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OUR STORY, MISSION & WORK
For the Bayou is
a grass-roots, non profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in San
Francisco in 2008 by Louisiana natives to increase public awareness
of the disappearing Louisiana coastal wetlands, to foster restoration
and protection of this culturally significant coastal environment
and to aid and assist the people of Louisiana in the event of a
disaster. We are a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. All directors
and officers of the organization are voluntary and non-paid.
MISSION & GOALS
We work with organizations in Louisiana that focus on education, restoration and protection of Louisiana's wetlands and coast and its people. We help to directly fund restoration projects [hyperlink to our projects information]nof Louisiana's wetlands and coastal habitat and to directly aid in emergency humanitarian efforts. As the music, food and culture is part of what differentiates Louisiana from the rest of the nation and the world, we work with amazing Louisiana
musicians, artists and chefs to promote Louisiana art, music, food and culture and to educate people about the wetland crisis at their concerts and events throughout the country. Please contact us if interested in joining our efforts.
PROJECTS FUNDED
Voice of the Wetlands - Global Green - For the Bayou Partnership
  
After the 2010 BP oil spill, For the Bayou joined fellow non-profits, Voice
of the Wetlands and Global Green, to create a joint
fund to assist in providing environmental and humanitarian support to agencies
in need. This new fund was created with the Greater New Orleans Foundation
and is called the Alliance for Gulf Coast Communities. The
three  organizations contributed to this fund and jointly vetted monies to assist
post spill disaster. Over $10,000 from the fund was distributed
to Bayou Grace, a non-profit assisting residents in South Louisiana. Bayou
Grace addresses the most critical and immediate needs of residents of the 5 Bayous
in Lower Terrebonne Parish, LA to give renewed strength to the communities and
to mobilize residents in advocacy for the environmental health of their communities. This
organization assists not only in disaster relief efforts of these vulnerable
communities, it helps to give the residents a voice in our nation through its
national awareness outreach, teaching others of the importance of this area for
South Louisiana and for our country. A recent project launched by Bayou
Grace is the "WHY" project and has already involved over 200 participants
who have submitted photos describing why we should save South Louisiana.
Click
here for other photos and information on Bayou Grace.
EMDEON CONTRIBUTION TO THE WETLANDS
 Recently
at a medical trade show in New Orleans, Emdeon,
a leading medical business solutions provider, partnered with For
the Bayou to assist in awareness of Louisiana's wetland
crisis. With its new “Inefficiency Bites” campaign, Emdeon
highlighted wetland restoration in their booth at the MGMA trade
show in New Orleans. With every booth visitor, Emdeon pledged
to contribute $1 to For the Bayou. In total, Emdeon donated $500
to For the Bayou for wetland restoration.
Thank you, Emdeon! For more information on Emdeon’s products
and services, please visit www.emdeon.com
JULY 2010. FOR THE BAYOU ALLOCATED $9455 TO THE “ALLIANCE FOR GULF COAST COMMUNITIES” FUND AT THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION FOR EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN AID. NEW ORLEANS, LA.
 For the Bayou allocated $9455 to the Alliance for Gulf Coast Communities
Fund at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Monies allocated to this
fund have been distributed to Bayou Grace, a non-profit organization
located in Chauvin, Louisiana serving five bayou communities of Lafourche
and Terrebonne Parish. A total of $10,150 has been allocated from the
fund to Bayou Grace to directly address humanitarian needs of the area
including: clothing for children, transportation and emergency home
repair for coastal families in need. The majority of this money was
raised specifically at a New Orleans benefit by Nissa and Rick Teissier
of TESS AID, a grass roots event in their backyard to assist fishermen
and residents affected by the spill. See “TESS-AID FOR THE BAYOU” for
more information on the party.
JULY 2010. FOR THE BAYOU LAUNCHES
NEW JOINT PARTNERSHIP WITH VOICE OF THE WETLANDS & GLOBAL
GREEN. THE PARTNERSHIP OPENS NEW FUND, “THE ALLIANCE FOR GULF
COAST COMMUNITIES” AT THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION (GNOF).
USA.
