The Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish recently announced it completed volunteer-led Hurricane Ida repairs on the Wetland Watchers Park site in Norco, involving over 100 volunteer hours and $5,000 in grant funds donated by its parent organization, Rotary International.
Approximately 15 local Rotary Club members and Destrehan High School Interact Club members volunteered for the effort at the parish’s Norco park, located at 1650 Lower Guide Levee Road. Together, over the course of a three-day service project, the volunteers sanded and repainted fences and pavilions, made on-site repairs to the Wetland Watchers’ storage building, as well as general trash clean up.
Wetlands Watchers Park is located on Lake Pontchartrain and features a nature walk, marsh overlook, fishing and picnic areas. It serves as a local area tourist attraction and is tied to the Wetland Watchers Service Learning Project at Harry Hurst Middle School in Destrehan. It was an important project for the Rotary Club to take on, whose members say the park serves as an important environmental link for local youth.
“Wetland Watchers Park provides a much-needed educational aspect for our parish youth,” Kelsey Pollock, Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish Public Relations chair, said. “It’s a one-of-a-kind outdoor classroom and educational center that teaches about our ecology and how we’re all connected to the land; the importance of land conservation, recycling, damage caused by erosion as well as the flora and fauna of the area.”
Planning began last year shortly after parent organization Rotary International granted the local Rotary Club a $5,000 disaster relief grant.
“The board members tossed around a bunch of ideas but in the end, we felt Wetland Watchers would benefit the most…,” Pollock said of the club’s repair efforts.
The local service organization says it has additional Ida repair and renovation related plans for Wetlands Watchers Park, with more work scheduled for the fall and beyond.
“We are currently working on a plan to rebuild the lakeside pier, rebuild the wooded pathways, and eventually make repairs to the outdoor classroom,” Pollock said. “This will be an on-going project for the Rotary Club.”
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