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February 2023 Newsletter 

 
 

The title of BVPA’s 8th Annual River Symposium is Enhancing our Watershed through Environmental Education.  It will be held on Friday, March 31 2023 from 8:00am to 2:00pm at the LITE Center on Cajundome Boulevard. This year, we will also co-host a family-friendly event at the Nature Station at 1205 E. Alexander St on Saturday 01 April. Henry G. Sanchez, of the BioArt Bayou-torium will present “Bio-Art on the Vermilion.” 

 

The speakers we invited this year have excelled  in the environmental education and outreach arena, with demonstrated  positive outcomes in their respective watersheds. They are primarily family and community educators whose mission is environmental education in both formal and informal settings. 

Many of this year's speakers will share the story of their organizations, which have impacted various watersheds and the environment overall  in a positive and transformative way.

 

  • Dr. Brandon Ballengée, our Honorary Chairman, is a multi-disciplinary activist, educator, scientist and artist. With his wife, Dr. Ballengée founded and runs Atelier de la Nature, an eco-educational campus and nature reserve in Arnaudville, Louisiana. They have opportunities for children, adults and organizations to learn more about their environment.

  • Dr. Ray Brassieur, Associate Professor of Anthropology at University of Louisiana at Lafayette will discuss conservation of the Bayou Vermilion Watershed through learning our culture's ignored history. 

  • Henry Sanchez is a Houston based interdisciplinary social practice artist. His projects concentrate on history, social and environmental justice with the natural sciences.

  • Jonathan Foret is executive director of the Wetlands Discovery Center in Houma, Louisiana. The Wetlands Discovery Center is revolutionizing how we think, teach and learn about Louisiana’s disappearing coast.

  • Claire Anderson is co-founder and executive director of Ripple Effect Water Literacy Project, a New Orleans-based environmental education nonprofit whose mission is to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skill, and ethical grounding they need to strengthen communities in an era of climate change and sea-level rise.

 

Our hope is that BVPA along with our partners in preservation will gain insightful knowledge that will improve our ability to educate our community and implement conservation efforts in the Bayou Vermilion watershed. As we celebrate our 10 year anniversary as an organization we are poised to take the Bayou Vermilion watershed and our community to the next level in how we  provide education and outreach to the general community about ways to conserve, protect and enjoy the Bayou Vermilion Watershed.
Click here to register for the Symposium
Recent Events
Autumn in the Oaks
Autumn in the Oaks at Moncus park was a huge success. Volunteers from BVPA educated event participants about issues related to our watershed using an Enviroscape model provided by Lafayette Consolidated government as well as an interactive game about decomposition rates of various types of litter provided by Bayou Vermilion District. We also engaged the community in a fun upcycling activity, converting old t-shirts into bags for collecting treats and more!
Embrace the Space
BVPA and others participated in the Embrace the Space event at Beaver Park. Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) joined BVPA along with members from the Rotary Club to maintain the bank line stabilization project along the Vermilion River that was installed in 2021.  RES contributed time and plant donations to the project. In addition, litter was collected, mulching and other beautification activities were embraced to improve the space! 
Vermilion River Alliance Meeting November 2022
The Quarterly Vermilion River Alliance Meeting was held at the Teche Vermilion Freshwater District Facility. Participants from BVPA and other members of the VRA enjoyed a tour of the pump station, informative presentations as well as an amazing lunch! Thanks to TVFWD for hosting!
Water Quality Monitoring
 
Water quality is monitored at 23 sites throughout our watershed. Monitoring
consists of obtaining meter readings as well as collecting samples for lab analysis.
In addition, observations are recorded at each sample site. Meter readings
include Dissolved Oxygen, Temperature, pH, Conductivity and Total Dissolved
Solids. Lab analysis consist of Fecal Coliforms, Nitrite + Nitrate, Total Kjeldahl
Nitrogen (TKN), Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus and Total Suspended Solids
(selected sites). Observations include flow, turbidity, presence or absence of
dead fish or any unusual conditions. Over six years of data has been recorded and
an evaluation has begun. The monthly data are discussed at our Technical
Committee meetings and are reported to our board each month.
The team that collects the meter readings and samples are from stakeholder
agencies and include Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District, Lafayette
Consolidated Government, Seventh Ward Drainage District of Vermilion Parish,
Vermilion Parish Police Jury, and Bayou Vermilion District. The Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and other environmental
companies give us technical advice and training and some participate as members
of our Technical Committee and Board. This project is ongoing with no plans for
an ending date. The goal of the project is to establish background conditions for
our waterbodies and use the knowledge gained to educate our citizens and to
work with stakeholders to improve conditions where possible.
Malcom Sams with Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District calibrates instruments before and after monthly monitoring events.
Shane Miller with La. DEQ demonstrates how water samples are collected directly into lab furnished containers for fecal coliforms analysis. 
Internship Opportunity

Description: The Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association 's Intern will be responsible for a variety of administrative and operational tasks in support BVPA's mission to create awareness of our natural environment by providing education and outreach to the general community about ways to conserve, protect and enjoy the Bayou Vermilion Watershed. 

Here is the link to the application: https://app.joinhandshake.com/emp/jobs/6697713/details

BVPA Internship potential tasks:
 - Instagram/ Facebook posting regularly (~1/hr)
 - Managing Instagram/Facebook responses
 - Developing content for Instagram/Facebook posting (~1/hr)
 - Tiktok posting (~1/hr)
 - Making videos for tiktok of bvpa at events etc (~1/hr)
 - Instagram - posting etc (~1/hr)
- Setting up virtual meetings (~.5/hr)
- Taking notes at all meetings every month/ Writing up committee reports (~+1/hr)
- Emailing meeting attendees (~.5/hr)
- Calendar updates (~.5/hr)
- managing memberships (~.5/hr)
- managing and updating contacts
- tabling at events (~2/hr/month)
- organizing google drive files (~1/hr)
- scheduling volunteers for events (~.5/hr)
- managing t-shirt orders
- if possible, developing graphics for tshirts (~1/hr)
- using canva or similar to develop signs, posters, flyers, etc for BVPA events (~1/hr)
- working with partners in preservation to coordinate events
- scheduling events on Eventbrite (~.5/hr)
- quarterly newsletter using Mail Chimp (~4/hr/month)
- research various topics and events as needed

AND MORE...

We also promote Water Recreation, Conservation, and Natural Resource Preservation with multiple area non-profit partners and municipalities, in addition to the Annual State of the River Meeting.
Check out more at our website: http://www.bayouvermilionpreservation.org/ 


Please let us know if you have any questions about membership renewal by emailing: BVPAConnect@gmail.com



Thanks!
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