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How We Spent Our Summer!
We heard that you want more opportunities for education, advocacy, and gathering - so we brought you the FYIFriday Summer Series! This summer, we hosted three chances to engage with peers and professionals about ways to strengthen our urban landscape.
We kicked things off with a garden tour exploring the process and possibilities of removing concrete and installing green infrastructure featuring an Urban Nature Walk with Helen Sierminski. Next we gathered in City Park for hands-on workshops from experts Max Bowen-Koonse and the Whimscapes duo. The series closed at Seven Three Distilling, welcoming certified “cool people” from across and beyond the green sector to connect and get inspired by exciting work underway throughout the city.
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So Much More Than Four of a Kind
July was a great time to shout out locally owned businesses for their spirit of entrepreneurship, and to remind us that in the slowest months of the year, supporting local is an investment in a healthier New Orleans economy in the long run. Every summer, New Orleans joins communities around the country in recognizing July as Independents Month. With support from sponsor LCI Workers' Comp and media sponsor WWNO, we encouraged consumers to choose local and environmentally sustainable businesses by pointing people to our online map and directory. We listed special July-only events and promotional deals on our website, too.
This year, our trivia Game Night brought dozens together at Petite Rouge Cafe to play Dirty Coast’s City Shuffle, a traditional card game with a twist (or several!). Dirty Coast founder Blake Haney hosted the card game night, which involved learning a fun game that blends the luck of cards with the knowledge of New Orleans trivia. Feedback was part of the game night as tables of 4 formed informal focus groups, and provided Haney feedback on everything from length of play to scoring and more.
The night’s winners went home with gifts from local businesses like NOLA Boards and Octavia Books, and absolutely every Game Night Trivia player went home with a Dirty Coast Lagniappe Coin. New coin holders are among the dozens of people likely to visit for the first time, or return to, locally owned businesses where the reusable Lagniappe Coin is honored. When presented, the coin provides deals and discounts. Businesses such as Backatown Coffee Parlour, Blue Cypress Books, Flour Moon, The Good Shop, Rubensteins and many more are part of the Lagniappe List--see the full list at Dirty Coast's website.
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NOLA River Fest 2026
Join us for NOLA River Fest for “The State of Green Infrastructure in New Orleans” panel discussion at 1 pm on Saturday, September 12, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum (400 Esplanade Ave.)
New Orleans has spent generations trying to move water away from the city. As our climate changes, we are increasingly asking a different question: What would it mean to hold water, work with it, and build a city that can live with it?
Moderator Blake Haney and panelists Dana Eness, Meagan Williams (Office of Sustainability), JD Oyetubo (Lafitte Greenway) and Samantha Carter (NWF Gulf Program) will discuss our current relationship with water and the infrastructure challenges facing New Orleans today. The conversation brings together perspectives from green infrastructure, coastal restoration, community development, and urban resilience.
NOLA River Fest is a free annual celebration of the Mississippi River’s cultural, economic, environmental, and inspirational influence on New Orleans and the Gulf South.
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Confused by recent headlines about stormwater fees and parcel fees? You’re not alone. The UC’s Dana Eness posits that residents should insist on a system reflecting both urgency and inclusion: a stormwater fee that funds essential drainage infrastructure while empowering individuals and institutions to take action on their properties through credits and incentives to do so.
Recent proposals to siphon off proposed stormwater fee revenue to finance other infrastructure the city should be funding through taxes and bond revenue will only further erode an already too-small pool of money desperately needed for drainage work.
Check out Dana’s op-ed appearing in the 8/24/2026 Louisiana Illuminator here.
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Shape the UC's Future: Join our Board!
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