St. Mary Excel reports on second-quarter activity

(Editor’s note: The St. Mary Excel citizens group submitted this report on its second-quarter activities.)

St. Mary Excel continues to implement recommendations of the Urban Land Institute panel, "Morgan City and Berwick Louisiana: Building the Foundation for a New Economy Along the Atchafalaya River."
See https://2os2f877tnl1dvtmc3wy0aq1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wpcontent/uploa...
St Mary Excel:
—Hosted a Local Interest Group meeting on May 23. At the meeting, Laci Melancon of the Bayou Region Incubator shared how the incubator is supporting entrepreneurs andgrowing the region.
St. Mary Excel made a site visit to the incubator in Thibodaux as St. Mary Excel works to bring the concept to the local area. You can view the presentation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeOuddEVDgQ
—Submitted a grant to fund an Urban Land Institute panel-recommended resilience lab. To develop the grant application, St. Mary Excel worked with multiple university and public stakeholders. ULI recommended that our area make “resilience a regional export.” To learn more, St. Mary Excel visited an Amelia manufacturing site for nature-based solutions.
See the second part of the Local Interest Group meeting at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=754xgpWWhNA&t=5s for the connections made and hear reports of how leaders are working together to grow the area.
—Attended a presentation by Dr. Brian Roberts of Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium to the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce on May 29.
Dr. Roberts updated the community on the Atchafalaya National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR), now part of the CPRA’s coastal master plan and with a planned facility in Morgan City. Dr. Roberts shared how NOAA and CPRA are working on the draft environmental impact statement and management plan for the ANERR.
—Submitted an Atchafalaya National Heritage Area grant application to fund highlighting neighborhood culture in the area.
—Volunteered in support of the St. Mary Parish Levee District, LA Sea Grant, the St. Mary Soil and Water Conservation District, and the National Resources Conservation Services for Morgan City High School and Patterson High School students’ field trip for marsh grass plantings along the coast at Burns Point. The trip was facilitated by the SMPSO, LDWF,Coast Guard, and Franklin/Fire EMT services.
—Continue inquiries into current awarded bike/hiking trail grants: 1) placing pedestrian head crossings on three intersections identified as dangerous; 2) and placing trails from downtown Morgan City to South Louisiana Community College.