New Orleans Group Program - Verdi Gras "The Greening of Mardi Gras" - Sunday Feb. 12

"VerdiGras: Lessons We Are Learning As A Part of Greening Mardi Gras" Holly Groh (co-creator of Verdi Gras, along with her husband Kirk) will speak at the Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Verdi Gras is an inclusive carnival krewe dedicated to inspiring others and ourselves in creating and supporting a greener, cleaner Mardi Gras for all - with a spirit of creativity and fun, and reducing our dependence on foreign throws and throws in general.

On Saturday Feb 11, Verdi Gras will have recycling bins along St Charles Ave between Amelia and Toledano Streets, collecting beads, aluminum, and cardboard during the Pontchartrain Parade!. Verdi Gras is looking for volunteers to man the recycling stations. Email Holly at: kandhgroh@yahoo.com if you would like to be a part of this exciting program. Then come to the Sierra Club program on Sunday Feb 12th to hear all about it, and start planning for next year!!

Enter gate to far right of main public entrance and behind statue of Audubon. Parking plentiful and safe. Call (504) 416-8710 with any questions. The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30PM. Program 7 to 8PM.

PS: bring some beads to recycle!!

Come celebrate and get your hands dirty on National Public Lands Day!

The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Barataria Preserve in Lafitte, about 45 minutes south of New Orleans, will be welcoming volunteers to do a variety of projects, from trail clearing and trash pickup to aquatic invasive species removal. Volunteers must report to the Preserve headquarters at 9am and the project lasts until 1pm, but the park is open until 5pm for folks who would like to stay and enjoy the afternoon. Interested Sierra Club members will meet at 8am at the Wal-Mart parking lot on Tchoupitoulas Street to car-pool to the park.

More information about the project is on the attached press release from the National Park Service. If you plan to meet and car-pool with other Sierra Club members, please RSVP to me at tcolleen526@gmail.com by Wednesday, Sept. 21 - all volunteers must register with the NPS by Thursday, Sept. 22. I will register the group.

WHAT: National Public Lands Day volunteer project, Barataria Preserve
WHEN: 8am - 2pm, Sept. 24
WHERE: meet at Wal-Mart, Tchoupitoulas St., to car-pool to Barataria

IMPORTANT: Wear long pants and long sleeves and closed toed shoes or boots, and bring insect repellant, sunscreen and work gloves.

Barataria Preserve is a 20,000 acre national park with bottomland hardwood forest, swamp and marsh habitats suffering from land loss from a variety of causes, and the Sierra Club New Orleans Group has recently designated the preserve as a top priority for awareness, programs, and projects. We hope you can join us to spend a morning at this treasure that is in our backyard and give back to nature as we all get some good exercise doing physical labor!

We look forward to seeing you!

Colleen Morgan
Chair, Sierra Club N.O. Group
504-701-1880 cell

Press Release:
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/10557624/1418558135/name/National%20Public%20Lands%20Day%20at%20Barataria%20Preserve%202011.pdf