1. Coastal Restoration: Educating, Advocating, Targeting Erosion Project CREATE

2. Project CREATECREATE

3. The Power of Youth  Louisiana’s youth are the biggest stakeholders.  If someone is going to ensure a future for Louisiana, it’s going to be them.  Their hope and enthusiasm and creativity can greatly contribute to coastal restoration and protection efforts.  They aren’t the world’s “next leaders.” They can be leaders now.

4. Goal of Project CREATE To empower Louisiana’s youth to take their future into their own hands, creating young leaders in the fight against coastal erosion

5. CREATE – Coastal Restoration  The umbrella of CREATE is coastal restoration.  Any and all coastal restoration efforts / projects / events fall under our purview.  We believe that through youth education and advocacy, we will target erosion and restore the coast.

6. CREATE – Educating  For the youth to be coastal restoration leaders, they must be educated on these issues.  While some may have a greater understanding than others, it’s not really general knowledge.  Since coastal erosion is a dynamic and ever- changing issue, there’s always more to learn.

7. CREATE – Advocating  By educating the youth, we want them to become advocates for their state and for their futures.  Their advocacy has the potential to spread awareness and influence others’ actions.

8. CREATE – Targeting Erosion  The youth should have the chance to apply their education in the field, or “target erosion.”  A hands-on method will make them feel more invested and feel as though they’re playing a role.  Their efforts can inspire others to put in work as well.

9. Putting the Pieces Together: Examples  Marsh grass plantings  Social media campaigns (#SaveTheCoast)  Community events celebrating culture, such as a Cajun Festival  Public forums with government leaders  Educational and interactive workshops (e.g., Wetlands Ecology Expedition)  Adopting a coastal erosion curriculum in K-12 schooling  Field days  YouTube videos about Louisiana and its erosion issues

10. Youth-driven We have a general idea of what we’d like to do, but it’s important for us to solicit most of our ideas from the youth. We want them to have ownership over the process because after all, it’s their future!

11. A Holistic, Fluid Approach  Project CREATE is designed as a holistic, fluid approach to coastal restoration  We look at the problem as a complex system rather than a single issue  It’s not a clear-cut problem, so there’s no clear-cut approach  Our mission allows for innovation and adaptation and growth and experimentation  We know we cannot “solve” coastal erosion, but we can inspire leaders to continue their efforts long after Project CREATE (and THAT’s the beauty of it!)

12. Strengths Power of the youth Use of “youthful tactics,” such as social media Many organizations with whom to partner Opportunities No LA coastal restoration organizations who currently focus on the youth, an underused resource Weaknesses Big task at hand Youth may not be taken seriously Measures of success somewhat unclear Threats Coastal restoration needs grow more and more pressing, have to have a sense of urgency to be effective

13. Project CREATE We want to create young leaders, who will create a bright future for Louisiana.