October 2, 2022 New Iberia, La.
The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) completed a Louisiana iris planting along the shoreline of Bayou Teche in New Iberia, La.'s City Park on Saturday, October 1, 2022. The planting was a result of a partnership between the LICI and the T.E.C.H.E Project to plant native wetlands plants along Bayou Teche. The purpose of the project is to show landowners along the bayou that native plants can be used to stabilize the shoreline instead of concrete riprap. The project will also beautify this section of City Park and Bayou Teche.
This was the second planting completed by the two groups working together in City Park. The first planting of 130 irises was done last year as a test to see if the irises would do well. They did, so this year the number of irises planted was increased to 450 plants.
The I. giganticaerulea iris, a native species of Louisiana iris, which grows in the swamps and marshes south of New Iberia, was the iris planted in the project. The irises came from LICI's iris rescue program, which involves the group's volunteers removing wild native irises from threatened habitats and relocating them to protected sites.
Many of the irises that were planted at New Iberia's City Park on Saturday came from this iris "rescue" event held by LICI in March. The volunteers removed I. giganticaerulea irises from a site near New Orleans that is zoned for commercial development and is for sale.
New Iberia's mayor, Freddie DeCourt, has been very supportive of the project in New Iberia's City Park. The planting was only possible because he had the concrete riprap removed from the shoreline. The mayor also came out on Saturday to help plant the irises.
Volunteers are shown planting irises along the bank of Bayou Teche in
New Iberia's City Park on Saturday, October 1, 2022.
The T.E.C.H.E. Project is a non-profit, volunteer organization whose members are passionate about making Bayou Teche a healthier waterway through action and education. A video explaining their Reviving Resilient Landscapes - Bankline Restoration Program can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/TecheProject/posts/2922544281148312