Source: PC

Overview:

Students will examine a variety of perspectives concerning development and wetlands on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

Objective:

Students will identify concerns and motivations that frame the debate around development in and near wetlands.

Materials:

Article:  "Caution: Building in a Wetland Can Be Hazardous to Your House"

Online Tool: CPRA's Coastal Vegetation Viewer

Map: Northshore Study Areas

Worksheet: Development and the Wetlands

Reference Material: Saint Tammany Parish Information

Reference Material: Lacombe Area and Development

Procedure:

Ask students about where they live.  Is it mostly urban?  Are there any natural areas near them?  What kind of ecosystem is it?  Where is the nearest wetland?  Use Google Maps if time permits.  Are these natural areas valuable? 

Read and discuss "Caution: Building in a Wetland Can Be Hazardous to Your House."  How do these two opposing goals of development and protecting the wetlands create a dilemma?  Which goal is more important?  Why?

View CPRA's Coastal Vegetation Viewer.  Zoom in on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain near Mandeville and Lacombe.  Turn on the "Coastal Vegetation" filter.  What kinds of wetlands are in and around Mandeville and Lacombe?  Which kind of wetland is closest to Mandeville?  To Lacombe?  What do you notice about the amount of wetlands as you move along the coast away from Mandeville or Lacombe?  What might explain the change?

Share the Northshore Study Areas map as a reference and point out that they will be focusing on the Lacombe Sub-Area in and around Mandeville and Lacombe.

Explain that they are going to "Take a side!" and outline the concerns and motivations of developers and conservationists in this dilemma.  Assign partners to one side or the other (equal numbers on each side is ideal).  

Complete the Development and the Wetlands worksheet.  Ask the students who are presenting the developer's arguments to use the Saint Tammany Parish Information PDF.  Ask the students who are presenting the conservationist's arguments to use the Lacombe Area and Development PDF.

Discuss the arguments.  What is the central concern for developers?  Conservationists?  What appears to be the motivation for each group?  Is there any overlap or common ground between the two groups?

Assessment: Completed worksheets and observation during discussions.

Source:PC

Overview:

Students will explore the ecosystem services that wetlands provide for the people living on the Northshore of Lake Pontchatrain and calculate their economic value.

Objective:

Students will calculate the value of the ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

Materials:

Colored pencils and paper

Internet/Computers

Article: "Coastal Wetlands: Too Valuable to Lose"

Online Tool: Google Earth

Worksheet: Ecosystem Services of Northshore Wetlands

Reference Material: Ecosystem Services of Northshore Wetlands Reference PDF

Reference Material: Fritchie Marsh Creation and Terracing

Procedure:

Ask students to draw a picture of a wetland.  What plants would they find?  What animals live in the wetlands?  What kind of wetland did they draw?  Allow them to use the internet to search out inspiration.

Read and discuss "Coastal Wetlands: Too Valuable to Lose."  What are the ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands? (storm surge protection, water storage during flooding, fisheries, improved water quality, habitat for rare and endangered species, coastal tourism, etc).

Explain that unlike a business that sells goods or service, the value of the wetlands can be more difficult to determine.  Look on Google Earth or Google Maps and zoom in on the wetlands near Mandeville.  How could they begin to calculate the value of those wetlands?  Have them brainstorm possible methods and record them.  Have them choose a method.

Pair up and complete the Ecosystem Services of Northshore Wetlands.  Use the Ecosystem Services of Northshore Wetlands Reference PDF as a starting point for figuring out the value* of the Northshore Wetlands, but ask students to use their chosen method to complete the worksheet.

*...ecosystem services....wetland value of $5,425.09/acre/ year (2004 dollar; Costanza et al. 2008). (For comparison with what the students come up with.)

Compare and contrast the calculated value of the wetlands with a nearby restoration project: Fritchie Marsh Creation and Terracing.  How do the cost per acre to restore a marsh and the value per acre of the ecosystem services provided by an acre of wetland compare?  What might this mean for the importance of protecting wetlands?

Assessment:

Completed worksheets and observation during discussions.

Source: PC

Overview:

Students will identify potential conflicts present in the process of urbanization that can threaten nearby natural habitats.

Objective:

Students will identify the role urbanization plays in the loss of adjacent wetlands.

Materials:

Paper/pencil

Video: "Land Use"

Data: Northshore Land Cover 2005-2009

Map: Bayou Lacombe Changes 2005-1008 Map #1, Map #2, Map #3

Article: "New Growth to the North"

Reference Material: Future Directions for St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana -A Strategic Plan for Economic Development (Excerpt)

Worksheet: Urbanization's Role in Wetlands Loss

Map: Population Growth Near Wetlands

Reference Material: Direct and Indirect Impacts of Urbanization on Wetlands Quality PDF

Procedure:

Ask students to draw a small circle on a piece of paper.  Ask them to draw ten houses in their circle.  Have them add a school, a hospital, store, etc, until the circle is full.  Ask them to add ten more homes.  Where will they place the homes.  Most students will expand beyond the circle.  Now ask them to draw wetlands surrounding the circle.  Where will they place the ten homes now?  Ask them to add a factory, etc.  How is the need to expand in direct conflict with the need to protect wetlands and other natural areas?

View and Discuss "Land Use." How does this video relate to the maps they drew?  What was one solution to building the homes in natural areas?