In an effort to assist in the emergency humanitarian needs of
South Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, For the Bayou,
Global Green and Voice of the Wetlands have launched a partnership
to assist in awareness, advocacy and fundraising for the communities
in need. The partnership has established a new joint fund at the
Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF); the fund is called the “Alliance for Gulf
Coast Communities”. Monies from the partner organizations will be contributed
directly to the fund independently by each partner, but allocations made from
the fund are voted by all three partners for approval and distribution. Requests
for project money must come in writing from the NGO agency; all requests at this
time must address basic humanitarian needs of the specific community in South
Louisiana and/or the Gulf Coast. Initially, this fund will be assisting NPO
agencies to address basic needs of residents (mainly in fishing/coastal communities
affected by the spill). Eventually, we hope this fund will not only meet
and assist in humanitarian efforts in communities affected by the BP oil spill,
but to also assist in environmental efforts specific to wetland and coastal restoration
along Louisiana’s coast.
JULY 2010. FOR THE BAYOU DONATED $2000
TO THE GULF RESPONSE INITIATIVE TEAM (GRIT), FOR WETLAND * SHORELINE
RECOVERY. COASTAL LOUISIANA
 For the Bayou allocated $2000
to assist in shoreline/marsh plantings and beach clean ups with
the Gulf Response Initiative Team whose organizations include:
the Barataria-Terrebonne
National Estuary Program, the Coalition
to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the National
Audubon Society and The
Nature Conservancy. These organizations are combining efforts
and experience to implement an effective volunteer response and
make a real difference in the BP Oil Spill recovery efforts.
For the Bayou’s money is specifically donated to assist in the
planting of special Gulf Saver Bags: burlap packages
of native marsh grasses with its own supply of totally natural
nutrients and billions of oil eating micro-organisms to support,
feed and protect the marsh grasses, promoting survival and growth,
restoring the ecosystems and habitats. Filled
with special all natural organic humus (not sand), loaded with:
- Billions of all natural oil eating microorganisms, already
being used by Nature
- All natural organic nutrients for maximum plant survivability
and growth
Native marsh grasses vital to protecting
and restoring the wetlands are "plugged" into the Bags Each Gulf Saver Bag
protects and restores one foot of wetlands!
JULY 2010. FOR THE BAYOU DONATED $2000 TO BARATARIA TERREBONNE
NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM (BTNEP) TO DEVELOP A COLONIAL SHOREBIRD
NESTING SITE. GRAND ISLE, LA
In order to address the
threats to nesting seabirds posed by the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill, BTNEP is establishing new and expanded nesting sites for
impacted seabirds. Even before the oil spill incident, recent
findings suggest a likely decrease in the number of colonial-nesting
seabirds. Continued barrier island erosion will certainly mean
further decreases in the numbers of these birds. This project
would provide the funding to cover numerous acres with shell
including fencing the site as predator control (exclude coyotes,
dogs, raccoons, cats, etc.). Target nesting species are Least
and Gull-billed terns, Black Skimmer, Wilson's Plover, and Common
Nighthawk. The site is approximately 20 acres in size – currently
a field that is mowed often throughout the growing season. Establishing
this sanctuary site would provide nesting habitat for important
bird species found in the area.
MAY 2010. FOR THE BAYOU CONTRIBUTES TO
THE BIG BRANCH MARSH RESTORATION PROGRAM. ST. TAMMANY PARISH,
LA
 For
the Bayou contributed $1000 to assist the Coalition
to Restore Coastal Louisiana in a marsh restoration project in
the open mud flats located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain
within the USFWS Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in St.
Tammany Parish, Louisiana. The area provides essential protection
for inland communities and wetlands. In the first phase of
the project, 86 volunteers planted over 8,000 plugs of vegetation,
(Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens ), to
stabilize and vegetate the bare marsh platforms that were recently
created by the CWPPRA Goose Point/Point Platte Marsh Creation Project,
which dredged sediments  from
Lake Pontchartrain to create over 550 acres of marsh platform. With
additional plants provided by USFWS, the second phase of the project
will plant between 60,000 to 70,000 marsh grasses daily with the
help of hundreds of volunteers from September 27 through October
9, 2010 (except Sundays). In addition,
the project also created wildlife habitat, increased species diversity
and provided a seed source for natural regeneration. This project
was completed through a partnership with NOAA’s Community Based Restoration
Program, Restore America’s Estuaries, Coalition to Restore Coastal
Louisiana, For the Bayou, The Lang Foundation, The
Coastal Society and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Working with many
partners, sponsors and volunteers, CRCL will create over 5 acres
of marsh. Read
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