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Symposium Success
BVPA hosted its annual Watershed Symposium finally on 25 March 2022. The event was originally planned for September 2020 and was postponed twice due to COVID-19 concerns. I can’t tell you how good it was to have our sponsors, speakers, and audience all talking, listening, and learning together again. A year and a half lapse didn’t affect the timeliness or importance of our speakers’ topics one bit. And fortunately, our sponsors remained engaged as well. And even better, our audience of interested citizens is still interested!
Every year we choose a new theme for the Symposium. There are many ways in which the Bayou Vermilion is an asset to our community, and probably many more ways we could leverage its presence to provide additional benefits for our community. In the past, we’ve focused on diverse topics including the bayou’s value to industry, especially the agriculture industry; the potential for eco-tourism; flood issues; ways that individuals can act to improve water quality; and innovative ideas about education, recreation, and other ways of leveraging the presence of the bayou. We’re very much interested in knowing what you as members and friends of the Bayou Vermilion are interested in. Please let us know!
One of our speakers for the recent symposium told me that he thought that BVPA and the annual Symposium and the interest it generates in the watershed is something special. I think members and sponsors of BVPA have felt that way since our first Symposium in 2014. I really appreciated that little bit of encouragement as we consider next year’s Symposium.
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2022 BVPA Symposium Award Winners
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Reflections from Symposium Award Winners
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Visionary Entrepreneur Award : Marcus Descant
"11 years ago, I this started pivoting my horticulture business in a new direction. A direction that would embrace edibles and natives, bringing more life and function to the landscape. My nursery, Urban Naturalist, produces all the plants on site, converting waste plastic from the horticulture industry, into native habitat space and the building blocks for edible gardens. Rather than paying a permanent staff in dollars, I pay a rotating staff in plant credits. From start to finish, I’ve been trying to redefine capitalism by constructing a business more like a guild of organisms working in a circulatory fashion, with a positive production protocol, plants!
We like to say that it’s “the survival of the fittest”, it’s actually “survival of the most compatible”, and that’s what I strive for. If you went to school for business, they’d likely equip you with the tools and approaches to become a top tier predator. I say be a decomposer, even in something as detrimental as a mass extinction event, your organism/business will be relevant, and need very little to sustain.
My name is Marcus Descant, I’m a self taught entrepreneur, horticulturalist, ecologist, and I like economics. I have not paid people with dollars in over 4 years, yet I have over 100 rotating employees. I have not bought plastic in more than 5, yet I have enough surplus to sell. I have reduced my miles every year by at least 10%, I now put less than 5k miles a year on my vehicle. All while doubling production every year for the last 4, pay attention to the math, at the core of every business is an equation."
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Jan and Charlie Wyatt Visionary Award : Jackie Vargas-Beitia
“I am honored to have received this award, and am truly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to advocate for water quality improvement throughout my career. Though Jan and Charlie are only with us in spirit, I will continue to draw inspiration from their leadership as well as the leadership of all my friends and colleagues working to protect our natural resources. It really is true that “teamwork makes the dream work” and together we will continue advocating for the Teche-Vermilion Watershed!”
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Innovative Non-Profit Award : Abbeville Garden Club
"Abbeville Garden Club members are honored to have received the BVPA
Innovative Non Profit Award at the Symposium this year. We share the mission of BVPA to protect and preserve our precious resource, the Vermilion River. And we are thankful for the educational opportunities and resources provided to our club through BVPA to support thIs mission."
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Fête de la Terre is a week-long celebration of the Earth! Fête de la Terre typically takes place Monday through Friday around the week in April that contains Earth Day, April 22nd. It's a week filled with film screenings, lectures, and events, all culminating with UL Lafayette's Office of Sustainability's biggest event of the year - the Fête de la Terre Expo. The Expo provides a space for organizations, businesses, and non-profits who are committed to a more sustainable Acadiana and Louisiana to come together to talk to students and community members. This year, the Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association along with over 30 other organizations enjoyed jambalaya and music, hosted a table, and talked to students and community members about all the things the BVPA is doing for the Vermilion River and the community.
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Painted Rain Barrel Art Contest Winners
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We have joined forces with the AcA, Lafayette Utilities System & Lafayette Consolidated Government to facilitate a painted rain barrel contest. Barrels purchased by our organization are given to schools where they are are painted. The eco-themed barrels are then displayed for community voting.
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𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐃
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Lafayette Consolidated Government’s Environmental Quality (EQ) Division announced that the third-party panel hosted by the Acadiana Center for the Arts has reviewed and rated the storm drain art submissions received over the past two years.
The top four winners (sponsored by EQ) are:
1. Louisiana Magic by Jewel Campbell – will be placed at the Girard Park Recreation Center
2. Let the Good Times Flow by Mandy McGee – will be placed on East Alexander Street (near the bus stop next to Breaux’s Mart)
3. Bass Trash Pollutant by Erin Lafleur – will be placed at SLCC/Luke Street (near the bench and crosswalk)
4. The Rainbow Rule by Anabel Saft – will be placed at 217 Olivier Street at the Townfolk Victory Garden
A stipend of $500 from EQ will be awarded to each of the top four winners.
