Day 6

Our next adventure was to Isle de Jean Charles, an island off the coast of Louisiana that has experienced significant land loss due to storm surges, sea level rise related to climate change, and erosion and subsidence related to the oil and gas industry. The community is the first in the United States to go through a full community relocation due to climate change. The process of relocating inland took over two decades and required the involvement of federal, state, local, tribal, and nonprofit stakeholders. We were also able to see the new neighborhood the community has moved to outside of Houma, Louisiana. Students were challenged to consider the long-term consequences of the decision to move – both the good and bad. Along the way back to New Orleans we stopped at a Cajun restaurant to try alligator bites and gumbo!