NEW ORLEANS – On Saturday, September 26, 2015, volunteers gathered at Constance Beach in Southwest Louisiana for a dune restoration event hosted by CITGO Petroleum Corporation and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Rita.
Together, the volunteers worked to plant 65,000 dune grass plugs along six miles of coastline and construct fencing along two miles of beach.
The event, held in conjunction with National Estuaries Week, was part of the CITGO Caring for Our Coast initiative. Caring for Our Coast was started to commemorate Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and since the initiative started in 2014, it has been involved in dozens of environmental restoration and conservation efforts on the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Rita made landfall on the Cameron Parish Shoreline 10 years ago last week.
A CITGO volunteer carries dune grass plugs on Constance Beach, Louisiana
A CITGO volunteer finishes planting a plug of dune grass to help restore the Southwest Louisiana coastline
CITGO and Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana volunteers hard at work planting dune grass
A volunteer at the CITGO-CRCL dune restoration event digs a hole for a dune grass plug
Kirk Quinn, Cameron Parish Police Juror, District 3 (left), and Chris Duncan, mayor of Sulphur, LA., walk towards Constance Beach to join volunteers at the CITGO-CRCL dune restoration event
CITGO representatives and local community leaders plant dune grass on Constance Beach, LA. From left to right: Chris Duncan, mayor of Sulphur, LA.; Clair Marceaux, director of economic development, Cameron Parish Police Jury; Dana Keel, government and public affairs manager, CITGO Lake Charles Refinery; Bill Read, former director of the National Hurricane Center; Tomeu Vadell, vice president and general manager, CITGO Lake Charles Refinery; Kirk Quinn, Cameron Parish Police Juror, District 3; Jimmy Frederick, communications director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; Kimberly Davis-Reyher, executive director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; Terry Beard, Cameron Parish Police Juror, District 4; Harvey Potts, senior director of development and marketing , Restore America’s Estuaries; Paul Rainwater, former Lake Charles City Administrator
CITGO representative and local community leaders with a sign commemorating the Saturday, September 26, 2015, dune restoration event on Constance Beach, LA. Top row, from left to right: Terry Beard, Cameron Parish Police Juror, District 4; Kirk Quinn, Cameron Parish Police Juror, District 3; Jimmy Frederick, communications director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; Kimberly Davis-Reyher, executive director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana; Paul Rainwater, former Lake Charles City Administrator; Tomeu Vadell, vice president and general manager, CITGO Lake Charles Refinery; Bill Read, former director of the National Hurricane Center. Bottom row, from left to right: Dana Keel, government and public affairs manager, CITGO Lake Charles Refinery; Clair Marceaux, director of economic development, Cameron Parish Police Jury; Chris Duncan, mayor of Sulphur, La.; Harvey Potts, senior director of development and marketing , Restore America’s Estuaries
