CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: THE FUTURE FOR THE LOUISIANA COAST (Part 3 of 3)
Premiered on Monday, August 26, 2024 at 9pm
The 30-minute program will repeat on Wednesday, August 28 at 10pm; Saturday, August 31 at 5pm
Restoring and protecting the Louisiana coast is an ongoing task. Now is the time to educate and train the coastal workforce of tomorrow. In the next episode of the WYES series CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES, learn about the different programs offered in south Louisiana to ready the next generation of coastal scientists, engineers, designers and builders. The future for the Louisiana coast falls to them. Also featured are Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program Director, formerly the Director of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Bren Haase, and STEM NOLA founder and executive director Dr. Calvin Mackie. Marcia Kavanaugh is producer and host.
WYES COASTAL EXPO was held on August 17, 2024.
The FREE community event showcased coastal advocacy groups that are working on projects to help combat coastal loss. Plus local academic programs were on-hand to discuss courses they offer to prepare students for a career path in the coastal studies and environmental fields
Screening with panel discussion included: WYES producer and host Marcia Kavanaugh and coastal experts Mark Schleifstein, Steve Mathies and Steve Cochran.
The following participated in the WYES COASTAL EXPO:
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA)
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Outreach (CWPPRA)
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP)
The Coastal Center at Nicholls State University
Pontchartrain Conservancy
The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Science at the University of New Orleans
Restore the Mississippi River Delta
Nunez Community College Coastal Studies and GIS Technology Program
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Restore or Retreat
STEM NOLA
Louisiana Sea Grant
Coastal Technical Assistance Center
LSU Gordon A. Cain Center for STEM Literacy
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: RESTORING THE LOUISIANA COAST (Part 2 of 3)
Premiered on July 3, 2024 at 9pm on WYES-TV and will stream on wyes.org/live and on the WYES app and PBS app.
The 30-minute program will repeat on Wed., July 24 at 10pm ; Sat., July 27 at 5pm
The second installment of the WYES series CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: RESTORING THE LOUISIANA COAST premiering on Wed., July 3, 2024 at 9pm explores how efforts to restore and protect the state’s coastline range from the projects in the multimillion-dollar coastal master plan to volunteer efforts to help bring back our coastal forests.
Produced and host is Marcia Kavanaugh. Lenny Delbert Sr. is editor.
Also featured in the episode are a growing local recycling business turning glass into sand to use in coastal rebuilding projects and a state coastal advocacy group working with local restaurants to reuse oyster shells to build reefs that combat storm surge.
Interviewed in CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: RESTORING THE LOUISIANA COAST:
Steve Mathies
Stantec Global Practice Leader for Coastal Restoration
Michael Hecht
GNO, Inc, President & CEO
Fiona Lightbody
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Oyster Shell Recycling Program Coordinator
Carlo Clesi
Clesi’s Seafood, Co-Owner
Franziska Trautmann
Glass Half Full, Co-Founder & CEO
Bill Haines
The Meraux Foundation, Board Member
Blaise Pezold
The Meraux Foundation, Coastal & Environmental Program Director
Michael Massimi
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Invasive Species and Marine Programs Coordinator
Archie Chaisson, III
Lafourche Parish, Parish President
Jonathan Foret
South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center, Executive Director
Haley Gamble
Louisiana Sea Grant, Area Agent, Southwest Region (Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes)
Kerry St. Pe
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Retired Director
Duane Bourgeois
North Lafourche Levee District, Executive Director
Theresa Dardar
Pointe-au-Chene Tribal member and advocate for the restoration and protection of Louisiana coastal areas, but also for the people and communities who call coastal Louisiana home.
Featured in CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: RESTORING THE LOUISIANA COAST:
Producer and host Marcia Kavanaugh
Blaise Pezold of The Meraux Foundation shows cypress tree saplings.
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, a state coastal advocacy group, works with local restaurants to reuse oyster shells to build reefs that combat storm surge.
Oyster shell recycling programs keep shells out of landfills and slows coastal land loss.
Grassroots glass recycling program Glass Half Full is leading the state’s efforts in recycling glass into sand and gravel for disaster relief and coastal restoration.
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: THE LOUISIANA COAST premiered June 2023. (Part 1 of 3)
The first episode focused on the states’ updated Coastal Master Plan. Producer and host Marcia Kavanaugh welcomed environment reporter Mark Schleifstein, environment columnist Bob Marshall and environment reporter Halle Parker to discuss how the most recent state plan addresses the threat to coastal Louisiana due to the loss of wetlands, land subsidence and sea level rise.
The combination of climate change, land erosion and subsidence, sea level rise and more frequent and ferocious storms has created an existential threat to communities along the Gulf Coast. Louisiana is confronting the problem with strategic planning involving land building and community relocation while nurturing the development of industries focused on coastal preservation, resilience, sustainability and alternative energy resources.
WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE — PREMIERED JUNE 21, 2023:
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: THE LOUISIANA COAST:
