Holy Cross students make a difference by planting over 500 live oak seedlings in St. Bernard wetlands.

With a grant from the Apache Corporation secured by the St. Bernard Parish Grants Department, students from Holy Cross High School in New Orleans recently participated in an oak tree seedling planting in Bayou Terre aux Boeufs in St. Bernard. Fifteen Holy Cross students, many affiliated with “Go Make a Difference for the Coast,” participated in the planting.

“Holy Cross has participated in coastal restoration projects since 1990, but we feel that it’s even more important now since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Sue Ellen Lyons, a Holy Cross instructor in environmental science and former St. Bernard Parish resident. “We’re very grateful to all the partners we’ve worked with who provide opportunities for us to do environmental service projects.”

The Holy Cross students planted over 500 live oak seedlings, provided by the Apache Corporation, in a wetland adjacent to Los Islenos Museum Complex. Once a lush wooded area, many of the trees in that wetland had died from salt water intrusion brought by Hurricane Katrina’s tidal surge in 2005.