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April 29, 2010

ULM toxicology program leads Bayou DeSiard clean-up efforts

On March 27, students and faculty members from the University of Louisiana at Monroe gathered to clean up a mile stretch of Bayou DeSiard at the campus of the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Led by ULM professor Dr. Kevin Baer and a team of students from ULM’s toxicology program and biology club, approximately 50 students and university personnel participated in the cleanup.

Mike Adcock, Watershed Coordinator with the Northeast Delta Resource Conservation and Development Council, was on hand to provide a boat and supplies, and Donna Remedies from the Northeast Delta RC&D, sponsored the event. Northeast Delta RC&D provided gloves and trash bags for the volunteers, a boat and all food and refreshments.

The bayou cleanup began around 8 a.m. on both banks of Bayou DeSiard, which meanders through the ULM campus, extending out approximately a half-mile downstream off campus.

This was the first of the two scheduled campus cleanup activities led by ULM’s Tri-Beta chapter. Students and faculty from ULM’s toxicology program are also working on various community outreach endeavors that will benefit the bayou. One project currently underway is the formation of a Web site where business owners, community organizations, governmental groups, local citizens and educators can gain information on non-point source education, storm drain marking, bayou conservation and other proactive environmental projects.

As a 30-mile long bayou that winds through Monroe, Bayou DeSiard is the primary source of drinking water for the city, which pulls more than 15 million gallons from it on a daily basis, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. While the southern portion of the bayou is predominantly open, it is used extensively for recreation and is the focal point for many neighborhoods, as well as ULM.

For more information on how to get involved in future cleanup events, please contact Baer at 318-342-1698 or baer@ulm.edu.

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