RESERVE – Last Saturday the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Xavier University and Green Light New Orleans cAme together in a joint effort to bring Reserve energy efficient light bulbs and an environmental statement.

The Xavier students’ course’s theme is “Environmental Health, Justice and Conservation.” The service-learning seminar endeavors to “connect Xavier’s mission of social justice with communities in and around New Orleans” according to the course syllabus from Professor Steve Salm.  Coordinating outreach efforts through the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Green Light New Orleans gives the students the opportunity to see first-hand the environmental injustice faced by Louisiana residents while providing them with a platform to be a part of the solution.

“The message is to stop this pollution,” said Anne Rolfes, Founding Director of the Bucket Brigade, “and one important step is energy efficiency.” 

The day began with a stop in Norco, where Rolfes talked about the Diamond community residents’ struggle with Shell to be fairly compensated for their property and relocated away from toxic air. After Norco, the students continued their “toxic tour” along River Road and stopped in Reserve for the day’s community outreach project. 

The Xavier students installed compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) from Green Light New Orleans, a non-profit organization that supplies energy efficient light bulbs and facilitates volunteer installment of the bulbs in homes.  The organization spreads environmental awareness and environmentally sound practices by enabling people to reduce their energy use, thereby reducing both their carbon footprint and their energy bills.

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade supports fenceline neighbors—communities that live near oil refineries and/or chemical plants—in their efforts to be free of industrial pollution through air monitoring as well as campaign assistance. The Bucket Brigade also strives for solutions for transforming the current environmental situation in Louisiana, and through this three-part collaboration, three missions come together in one community. 

Another class will make a similar trip to Reserve on March 21.