Healthy Communities Grant Recipients

Projects Funded for 2019-2020

Barataria- Terrebonne Estuary Foundation, Lafourche Parish

Water bottle refilling station and filters installed in 6 high schools within the program area. The stations will be located in highly trafficked areas of the school and allow students to bring reusable water bottles from home. This will substantially decrease the number of single-use plastic water bottles used and discarded at school. Students at participating schools will count the number of plastic water bottles in 3 garbage cans on campus weekly and record numbers to see if there is a decrease in the number used once the filling stations are installed. Advertising for the filling station will be ongoing through posters and announcements.

Bayou Vermilion District, Lafayette

Expansion of activities and impact of BVD’s current and environmental education in four focus areas:  mobilization of water quality education activities, expansion of water quality curriculum resources, create a zero waste student lunch activity, and conduct a food waste vermicomposting pilot project.

Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, Orleans Parish

Establish a tool library to provide materials, tools, and resources to support community organized cleanup events.

Jefferson Parish Dept. of Environmental Affairs, Jefferson Parish

To partner with the Crescent City Farmers Market and a local composter to provide for the weekly collection of food waste at two established Farmers Market locations in Jefferson Parish. During weekly market events, Parish residents will be able to bring frozen and unfrozen food waste to deposit into sealable drums.

Keep Terrebonne Beautiful, Terrebonne Parish

To provide drinking fountains with bottle fillers in three recreational areas chosen for high recreational use and proximity to the bayous. Funds will be provided to purchase 500 metal refillable bottles with a map to the fountains and guidelines for use to be distributed to local runners, children who use the playground and others who use these areas for recreation.

Northwestern State Louisiana University, Natchitoches

To fabricate machines to recycle plastics within Northwestern State University’s Art Department, to take part in Precious Plastic Louisiana to educate students, hold educational workshops, and to educate the public at area festivals. The program will also allow art students to create their own raw materials, negating the usual monetary concerns and enabling creativity.

United State Recovery Project, Orleans Parish

Supplies for litter abatement and waste tire removal.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette

Lead a study to identify the root cause of campus and community litter utilizing a Litterati Club subscription and strategically timed cleanup efforts to identify the root cause of persistent litter on our campus and community to geotag litter on campus. Funds will be used to install recycling and waste bins in the lobbies of seven additional campus buildings. It is the University’s goal to have recycling and solid waste bins in 100% of lobbies by 2021.

Wat Thammarattanaram Inc, Iberia Parish

To fund multicultural anti-liter, composting, and recycling campaign for a large festival.

Youth Rebuilding, Orleans Parish

Neighborhood litter sweeps in forty areas and environmental education on litter/waste reduction to prioritize litter abatement and education for the thousands of youth.