The Islands

Once a thriving cypress-tupelo swamp, the Bayou Bienvenue wetland was decimated after the construction of the MRGO in the 1960s which changed the environment from freshwater to saltwater. With the closure of the MRGO, Bayou Bienvenue is now freshwater again and a prime candidate for revitalization.

In March 2024, the ReCoast team began construction on two 32 ft diameter sand islands in the Bayou Bienvenue wetland area in St. Bernard Parish, directly offshore of the new Glass Half Full (GHF) recycling facility. Coir logs made from coconut husk fibers were used to create a containment perimeter, keeping the sand in place during and after sand deployment. The southern island was filled with 100% Mississippi River sand (250 tons) by creating a temporary land bridge to deposit sand with small machinery. The northern island was pumped with 50% recycled glass sand (125 tons) from GHF and 50% Mississippi River sand (125 tons), using a sub-pump in the bayou to create a “slurry” mixture of the two materials. The islands were evenly planted with native wetland vegetation including bulrush, bultongue, maiden cane, and pickerlweed. Cypress trees will be planted in early 2025.

Monitoring will be conducted over the next five years using a simple transect bisecting the islands with 6 vegetation plots. The team will be recording vegetation species, heights, and spread with in each plot, as well as, island height and island spread. Check back here for updates and results!