The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program is launching a massive effort to clean up Bayou Lafourche, which aims to rid the entire 106 miles of garbage and debris.
The second annual Bayou Lafourche Cleanup will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on March 2 in partnership with the Bayou Lafourche Freshwater District, Keep Louisiana Beautiful and the Lafourche Parish government.
Alma Robichaux, education coordinator for BTNEP, said last year more than 1,300 volunteers pitched in, collecting approximately 18 tons of trash, and organizers are hoping for a similar turnout this year.
“When we first started talking about doing this cleanup, it was overwhelming to think of cleaning almost 106 miles,” Robichaux said. “We thought we would only get about 100 volunteers, but last year we had a great response, and this year more than 700 volunteers have already signed up.”
Much of the cleanup is done from boats, but student groups are also used to clean in areas around bridges and along roadways.
“It’s just a very positive event because it gets people back on the bayou that runs through a lot of our cities, from the Mississippi all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico,” Robichaux said. “Most people go over it and see it, but they never really stop and look at it, so this is an opportunity to bring people back to that natural resource and show them what an asset it is to our community as our drinking water supply and environment for wildlife, beauty and history. It’s positive, educational and very productive because we clean up so much trash.”
Dumping in Bayou Lafourche is a growing problem because the bayou is the source of drinking water for most of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and approximately 300,000 south Louisiana residents.
Robichaux said a volunteer from each group is designated to keep track of everything that is picked up. The information is combined and tallied after the event.  Robichaux said they plan to continue the work this year to find trends about what trash items are continuously found in the bayou.
Last year, the cleanup crew found unexpected items like bowling balls, bike frames, fire crackers, an ammunition canister, fiberglass insulation, power wheels, a safe, a mail box, street signs, cell phones, billboards, a water heater, a butane bottle, and half of a car.
 “When the bayou wasn’t flowing like it is now, it was pretty much a dump and no one had really gotten out there since then,” Robichaux said. “Last year, we needed people to get out there and get the big stuff out. I’m hoping this year we won’t find as much big stuff because I’m thinking people will have learned. This will be a good experiment.”
Robichaux said for larger items that need to be removed with equipment like a crane, the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District is on the water the day of cleanup to assist wherever needed.
“Our volunteers did everything last year, and it was amazing,” Robichaux said. “They were like work horses.”
Allyse Ferrara, associate biology professor, said the Nicholls team will clean the section in front of the University, extending from the Audubon Avenue Bridge to the Saint Charles Bypass Road Bridge.
“It’s about a 5.6 mile stretch, so it’s a little shorter than what some of the other sections are, but it works well with our bordering sections,” Ferrara said. “Most people know that Bayou Lafourche has a lot of trash because people just throw trash into the bayou, especially near bridge crossings, so those are the areas we concentrate on.”
Ferrara said last year Nicholls had approximately 200 volunteers, and this year Nicholls has more than 170 signed up.
“It’s just a way for Nicholls to participate in the fantastic project that BTNEP has put together,” Ferrara said.
Elizabeth Bergeron, microbiology junior from Bayou Vista and president of the Nicholls Biology Society, said the event is important to her because it is an oppotunity to take care of the water that runs in front of the University’s campus.
“Admittedly, it was a little bit mucky,” Bergeron said. “I had to wear my ‘adventure pants’ to handle a lot of it.”
David Samaha, biology senior from Houma, participated in the cleanup last year and said the event was as fun as it could be picking up trash.
“Because Bayou Lafourche is used for so many things, it’s also pretty contaminated whether it be from dumping or littering,” Samaha said. “It becomes an issue because it is the source of drinking water for many people in our parishes, but also for the animals and other species who live in and rely on the bayou. It has a really good ecologial purpose.”
Last year, Samaha was on the water in a pirogue for the cleanup to collect trash.
“It was pretty well organized,” Samaha said. “We had the Nicholls Biology Society, students and professors our there, each taking a section.”
Ferrara said the Nicholls Culinary Institute will provide a breakfast buffet at the Bistro on the morning of the event.
“It’s really nice to be able to do these sorts of things where we work across departments and across colleges,” Ferrara said.
Ferrara said registration is finished for the Nicholls cleanup team and she hopes knowing in advance will aid in the organization and timeliness of the event.
“Last year we let people sign up the day of, but that was too chaotic and people had to wait too long,” Ferrara said. “We don’t want to do that for this cleanup and future cleanups, so we had everyone sign up by Feb.15 to have a headcount for things like breakfast and tshirts.”
Those who were unable to sign up with the Nicholls cleanup team can still contact Robichaux to fill in other teams along the bayou.
Robichaux said although everyone cannot make it to the cleanup to volunteer, everyone can take part in the effort to improve the environment.
“One of the things we’re asking this year is if you can’t come out and clean by the bayou, that you take some time and clean maybe a half a bag of trash in your neighborhood,” Robichaux said.
Cleanup volunteers will receive an event T-shirt, gloves and tools to grab trash from the bayou.
For more information, contact Robichaux at 447-0868 or [email protected].