The Grass is Greener in the Botanical Gardens
I, too, had the opportunity to work in the Botanical Gardens. While I will let my co-workers’ brief synopsis of our endeavors there speak on behalf of what I did, I would like to take this time and say what all of what we did today meant to me, and to our services as a whole. Any ambitious volunteer coming to New Orleans might be a little disillusioned when faced with the, what some may interpret as, menial or insignificant tasks which occupied our time at the Gardens in City Park. Although, over the course of finishing our hours at the site, all our efforts came into perspective. One of the park employees let the volunteers look through a photo album of before-and-after shots of the park attractions. We were simultaneously shocked and delighted, for where we were was a direct victim of Katrina, mainly in the areas of flooding and water damage. The pictures showed how all of the bright greens of the grass and plant life faded into an ugly shade of brown, with broken tree trunks and limbs scattered throughout the acres. Having seen this, we could then realize the importance of what we were doing.
This historical park was always maintained mainly through volunteer efforts, and, were it not for the volunteers in the years following the storm up until now, City Park and the Botanical Gardens may have possibly been lost amid the larger concerns of the city. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to give our time and labor to this important location, as well as, for the first time on this trip, witness first-hand and contribute to an affected area. It may have just been weeding, but it is still one small problem among many small and large in this area, so anything we can do can help. It was a great first day, and now we wait in anticipation for the busy week ahead of us.