Film Verte: The Park

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Park

In my last City Park post, I talked about some of the history of the urban area of City Park .In this post, I will discuss the section of City Park that I believe has started to revert back to its natural form. Growing up around City Park, I have been able to see it change over the years. One of the most drastic changes took place after Hurricane Katrina. Prior to the destruction caused by the storm, City Park had three large 18-hole golf courses, one of which hosted professional events. Like most things in New Orleans, City Park and its golf courses changed significantly following hurricane Katrina. Following the storm, 90% of City Park's ground was under water, ranging in depth from one to eight feet. Salt water from Lake Ponchatrain devastated vegetation in the area and over 1,000 trees were lost.

Years after the storm, one of the three golf courses has been re-opened, leaving the other two to become overgrown and giving us a small glimpse into what a world without people might look like. Personally, these areas of the Park are my favorite. In modern times, I feel that it is rare that we get to experience wilderness without driving a long way or getting on a boat. Now I am not saying that this area is Alaska or undisturbed swamp land, but for being in the middle of a fairly large city, I feel that this area of the Park offers the public a rare chance to escape the city, if only for awhile. However, this area of the Park is more than just a getaway; it showcases the resilience of nature and the ability of ecosystems to recover from disturbances caused by humans. This area of the Park, made up of the two old golf courses and an area called Couturie Forest, is home to many of Louisiana’s native flora and fauna, such as the live oak (Q.virginiana) and Bald Cypress (T. distichum). The Park is also home for several species of fishes, including largemouth bass (M. salmoides) and blue gill (L. macrochirus). As a child, I was always outside “exploring” the outdoors; as I grew older, this love for nature turned into a desire to preserve it and eventually led to my choice of major. In my opinion, for any continuous progress to be made on the environmental front, it is crucial that we preserve areas like Couturie Forest and Scout Island to allow new generations to experience and develop a passion for preserving and respecting the environment.