000, 3,573 students have planted more than 29,000 student-produced seedlings in Louisiana coastal zone.  To see images from each of these plantings, click here!

Funded by:
NOAA Bay-Watershed Education & Training Program
America's Wetland Foundation
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
UNO Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program

Updated August 7, 2009.