The winning student-teacher team (sponsored by Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association) is:
1. Cleanup Krewe by Grace Paul – will be placed in the 700 block of Jefferson Boulevard (Veteran’s Park at Pontiac Point) Winner!
A stipend of $500 from BVPA will be awarded to the student-teacher team, in which the student will receive $250 and the teacher will receive $250.
EQ will be scheduling the required orientation/safety training/contract signing with the winners. The art installations will take place over the next several months and are expected to be completed by the fall.
The 2022 installations will be featured on LCG’s interactive storm drain map: https://lcg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=f5dd66dc070942a6b1b829544b1d3201
The purpose of Storm Drain Art program is to illustrate the need for watershed protection, reinforce that all drains lead to the Vermilion, engage stakeholders in raising awareness about water quality, symbolize local ecology, culture, and community, complement ongoing educational programs, and fulfill LCG’s obligation for MS4 permit compliance.
This project is funded in part by the EQ education fund and BVPA and made possible through the support and cooperation of Acadiana Center for the Arts and Acadiana Open Channel.
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Interesting Places Along the Bayou Vermilion
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Beaver Park is an interesting public space that we hope you consider checking out this summer. BVPA adopted the park through LUS's Embrace This Space program in 2020 due to the park's proximity to the Bayou Vermilion. Since adoption, we have completed several projects such as adding native plants to the bank, cleaning and painting the boat launch kiosk, added new signage, requested a fishing line disposal unit, painted the railing throughout the park, and several trash pick ups. LUS and BVPA worked with Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC, a private ecological restoration company, to plan and implement a native planting and invasive plant removal, totaling in $10,000 of plants and work. Acadiana Native Plant Project granted BVPA $200 worth of natives plants that are living in the median across from the boat launch. You will also see new trash cans placed throughout the park thanks to Beaver Club's $15,000 donation! BVPA greatly appreciates the help of LUS, RES, ANPP, and Beaver Club in making Beaver Park better!
Beaver Park is an excellent place to enjoy the bayou. You can launch your boat, kayak, or canoe here or fish off of a pier maintained by Bayou Vermilion District. I have never seen anyone leave the fishing pier empty handed. With the water quality hitting primary contact levels, it is a great time to take advantage of this beautiful park's features! Please check out the native flora that the park offers. Follow Plantation Road deep into the park to find a magnificent, old live oak tree. We are working on getting an age on this tree. Native plants abound throughout the park. Try to find a sedge (remember, they have edges on the stem), river oats, or cattails. You will not be disappointed!
We love this park and we think you will too! Check out Beaver Park on Plantation Road, Lafayette, LA 70506.
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/iDCuhM589qq99dYW8
Coordinates: 30°12'34.1"N 92°00'02.0"W
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Teche-Vermilion Freshwater District (TVFWD) manages flow in Teche and Vermilion to improve water quality. This graph illustrates Conductivity (indicates salinity) at the monitoring sites along the Vermilion River starting with the source water at the Atchafalaya River (left side of graph) downstream to the receiving waters at Vermilion Bay (right side of the graph). By pumping freshwater and managing flow in the Teche and Vermilion, TVFWD prevents stagnation and a buildup of pollutants. Additionally, sufficient flow reduces saltwater intrusion upriver and protects irrigation sources for farmers in our region.
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SPONSORED PROJECTS AND EVENTS
Your contribution helps BVPA meet our 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.
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BVPA will host its annual State of the River meeting on Thursday, September 22, 2022 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Performance Center at Vermilionville in Lafayette. This event is designed to provide information to interested citizens about current developments and challenges in the Teche-Vermilion Watershed and on the Bayou Vermilion and allow for valuable networking opportunities between members of our watershed community. This year, instead of speakers and talks, our presenters will have booths or tables. Our audience will be able to seek information about topics of interest to them, and our presenters will be able to answer questions directly. We’ll be updating our list of presenters as the summer progresses. We’re serving wine, beer, and jambalaya as well. So save the date!
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New Launch at Parc 'Tit Fer
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A new canoe and kayak launch is in the works for the Bayou Vermilion! An empty lot where the Bayous Carencro and Fuselier join to create the head of the Vermilion will be the future home of Parc ‘Tit Fer. Once it is complete, we will finally be able to paddle the entire 70 mile length of the Vermilion in one go — 30 miles of which reside in Lafayette Parish alone. Organizations from across the community are joining forces to make the Parc a reality, not least of which are the Bayou Vermilion District for acquiring the initial grant funding to begin the project, the Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association with a wealth of advice and expertise, and T.R.A.I.L. for spreading the word and getting us all excited for what’s to come. The Vermilion River is our natural heritage and with Parc ‘Tit Fer, we will soon be able to connect with it more than ever before.
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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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