There’s so much to see on the Greenway. Enjoy the last few weeks of summer with a bike ride down the trail.      1. First stop, “Shine Together” Mural at the  Greenway Basketball Court    Pictured: BElite artists, community leader Jalen Gray, Pelicans player Jaxson Hayes, Derek Curry with Sneaker Politics Start your ride by visiting the new, vibrant mural on the Greenway basketball court, 1971 St. Louis Street. The “Shine Together” mural was created by BElite youth artists and showcases community and togetherness. On August 20th, the mural was unveiled with a community celebration. Learn more about the Shine Together mural project here.   2. Second stop, Greenway meadows The Greenway meadows have started to bloom at the Greenway Great Lawn, between N. Galvez and N. Prieur, planted by our partners at SPROUT NOLA. Look closely and you’ll be able to spot the sunflowers and sunn hemp peeking through. The initial planting is a cover crop, planted to outpace weed seeds, and prepare the soil ahead of the fall meadow planting. These flowers are putting nutrients back in the soil! Thank you to the Coypu Foundation Trust established by John S. McIlhenny for their support of our lovely meadows. The Greenway was featured in this month's issue of the Landscape Architecture Magazine. The magazine touched on the history of the Greenway as well as the Greenway Grow! Initiative plan to plant 1000 cypress trees along the trail, plant pollinator meadows, and care for our green infrastructure.  “Greenway GROW! also proposes specific projects to address area residents’ concerns and ultimately lessen the maintenance the city will have to do. Planting the 1,000 water-guzzling cypress trees, for instance, will create forested areas that will reduce mowing, soak up excess water, add shade, provide habitat for wildlife, and restore parts of the site to something like the cypress swamp it was before it was clear-cut.” Source: Landscape Architecture Magazine

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Art & Basketball

Painting of the mural on the Greenway basketball courts has begun! The mural is led by a youth artist collective -- BeLite. The artists shared about the mural in this news story on Fox 8. The court is currently closed for painting but once open, be sure to stop by and take in the court’s new look.

Thank you to our generous supporters of the project: Sneaker Politics, Jalen Gray, United Way of Southeast Louisiana, Baptist Community Ministries, Jaxson Hayes, Neel Choudhury, and the Brees Dream Foundation.

Welcome New Businesses: Bagels & Beer

Need to cool down on a hot day? A new brewery is opening up along the Greenway! Skeeta Hawk Brewery is now open at 455 North Dorgenois Street. Stop by with a couple of friends and see what’s on tap. Skeeta Hawk joins Flour Moon Bagels and Hey Coffee as a hub of local businesses along the Greenway. See recent coverage of on NOLA.com and New Orleans Magazine

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Tyronnisha "Ne Ne" Johnson is joining the team!

Ne Ne is joining our team as our Get Fit Coordinator! Ne Ne shares, "I am super excited to be a part of the Lafitte Greenway family. I'm thankful for this life changing experience being able to interact with communities and nature in a change for the better. Thank you and welcome me to the family, friends of the Lafitte Greenway." You may have seen her on the Greenway trail or attending Get Fit classes. Say hello to Ne Ne at the next Get Fit class. 

A Super Summer event 

Join us for a Super Summer event in celebration of Juneteenth on the Greenway in partnership with Young Audiences! Families with children (infant to 8), expect an engaging morning singalong, an interactive workshop experience, and a visual arts craft that children can make and take home with them. This event is free and all children will receive a free book, a snack, an activity packet, crayons, and a surprise special gift. For parents who need a morning boost, coffee will be provided by HEY! Coffee Co.

June 25th

9:30 - 11:30AM

2200 Lafitte Ave.

Photo by Sophia Germer

Basketball court mural coming this summer

This summer, the BELite youth artists are transforming the Greenway's basketball court with a new on-court mural! Jalen Gray, a community member and basketball player, brought this idea to Friends of Lafitte Greenway and NORD, and we have been thrilled to work with and support Jalen to accomplishing this vision.

