Spring Greening

Historic Green: Week 1

ALL PHOTOS: Nicolette Mueller

Scenes From a Green Rebuild

Thanks to Darryl Malek-Wiley for these excellent photos from across the Holy Cross Neighborhood!
429-31 St. Maurice Street
429-31 St. Maurice Street
5515 Dauphine Street
5515 Dauphine Street
Marquette University students at 5516 Dauphine Street
Redeemer Church volunters at 632 Tupelo

Countdown to Spring Greening

I have my flight booked for a December NOLA trip, and I'm looking forward to meetings and touring, and relaxation, and anything else that we can possibly do.  Susannah, are you doing karaoke again? I'll be your cheerleader!

I'm about to get on a call to talk about our outreach for the March Spring Greening event, and as I wait, I started to pull up documents for our planning for 2009.  It's so exciting to think that I was on my first conference call for Historic Green almost exactly one year ago, and now I'm looking at what we did and what we can do for this upcoming year (and for the years to come) and I see such purpose and world changing in the work that we're doing.

For those of you that are thinking about volunteering for Historic Green 2009, mark your calendars: we're on for March 10-20, 2009.  Same place. New faces. New projects. Same outcome.

Katrina is Katharos, meaning “pure”

Text and Photos by John Hanson

The Greek root of the name Katrina is Katharos, meaning “pure”. A new friend from New Orleans, Hal Collums told me this the morning I left after my week working with Historic Green. His family lost every material possession they owned on August 29, 2005, and he talks about the aftereffects in an oddly reverential tone. The immediate impact of the hurricane on the city was the flood of polluted black water that fouled the city grid for weeks afterwards. The longer term effect has been a catharsis, weirdly foretold in the storm’s name. The water itself had a purgative effect, wiping whole neighborhoods clean of possessions, homes, and infrastructure. An even greater power has come from the emotional context of the word, first used by Aristotle to describe the effect of Greek tragedies and acutely felt by many of the residents of the city who have returned. For these individuals, adversity and loss has morphed into something much larger, creating an abiding sense of place and purpose. (I am still here and what does not kill me can only make me stronger.)

Heading to New Orleans to meet my daughter Morgan for a week of working together, I had some of the iconic images in my head; the swirling vortex in the satellite images from before the storm and the broken levees and rooftop rescues of thousands in its aftermath. What I did not have was the proper sense of scale. It’s not until you drive through the neighborhoods and see block after block of empty houses, each with its own special FEMA graffiti, and piles of two and a half year old trash, and most importantly, until you meet the people, that you get a sense of the sheer magnitude and unrelenting toll. When you meet the people and hear their stories, you become a witness to an unwanted life altering event, whose effects will be felt by generations of residents. As the water receded and the rainwater eventually removed the scum below the high water marks, what was left was a place effectively scoured (like the levees themselves) of much of its past, a black chalkboard freshly sponged, still waiting for a diagram of its future. The few people who have returned are determined to create a picture of a better place, despite being hampered by the enormity and complexity of the possible solutions.

Mack McClendon is the first resident I met in the Holy Cross neighborhood where we were working:

He bought a dilapidated industrial building after the storm, named it The Village and has poured all his resources into creating a community center there, because in his mind “it will only make sense to fix up my house after I have a neighborhood.” His vision for the space includes everything from a commercial kitchen and musician’s studio, to a computer lab and a basketball court. Meanwhile he returns to his FEMA trailer every day, and its only two redeeming features (“you get up early, and you work late”). He said it took him about five months to shed his bitterness after the storm and now he just wants to build his dreams.

John Smith (Smitty) talks without prompting about Greek tragedy:

A scholar and philosopher who grew up in the lower ninth, he returned to his roots in NOLA after leaving for much of his adult life to be an accountant and community activist in Chicago. He purchased a house in June 2005, three months before the storm, and has yet to move back in. Now he does a daily regime of yoga, and with prompting from Mack, serves up oral history of the Lower Ninth for visitors. History that for many families has been wiped and scattered to parts unknown.

John Taylor also grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward:

He left just hours before the storm ravaged his entire neighborhood, after his brother came for him and said “it’s time to go”. He talks wistfully about his childhood, and the now dead bayou that was his playground, and yet is one of the ten percent who has returned to that area. He will never leave there because of his deep ties to the land, but he understands the issues which are that the vast majority of his former neighbors never will return, and with good reason.

And lastly Hal and Paula Collums:

Hal commandeered a motor boat after the storm and drove through the city over the cars and street signs, hauling it over two levees and various other obstacles, only to discover his house under eight feet of water. He left empty handed then, and again after returning in denial days later, groping for some scrap of his former life. Shortly after that, while trying to get his company back in business, a volunteer from Illinois arrived at the door of his trailer, replying to a help wanted ad on Craig’s List. A former corporate exec, he now lives in NOLA and has been instrumental in helping to transform Hal’s business. After losing everything they had, Collums Construction has grown to four times the size it was before the storm, Hal and Paula have a new house, a new office and cabinet shop, and a sense of urgency, measured by just the right amount of calmness and presence.

