Facing Climate Change Together: Living Lutheran visits New Orleans (article)

Facing climate change together

Excerpt from Lutheran Disaster Response U.S. (LDR)’s summary of their visit to New Orleans where they met with UC board member, Amy Stelly, and FYI participant Kristy Hitchcock:

Kristy Hitchcock, a single parent, moved to New Orleans four years ago after her daughter graduated from the University of New Orleans. “She told me she wasn’t coming back because she loved New Orleans so much,” said Hitchcock, who quit her job, sold her house and relocated.

In New Orleans, paving yards was once a popular way to create additional parking spaces and reduce property maintenance demands. When Hitchcock bought her house, her entire front yard and about 40% of her backyard had been paved with concrete, which restricted water from sinking into the ground, increasing the burden on drainage systems. “When it rained, I couldn’t even go out in my yard without rain boots,” she said.

Hitchcock decided to apply for the Front Yard Initiative… She has created an oasis in her yard and has helped mitigate the street flooding in her neighborhood. “I started it because I love to garden and I wanted to be outdoors,” she said.

Hitchcock sees the project as “something for your own home that you will enjoy, that is going to be benefiting your neighbors and, ultimately, benefiting the city too if this water that I’m trapping doesn’t go down the drain.”

Read more here.

Front Yard Initiative Links

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