The site preparation will begin in July and include a period of court closure. Stay tuned for updates. Posted signage will inform the public of court closure.

This project has been made possible by Sneaker Politics, Jaxson Hayes, United Way, Baptist Community Ministries, and Neel Choudhury.

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Meet Alexis Marceaux - Programs & Projects Manager

We are so excited to welcome Alexis Marceaux to the team as our new Programs & Projects Manager! As a proud New Orleanian, Alexis looks forward to creating programming that celebrates the culture of New Orleans. When she is not biking, walking or working on the Greenway, you can find her performing with her bands Sweet Crude and Alexis & the Samurai at venues all throughout the city. She is excited to fuse her music career and education experience with her position at the Greenway.

1. What is something new you've learned about the Greenway? 

I've learned that each one of the cypress trees we planted on the Greenway holds 880 gallons of water! Imagine what planting 1,000 cypress trees on the Greenway will do to prevent flooding in the neighborhood!

2. What are you most excited to dive into? 

I'm really excited about our green infrastructure projects and implementing new programs that celebrate the culture of New Orleans throughout the year!

3. Where are people most likely to find you on the Greenway? 

People can find me walking and biking the greenway daily and checking on our little baby cypress trees. I cannot wait to watch them grow!

The Lopez Bike & Pedestrian Bridge is Open!

Today, May 18th, Mayor Cantrell, Friends of Lafitte Greenway, project partners, and community members cut the ribbon on the N. Lopez Bridge. This new bridge creates critical safe connections from the neighborhoods, to the Greenway and beyond. 

Water Management Feasibility Study

Could the Greenway do more to address neighborhood flooding? This is the question that we are asking in a study underway. Friends of Lafitte Greenway, in partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the New Orleans Business Alliance, has commissioned a study by Waggonner & Ball Architects to study the feasibility, cost, and impact of adding additional stormwater management facilities to the Lafitte Greenway. Parks have the power to address climate change. Preliminary results from this research are expected this summer. Stay tuned for opportunities to learn more and engage. 

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Planting the First 100 Trees of the 1,000 Cypress Forest

We’re planting 100 trees on Thursday, April 21st, in honor of Earth Day and you can be a part of it! Join our volunteer groups from Navy Week, Ochsner, IBERIABANK First Horizon, Emmanual Church, and Gulf Coast Bank. Our Greenway Grow! Campaign aims to plant a total of 1,000 Cypress trees and pollinator meadows on the Greenway. 

You can support this campaign by signing up to volunteer here and giving at laffitegreenway.org/grow.

Thank you to our partners at NORD, Parks and Parkways, Spackman Mossop and Michaels, SOUL and Sprout NOLA.  

Get ready for GiveNOLA Day - May 3rd

Early Giving for GiveNOLA Day starts next week! Starting April 19th, you can schedule your gift here and help us reach our $35,000 goal.

Your support on GiveNOLA Day, May 3rd, means the Greenway can continue to be a space for people to play and exercise, for trees and flowers to grow, and community to connect at fitness classes, Movies in the Park, and other cultural events. 

If you’re looking to get more involved in the Greenway and GiveNOLA day, email [email protected]. 

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Tomorrow Night: Movies in the Park "Finding Dory"

Join us for a free Movies in the Park in partnership with NORD. Bring something to sit on, snacks, and friends.

FREE

Friday, March 25th

1971 Lafitte Ave.

Movie starts at sundown, ~6:15PM

Greenway Grow! 

Cypress tree forest and pollinator meadows are coming to the Lafitte Greenway! City and community partners are excited to announce “Lafitte Greenway GROW!,” a multi-year restoration project to plant 1,000 Cypress trees in the Greenway’s bioswales and pollinator flower meadows.

Partners & Supporters

GROW! is a landscape restoration project and fundraising campaign led collaboratively by Friends of Lafitte Greenway (Friends), NORD, Parks and Parkways, Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), SPROUT NOLA, and Spackman Mossop Michaels. This project is made possible with support from Coypu Foundation Trust established by John S. McIlhenny and One Tree Planted.