Two and a half years later, New Orleans is still processing the impact of this catastrophe, hampered by a shocking depletion of leadership and resources. Despite heavy reliance on the FEMA trailers and the National Guard, both are scheduled for removal by the end of Summer. Blame that on the poisonous formaldehyde in the trailers, and the depletion of military resources caused by war. A recent city program offering free hauling of household and construction debris added a bloom of new trash piles throughout various neighborhoods that were still waiting to be cleared when I left. It’s a city that has been let down by every imaginable institution: federal, state and local government, insurance companies and banks, and perhaps worst of all, profiteers masquerading as reputable businesses, whose sole purpose was to steal money from those in desperate need.

All of which made the time we spent there so compelling. An event like Katrina exposes the frailty of the human condition, but it also unleashes new expression and potential within some of the greatest sufferers. Add to that the spirit of volunteerism and you get a powerful cocktail. Many volunteers felt like I did that we were able to accomplish very little. And yet any feeling of inadequacy is muted by the gratitude and passion coming from those in need. The efforts of volunteers, more than any other aid, has provided the greatest source of hope for a meaningful recovery in New Orleans. Hal’s wife, Paula, told Morgan and I that during the first months after the storm, there was an unrepressible sadness in the city’s residents as they lived through the enormity of events. Whenever she and other friends encountered a volunteer pitching in somewhere, they would involuntarily break into tears, as if to just say thanks for witnessing our struggle. Two and a half years later, the roots of their emotion is very clear.

See you next time.

Footnote:
A tremendous effort went into the preparation for this event. Emerging Green Builders of Kansas City along with the rest of the group of loosely connected individuals deserves a heaping crawfish boil of credit. Jeremy Curt and Ryan continue to show amazing devotion to the ongoing efforts to revitalize Holy Cross. Mo and I were proud to be a part of it.

Presentation at the University of Minnesota

As part of a thank you for the USGBC Mississippi Headwaters Chapter (MN) www.usgbcmn.org for helping to fund the U of M students' trip to NOLA, Jodi Wilson gave a presentation on the experiences the students had working in Holy Cross.  I introduced Jodi and talked about why we felt it was important to help fund the students' trip.  We did our presentation a couple weeks ago, but I thought it would be nice to share, and I've been thinking a lot, especially after Jeremy gave us his "by the numbers" list! Download historic_green_new_orleans_u_of_m.pdf

At the end, one of the professors read some of the students' writings on their trip, and I found it to be so encouraging and inspiring.  One of the things that stuck out to me was the comment that in NOLA, people ask you how you are, and they really want to know.  And twenty minutes later, you're still talking!
The first day I was in Louisiana was October 8, 2005.  I had spent 10 days in Washington, DC, for training, and then I landed in Baton Rouge.  I had no idea where anything was, and I was trying to pick up the keys for the apartment I was going to be living in for the next four months.  I was tired, hot, and lost, and close to tears.  In the parking lot at the Super Target, this woman came up to me and asked me if she could help with anything.  I said I was lost, and we started talking.  She gave me directions, and I was actually able to just walk over to where I needed to go.  When I got back to my car, she had left me a note with her phone number and address, and had invited me to dinner.  This would not have happened in Minnesota or Nevada or Utah - the other states where I've lived.  This experience really helped shape my whole experience living in post Katrina/Rita Baton Rouge, and part of why I feel like I need to keep giving back to Louisiana.

And I can't wait for 2009 Historic Green! 

Favorite Projects and Wrap-Up

I can’t believe that Historic Green 2008 is over! I’ve had 2 weeks to recover, and still can’t believe it!

Curt, Ryan, Dave, and I gave a quick slide-show to the Kansas City EGB last week. It is just amazing to see even a part of the full scope of what our volunteers accomplished. There are 2 moments in particular that I am most proud of:

1. The Bell. Thanks to Curt’s and Tristain’s tireless and sweaty efforts, the long forgotten bell at the Greater Little Zion Church now rings again! When we learned about the discovery of this bell (by the Alliance for Affordable Energy’s great Americorps volunteers) in January, it became increasingly important project to us to see accomplished. On our last Thursday night, Reverend Scie made the announcement to a packed audience of residents that every family returned to their home will be invited to ring the bell in celebration. It was so fulfilling to see something so symbolic and meaningful – just a simple sound – returned to the neighborhood as a result of the combined efforts of so many hands and minds.

2. Mr. Smith’s home. During the first week, Henry Smith pulled up to the Village as I was going to close the gate for the day. He asked if I could help him get his house painted, and I asked him to register with the Center for Sustainable Engagement & Development so he could get onto our list.

Sure enough, one week later, we were able to send him 6 volunteers. About an hour into the morning, another 14 volunteers showed up to help. I ran around and got more water, eye-protections, dust masks, scrapers, and ladders. So with 20 volunteers working on one historic home, they started asking me about the soft spots they were finding in the wood siding. “Should we really be refinishing these? They seem like they’re rotted,” one volunteer informed me. The next morning, 2 volunteers measured every piece of siding that needed to be removed. Once completed, I delivered one of them to the Dauphine project sites, where he cut recovered (deconstructed) siding from another historic structure, which volunteers then installed on Henry’s home and painted like new! This would not have been possible to accomplish without taking the large-scope of projects on as we did.

