Story by Molly Feltner at noaa.gov With $1.2 million in funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, NOAA is amplifying local efforts in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish to restore wetlands and revitalize communities. Today, locals in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward call the Bayou Bienvenue Wetlands Triangle a “ghost swamp.” The area …
Category: News
A Crash Course in Disaster: Common Ground and Community Care After Hurricane Ida
Despite passing familiarity with Common Ground Relief and their mission (due to my friendship with Director and Conservationist-in-Chief Charlotte Clarke) my first experience volunteering for CGR came in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, in the early Fall of 2021. By chance, I had been out of town visiting family out west when Hurricane Ida formed with astonishing speed and struck …
Into the Mud: A Marsh Planting with Common Ground Relief
Though it was only 8 a.m., the temperature was rising above 90 degrees as my housemate and I got ready to drive to Bayou Bienvenue for my first marsh planting with Common Ground Relief. Max, my housemate, was an old hand at the plantings, and had been going all season as work from the film industry had slowed. On several …
Embracing Change
Hello, Common Ground Relief friends and supporters! I have a few important announcements to share from the CGR team. After an excellent 3 years, I am transitioning away from CGR. I have found deep joy, growth, and pride in leading this team. We have recovered from a pandemic, two significant hurricanes, and a tornado. We planted 14,600 trees and 107,000 plugs …
Common Ground Relief joins the Central Wetlands Reforestation Collective to plant tens of thousands of trees, other vegetation in Central Wetlands
A consortium of Louisiana organizations will plant more than 30,000 trees, 33,000 plugs of marsh grasses and 40 plots of aquatic vegetation to re-establish a bald cypress and water tupelo bottomland hardwood forest near New Orleans starting this year. The Central Wetlands Reforestation Collective (CWRC) is receiving $715,256 over three years from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a …
2022 Common Ground Relief Annual Report
Dear Friends and Supporters, It is with great pleasure and gratitude that we present to you the 2022 Annual Report for Common Ground Relief. Over the past year, we have continued our unwavering commitment to responding to urgent community needs, advocating for environmental justice, and fostering habitat health in the face of the twin crises of climate change and land …
Common Ground Relief Releases 2021 – 2024 Strategic Plan
This strategic plan will enhance the inclusiveness of our community and provide a roadmap for where we want to go and how we can get there together. Some plans and solutions are included directly in this plan. Additionally, the plan identifies areas where further attention and analysis are needed to achieve our highest potential. We think of this as a …
2021 Common Ground Relief Annual Report
Common Ground Relief met immense success and growth in 2021. CGR navigatedthrough the multi-pronged challenges of transitioning executive leadership,reviving programs in food security and disaster relief, functioning safely throughCOVID-19, and recovering from Hurricane Ida. CGR came out the other side a stronger organization, more affirmed in its values,programs, and support network. CGR served community members in both familiarand new ways, …
Mid-Barataria Diversion permit finish line moved up to 2020

Some unexpected good news was announced by Army Corps of Engineers Monday (April 2). It has moved up the anticipated completion of the complex permitting process for the proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion to Nov. 16, 2020, reducing the permitting time by two years. Learn more at nola.com.
Mississippi’s Muddy New Land

Mississippi’s changing delta: Stunning satellite images reveal new land forming at a rate of a square mile a YEAR! While most of the delta plain of the Mississippi River Delta is losing ground, NASA images show new land is forming in Atchafalaya Bay. We must utilize the land-building potential of the Mississippi with Fresh Water Diversion Projects throughout Southeastern Louisiana. …