Purpose

In order to ensure that the Greenway’s landscape is sustainable, safe, and beautiful over the long term, and limit herbicide use, we are undertaking this landscape restoration project. Award winning landscape architecture firm, Spackman Mossop Michaels, designed this adaptive planting and management plan for the Greenway’s bioswales and meadows that will restore and expand our urban tree canopy, restore native plantings, support pollinators, and naturally prevent the overgrowth that has inhibited the bioswales functionality and have been a community visibility and safety concern.

Project Status

Site preparation began this week to remove overgrowth and invasive species in anticipation of the initial Cypress trees and flower meadow plantings this April. Next week, SPROUT NOLA will begin tarping and preparing the site for meadow planting. The first 100 Cypress trees of the 1,000 Cypress forest will be planted in honor of Earth Day this April. Friends and SOUL are recruiting volunteers for this tree planting. Sign up to volunteer at www.lafittegreenway.org/events.

Grow! Fundraising Campaign

Project partners invite the public to support this environmental restoration work by contributing to the GROW! Campaign at www.lafittegreenway.org/grow. The partners are currently fundraising to plant the next 900 Cypress trees of the 1,000 Cypress forest, beginning this fall, and to support the continued establishment of the Greenway’s wildflower meadows.

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MLK Day - a day on, not a day off

Join us for our 2022 MLK Day of Service 

Next Monday, January 17

10am-1pm

Meet at Lafitte Greenway Plaza (500 N. Norman C Francis Parkway)

"Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Join us for a day on, not a day off. We are celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and work by coming together and making a change in our community. We will be painting over graffiti and cleaning up the trail as we work to make the Greenway a more beautiful space.

Make sure to wear closed-toed shoes and weather-appropriate clothing that you don't mind getting dirty, and bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.

This event will continue in light rain and be canceled in heavy rain.

Save the date for the Annual Membership Meeting

Greenway Members, please mark your calendars for our Annual Membership Meeting on Wednesday, January 26th, 5:30-6:45 PM. This meeting will be held on Zoom due to COVID-19 safety precautions.

A Zoom meeting registration link will be emailed out to all Greenway members. For assistance registering, please email [email protected].

At this meeting, we will elect new members to our Board of Directors, review accomplishments from 2021, and set the stage for 2022. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the Greenway team.

join or renew your membership

Please join or renew your membership to vote in our board elections.

All current members that attend the Annual Membership Meeting are eligible to vote.

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This Friday: Watch Disney’s Tangled on the Greenway

Join NORD and Friends of Lafitte Greenway this Friday evening for a movie in the park: Disney’s Tangled. Bring your own blanket, chairs, and snacks for a FREE movie night. Blue Bikes will be joining us for a helmet giveaway. Enjoy the spectacle of the crew from Human Horse Racing.

Friday, November 19th

Lafitte Greenway sports fields

 1971 Lafitte Street // The Greenway's Baseball Field @N Prieur

Greenway Supernova: Music, Light-based Art, Holiday Arts & Crafts, Food & Drink

We recently announced the remarkable lineup for Greenway Supernova, December 9-11, 5-9PM at the Greenway Plaza & Station. Supernova features 12 light-based artworks, a craft market, and local music.

Supernova is free, and your gift supports the Greenway's growth in the year ahead.

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Supernova: Celebration and Fundraiser!

We’re celebrating the year at the Greenway Supernova! We hope you’ll join us for our 3-night outdoor, light-based art exhibit and largest annual fundraiser. Supernova is free to attend.

December 9-11th, 5-9PM

Greenway Station and Plaza

436 N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy

Supernova Sponsorships keep the Greenway growing with native plants, free fitness programming, and trail and park improvement projects.

Join the fun:

Our Star Business program is partnerships with small businesses to drive foot traffic to these businesses and thank our donors. Become a Star Business by applying above!

This holiday season we’ll have an arts and craft market at Supernova, perfect for picking up holiday gifts. Apply to sell at the market above.

Apply to be a food truck vendor at Supernova!

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