MCHS, Patterson students work to restore coast

Given Louisiana’s drought at the time, it was hard to ask for rain to hold off. But the students from Morgan City and Patterson High School are thankful it did.
This meant that they were able to travel to Burns Point Park and participate in a restoration project with local, state and federal partners.
The Morgan City High School and Patterson High School 4-H Coastal Cubs planted smooth cordgrass as a part of Wetland Day on May 1. As they gained hands-on conservation experience, they learned about our unique coastline.
These students partnered with the Franklin Fire Department, the St. Mary Soil & Water Conservation District, the St. Mary Levee District, the St. Mary Sheriff’s Office, the Natural Resources Conservation District, Louisiana SeaGrant, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, JMB and ONEOK to plant 5,000 smooth cordgrass plugs.
Morgan City and Patterson high schools have been granted designation as a NOAA Ocean Guardian School. An Ocean Guardian School makes a commitment to the protection and conservation of its local watersheds. The school makes this commitment by proposing and then implementing a school- or community-based conservation project.
They are one of three schools in Louisiana with this national designation. They are the only one focusing on habitat restoration.