Five project sites across Orleans and Jefferson parishes — where engineered bayous, drainage canals, and levee trails replace natural creeks in a city below sea level. Mardi Gras alone generates 1.2 million pounds of garbage in two weeks. Post-Katrina 20th anniversary and RESTORE Act funding create unmatched grant narratives.
Fund a New Orleans Project See the Sites ↓New Orleans sits below sea level with no native drainage. Everything flows through engineered bayous and canals to Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf. Post-Katrina recovery, Cancer Alley proximity, Mardi Gras plastic pollution, and RESTORE Act funding create the richest grant-narrative stack on our expansion list.
Each site pairs a walkable corridor with an engineered bayou, canal, or levee trail where fractured jurisdiction between S&WB, Parks & Parkways, USACE, LA DOTD, and private retail creates the gap. Click any card for full details.
The closest Poway analog in the city — a 2.6-mile paved trail on a former railroad right-of-way with Whole Foods Market literally across Broad Street and a dense bar/restaurant cluster at Jefferson Davis Parkway. Friends of Lafitte Greenway pulled 1,300 lbs in a single day. Turn-key volunteer stewardship with AmeriCorps support.
The only remaining historic bayou inside New Orleans — a state-designated Historic and Scenic River since 1982. Paved bikeway on Wisner Blvd, walkable grassy banks on Moss Street, lined with Esplanade Avenue restaurants. A 2022 cleanup produced 76 bags in 4 hours. The Mardi Gras beads-in-drainage angle is nationally covered.
Jefferson Parish analog to Poway — a 13.3-mile paved levee trail one block behind Veterans Memorial Blvd, one of the densest commercial strips in the Gulf South. Wind-blown drive-thru litter accumulates at the levee toe and rip-rap jetty pockets. Jefferson Parish is investing $15.5M in the Bucktown Living Shoreline.
Canonical EJ success story — the Vietnamese-American community shut down the Chef Menteur Landfill in 2006 and rebuilt faster than any other post-Katrina neighborhood. The commercial corridor sits 0.2–0.4 mi from the Maxent Canal. Written MOU with MQVN CDC is a hard prerequisite. Featured in PBS documentary "A Village Called Versailles."
The Bayou Bienvenue "ghost swamp" viewing platform overlooks the cypress forest killed by the MRGO — arguably the single most iconic environmental justice visual in America. The Lower 9th Ward's post-Katrina story is the canonical displacement narrative. Partnership with CSED is absolutely required before any crew deployment.
Every project follows the same documented process. Your donation triggers real, trackable action.
Every dollar goes directly to project execution. No overhead, no middleman.
If you're a local business, waterway organization, or community group that wants to help bring one of these projects to life — as a sponsor, partner, or crew participant — we'd love to connect.
Get in Touch →A typical bayou or canal cleanup costs $500–$750 — covering crew wages, equipment, coordination, and documentation. Your donation funds community improvement projects across New Orleans's engineered waterways where post-Katrina recovery and Gulf Coast restoration narratives make every project fundable.