I can tell that our organizers and volunteers are ready to begin planning for 2009 right away! We’ve taken it easy for the past couple of weeks, allowing us time to recover and catch up at class and jobs. I’m both excited and a little overwhelmed with the idea of creating an even larger vision to take on moving forward. I really hope our core committee grows to a point where this feels more manageable – there were several times leading up to this year’s event that felt pretty lonely (and very overwhelming!) to our small band of coordinators. We muscled through and made miracles and magic happen – but miracles and magic are exhausting, and don’t come easy!

Dedicated to Mack

At Week's End

It's the end of a second full week at Historic Green. After cleaning up the 5116 Dauphine project site, Bill Dupont (left), Curt Rohner (front) and Jeremy Knoll (right) take a break on the front porch with UTSA students Matt, Chris, Brady and Allison.

Well done, everyone, well done!

PHOTO: Bill Dupont

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

What a whirlwind this has been! Last night, Andy Baker made a huge batch of crawfish for his bayou volunteers and all other interested neighbors and volunteers – which was originally set to occur at the Bayou platform, but was moved to the Village due to threatening rain – what a scene! Tables surrounded by neighbors and volunteers alike slurping and crunching on massive amounts of delicious, steaming crawfish with potatoes, corn, onions, and garlic – with just enough spice to make your lips burn. At one point, after toasts to several groups and individuals, the entire crowd of 150 or so people started chanting “Mac! Mac! Mac!..” (as Mac was in his office meeting with a youth group interested in partnering with the Village) when he finally heard us. He got a big grin on his face, waved and got back to his meeting. When it was all over and done with, there were a few folks remaining. One volunteer asked me if they could help clean, and within one minute, I had 10 folks cleaning, sweeping, moving trash, spraying tables, etc. Organizing 100+ volunteers during our days here, made a single simple task very easy to get done.

My lovely wife, Sarah, has been such an enormous help to me and us! She has taken on responsibility as the volunteer/project coordinator – the much needed connective role between Susannah and my work! While I run around, answer calls, decide on action, pick up supplies, deliver people, etc – and Susannah works through schedules, lunches, brochures, contacts, etc – Sarah calmly sits by the entrance of the Village, ready to meet and direct volunteers to job sites or necessary time-filling tasks until we decide where to put them for the day. She has really saved us a huge amount of stress and struggle this week, and made volunteers much less impatient. Today, while driving to the Village, Sarah and I fell into a conversation about Mac’s dream of having a basketball court. Andy indicated that there was money leftover from the boil last night, so we started wondering aloud at how much a movable goal would actually cost from Target or somewhere. I spoke with Mac on the subject when we arrived, and he excitedly informed me that someone was bringing him one today or tomorrow! With that said, we had five volunteers today who jumped at the opportunity to clean a section of the floor and measure/research/paint a half-court court onto the Villages gritty concrete floor. No goal or ball yet, but the court is prepped and ready now!

We had 73 (or more) additional volunteers (mostly Hillel and a Christian group) show up on top of our 48 today! Despite wet conditions from last night’s rain, we easily deployed them on over half-a-dozen work sites. That put today’s total number at over 115 volunteers at work in the neighborhood: some working with homeowners, changing bulbs with Greenlight NOLA, installing radiant barrier and weatherization programs with Alliance for Affordable Energy, deconstructing and reconstructing at 5200/5116/5115 Dauphine, sanding/weeding/power-washing the Delery Street Playground, and planting trees in recently cleared lots.

I wish I could write down everything that’s happened, and I wish I had the time and energy to see all of the needed projects through here! It saddens me to know that starting tomorrow I have to make people start bringing tools back from sites and shutting down our great first Historic Green event. The wheels are already turning for next year, and I am seriously considering leading a small troupe of people back in the fall for a smaller and less thoroughly planned volunteer event. This has been everything I dreamed it would be and more: Partnership and Providence in action! Leaving more “dots” connected in our wake than I can count, creating lasting in-roads for people who had not seen a path to assist here, and watching people leave with big plans for their own next steps back to the 9.

By Jeremy Knoll

Tuesday, March 18

Our busiest day is now behind us. Christina (our lovely chef-caterer-coordinator) cooked a wonderful meal at her apartment in the Quarter for about 35 of us last night. Curt got on his soap box and started a delightful round of toasting that seemed to leave everyone present touched, moved and inspired – just in time to go out drankin’ for St. P’s Day.

We had a slight snafu with the RePlant New Orleans group, as communication broke down between the several project leaders and local groups involved in trying to make this happen. 5200 Dauphine opens up to our volunteers today, and the house-scraping crews finally get to start on painting and siding repairs. Sarah Meyers has returned at our repeated requests (and combined sponsorship) and will be in charge of the 5200 project site after noon today! There is a lot of excitement about what this project has meant to students, residents, and community leaders alike – I think we are well prepared to do this again next year with a larger steering committee and an event to build on.

by Jeremy Knoll