Share and discuss Northshore Land Cover 2005-2009 and Map #1, Map #2, Map #3.  In the Lacombe Study-Area, where was there an increase in acreage?  Where was there a loss?    How did the loss of wetlands compare to the loss of other natural areas?  Why might this be?  When looking at the maps, what do you notice about the location of the wetlands that are being developed? (They border currently developed areas.)

Read and discuss "New Growth to the North."  How does this article help to shed light on the issue of urban sprawl and loss of the adjacent wetlands?  What conversations should businesses and developers be having as they decide where to build new infrastructure?  Who should they be talking to?  Who (EPA, The Nature Conservancy, etc) is holding them accountable for preserving the local environment?

Share the Population Growth Near Wetlands map.  How does population growth in Saint Tammany Parish compare to other urban areas facing wetlands loss?

Pair up and complete Urbanization's Role in Wetlands Loss.  Have students use Direct and Indirect Impacts of Urbanization on Wetlands Quality PDF as a reference, as well as their discussions, the articles, and other resource sin this session.

Assessment:

Completed worksheets and observation during discussions.

Logo for the 2019 Louisiana Smart Growth Summit. (Source: Louisiana Smart Growth)

Overview:

Students will create a sustainable business proposal for a hypothetical business that is building in nearby wetlands.

Objective:

Students will create a business development plan that utilizes best practices for protecting local wetlands.

Materials:

Article: "St. Tammany should look at focused development, not suburban sprawl, to avoid becoming ‘Anywhere, USA,’ experts say"

PDF: Northshore Business Scenarios

Online Tool: US Fish & Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper

Instructions: FWS Wetlands Mapper

Worksheet: Sustainable Business Proposal

Reference Material: "Wetlands Project Guidance"

Procedure:

Read and reflect on "St. Tammany should look at focused development, not suburban sprawl, to avoid becoming ‘Anywhere, USA,’ experts say." Whose responsibility is it to ensure that development preserves the natural areas near urban centers?  How can businesses participate in the process of reducing the impacts of urbanization?

Share one of the Northshore Business Scenarios with each team.  Have them read over the scenario and highlight the most relevant details of each scenario.

Explain that they will be preparing a list of recommendations for their business based on best practices for protecting wetlands.

Ask teams to generate a map of the proposed building site using the US Fish & Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper.  For detailed instructions on how to use this tool, refer to the instructions for FWS Wetlands Mapper. Open the Mapper and zoom in to Mandeville, LA.  Ensure the base map is "Gray."  Ask students to focus on the wetlands just west of Mandeville.  After students have reread their business scenario, have them locate a likely spot in those wetlands or near them using clues from the scenario where the development might take place.  Have them use the measure tool for area by acres to highlight the specific spot and appropriate acreage on the map.  When they have confirmed the location and the acreage, have teams print their map to attach to their proposal.  Remind students to refer to their map as they complete their recommendations.

Pair up and complete the Sustainable Business Proposal worksheet.  Give students a variety of resources to explore to inform their recommendations*.  A good place to start is with the "Wetlands Project Guidance" PDF.  Other resources include wetland restoration information, green infrastructure guidance, environmental justice initiatives, and local environmental organizations. *Possible recommendations include restoring a wetland, protecting existing wetlands, incorporating green infrastructure into the design, reducing impacts from construction and use, environmental impact studies, environmental justice assessments, partnering with scientists or local environmental organizations, creating stakeholder task forces, community forums, etc.

Share and discuss the recommendations for each scenario.  What did most teams recommend?  Why?  Was it easy to come up with recommendations?  What challenges were common as teams decided what they should recommend?

Assessment:

Completed worksheets and observation during discussions.

The Tammany Trace trail in Covington, Louisiana. (Source: Michael A. Stern)

Overview:

Students will communicate the key take-aways from this exploration by reflecting on what they have learned through the previous sessions.

Objective:

Students will discuss how communities do not always participate in decisions that impact them directly.

Materials:

Article: "Slip-Sliding:The Challenge of Implementing St. Tammany’s Vision for Growth Management"

Procedure:

Read and Reflect on "Protecting the Green from Sprawl" on page 6 and 7 of "Slip-Sliding:The Challenge of Implementing St. Tammany’s Vision for Growth Management".  In what ways have these sessions echoed the sentiments in this reading?  What questions should outsiders hold space for as they explore the issues facing communities they are not a part of?

Ask which community members have shaped the current situation.  Who got to decide which businesses would build and where?  How were the wetlands protected?  Were they protected?  Who has benefited from the unchecked growth?  Who may have been negatively impacted by the rapid development?

Explain that environmental justice is a factor that is central to communities that have been historically marginalized.  Is it likely that development on the Northshore has impacted communities differently depending on factors such as economic status or race?  Why or why not?

Ask students to reflect on whether the peoples of the Northshore have had adequate input into the development in their communities. How should the perspectives of residents and potential residents be factored in to discussions about development and the wetlands?  How could community forums have altered projects such as the draining and filling of wetlands?

Complete The Northshore's Wetlands Dilemma worksheet as a way to reflect on what each individual student has learned.

Share and discuss students answers.  Where can they find out more about this topic?  What aspects of this exploration had the most impact on their thinking about this topic?

Assessment:

Completed worksheets and observation during discussions.