New Orleans Project (2008-2009)
McMaster Fellows
Michelle Tabit, Faculty, History – Project will research the history of communalism and benevolence in the African-American community and its influence on current organizations. Oral histories will be collected from the leaders of Churches Supporting Churches, returned to them, and submitted for archiving with the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University.
McMaster Associate Fellows
Stacey Elsasser, Faculty, Education – Project will investigate opportunities to work with schools in New Orleans and support the work and projects within the learning community.
Doug Kane, Faculty, Biology – Project will investigate and develop contacts with organizations working on wetlands restoration. Project will link data from Great Lakes research to investigate causes of “dead zones” (hypoxic/anoxic areas) in the Gulf of Mexico.
McMaster Scholars
Sandi Burden, Senior, Social Work – Project will investigate the efficacy of rehabilitation programs that integrate environmental remediation activities for juvenile delinquents. Educational materials will be developed for the Ponchatrain Institute for Environmental Sciences.
Kasey Carlisle, Senior, Restoration Ecology – Project will research long-term effects of wetlands destructions and benefits of Cypress reforestation efforts along the southeastern Louisiana coast. Educational materials will be developed for SLU’s Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station.
Jennifer Creighton, Senior, International and Global Studies – Project will utilize the Model for a Democratic Voice toward Sustainable Development to analyze current conservation and restoration efforts in southeastern Louisiana. Informational materials will be developed to help promote community support of current efforts.
Brenda Delarber, Senior, History – Project will collect and process oral histories of pastors from Churches Supporting Churches for archiving at the Amistad Research Center. Project will include research on the value of oral history preservation for marginalized segments of society.
Amanda Zimmerman, Senior, Restoration Ecology – Project will collect baseline data on species diversity and concentration in the Turtle Cove area in order to assist in the assessment of the effectiveness of current efforts to create seawall type barriers from recycled Christmas trees.
