Aristolochia macrophylla (Dutchman's Pipe) has been chosen as the 2019 Freeman Medal WINNER. There were 22 submissions for the 2019 award. One panelist noted, "If we are trying to encourage people to pay attention to nature and become in awe of it, this is a good 'gateway drug' plant.” The panel agreed that Dutchman’s Pipe is an underused plant. Its role as a host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly “sealed the deal.” This annual GCA Horticulture Award was established by Judy and Louis Freeman in honor of New Orleans Town Gardener Montine McDaniel Freeman. The award considers native North American plants that deserve wider recognition and distribution. Being awarded a Freeman medal ensures interest and wider planting of the species.

This is the second of a four part series focused on Coastal Loss and presented by the NOTG Conservation Committee. We often talk about the damage that invasive, non-native plant species can do to our environment. Louisiana’s coastline has been affected detrimentally by a particular non-native mammal, the nutria, who does his damage by feasting on the roots and grasses that hold together Louisiana’s marshland. Nutria were introduced to Louisiana from South America in the 1930s to bolster the fur industry. It wasn’t long before they escaped or were released. The habitat here suited them well, but they became an agricultural nuisance to rice and sugarcane farmers as early as the ‘40s and ‘50s. They were also blamed by the trapping industry for a decline in populations of the native muskrat. In the 1960s, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries led a cooperative effort to market nutria fur. By the late 1970s, the price per pelt was peaking. Nearly 2 million pelts per year were being harvested. Damage to crops declined, and muskrats began to recover. In the 1980s, demand for fur declined abruptly, mostly due to the anti-fur movement. The price per pelt shrank to near nothing so trappers lost their economic incentive, and the nutria rapidly became a nuisance again. This time it wasn’t so much the crops, but rather coastal marshes, that suffered. Nutria are well-adapted for the semi-aquatic environment of south Louisiana. Their highly-placed eyes, ears, and nose stay above water when they swim, and the female’s teats are on her back allowing her young to float while nursing. Nutria breed prolifically, producing two litters per year, and young are born fully furred and ready to eat vegetation within hours of birth. The population peaked in late 90's and nutria were killing marshes through over grazing or "eat outs.” By early 2000, nutria were destroying 90,000-100,000 acres yearly. In 2002 the State began a monitoring and bounty program, Coastwide Nutria Control Program (CNCP), which today pays $5/per tail. 350,000 nutrias are removed from the coastal zone annually and coastal damage is down to 10,000 acres yearly thanks to the program. Nutria Facts and Figures SCIENTIFIC NAME: Myocastor coypus TYPE: Mammals DIET: Omnivores GROUP NAME: Colony AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 8 to 10 years SIZE: Head and body, 17 to 25 in; tail, 10 to 16 in WEIGHT: 15 to 22 lbs

Did you know that the average amount of waste created during carnival season is 900,000 TONS? Last year, in partnership with Arc of Greater New Orleans, volunteers from YLC Recycles (a project of the Young Leadership Council) launched a pilot program called the Mardi Gras Recycling Initiative. During 1 day of parades, 10,000 aluminum cans, 2,000 plastic bottles, and more than 2,500 lbs of beads were collected along the route for recycling and reuse.

This is the first of a four part series focused on Coastal Loss and presented by the NOTG Conservation Committee. A coastline—any coastline—depends on the interplay of water and land. In coastal wetlands, vegetation also plays a role. The earth, or soil, depends on the plants that depend on it—as when the roots of wetland trees or grasses hold together sediments and soil fed by fresh water. When saltwater replaces fresh, native trees and grasses cannot survive. When they go, so go their root systems and the sediments and soils they held, washed away to the Gulf. Many causes of coastal erosion are related to saltwater intrusion made possible by canals and “improvements” made to facilitate navigation combined with other improvements that cut off the flow of freshwater through the wetlands. Causes of coastal loss include: Subsidence/compaction-a natural process but in nature a river would constantly add sediment back to the land mass Hydrologic modification-building canals, roads, and railroads which cut off fresh water Canals cut for cypress logging and then later for oil and gas extraction in the late 70’s Straightening rivers and bayous for navigation, making saltwater intrusion easier Sea level rise Wave erosion causing shoreline retreat Nutria herbivory

From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by 25%, so here are tips to make this the most wonderful—not wasteful—time of the year. Use reusable bags when grocery shopping Give a gift of charity/donation rather than a material item Give a gift of an experience (show tickets, massage....) Shop local businesses to avoid the extra energy, packaging, and shipping cost that goes into ordering online from a large retailer. Consider an E-Christmas card Use LED/Solar/energy efficient lights to decorate outdoors Don't leave Christmas tree lights on all day - use a timer Use sustainable/recyclable gift wrap - butcher paper and twine! Recycle ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper or use treasures from nature to decorate your holiday packages Reuse shipping boxes Buy rechargeable batteries for gifts that require batteries Avoid using disposable plates/utensils at holiday gatherings Show party guests where your recycle bin is for beverage cans, etc... Donate your leftovers to a homeless shelter Burn clean beeswax or soy candles And after it’s all over, be sure to put your tree out for pick up for coastal restoration reuse!