Contents
JUNE 2022
Events
11 6 8
VO LU M E 3 9 // I SS U E 6
Features
PACK YOUR SUNSCREEN Plenty of outdoor concerts, cook-offs, and creative workshops to fill the summer days
REFLECTIONS Old-School Forest Bathing by James Fox-Smith
NEWS & NOTEWORTHIES
34 39 42
Publisher
NESTING SEASON The rare baby birds hatched on our coast, and the scientists who steward them by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
GIVING NATURE A NUDGE The project of creating marshlands in Golden Meadow by Catherine Schoeffler Comeaux
James Fox-Smith
Associate Publisher
Ashley Fox-Smith
Managing Editor
Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Alexandra Kennon
A FOREST AT HEART Lafitte Woods Preserve stands strong as a safe haven on Grand Isle. by Kristy Christiansen
On the Cover
BORN ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
Creative Director
Kourtney Zimmerman
Contributors:
Kristy Christiansen, Paul Christiansen, Ed Cullen, Burton Durand, Samantha Eroche, Sean Gasser, April Hamilton, C.C. Lockwood, Lucie Monk Carter, Catherine Schoeffler Comeaux, Chris Turner-Neal
Cover image by Katie Barnes
In the weeks in which we were preparing this issue, an unassuming little shorebird flitted around the Cameron Parish coastline, eventually settling into a little scrape out of the sand and broken shells—where she laid her eggs. Under the guardianship of the folks at the Audubon Delta Coastal Bird Beach-Nesting Stewardship Program, the eggs were safely monitored and protected from their many predators: beach-goers, coyotes, ghost crabs. Their numbers joined the important research being done by the scientists of the program, documenting nesting patterns, success rates, and even new species making a home on our coast, such as the snowy plover and the black skimmer. On May 16, just four days before we sent this issue to press, Katie Barnes, the Louisiana Coastal Stewardship Manager at Audubon Delta, raced down to the coast to welcome the Wilson’s plover chicks that now grace the cover of Country Roads’ 2022 “Our Natural World” issue. Nestled between stories of successful coastal restoration projects (page 39), old forests being replanted (42), and native habitats returning to residential neighborhoods (53)—these tiny birds exemplify the impact of responsible human stewardship in our rapidly-changing world.
Cuisine
46
MOSQUITO SUPPER CLUB Chef Melissa Martin redefines Southern hospitality. by April Hamilton
Culture
48
OUR CHAMPIONS Celebrating two National Champion trees in Louisiana by Alexandra Kennon
52 53
54
Escapes
WAKING TO BIRDS An ode to our local birders by Ed Cullen
SWAMPFLY LANDSCAPING Bringing native wonders back to local yards by Lucie Monk Carter
A GUIDE TO LOUISIANA BIRDS Marc Parnell gives the inside scoop on his newest book. by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
4
J U N 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
56
PICK IT YOURSELF Re-discovering the joy of gathering what you eat at two Louisiana farms by Samantha Eroche
58 62
TAKE OFF ALL YOUR CLOTHES A day at Louisiana’s only clothing-optional resort by Chris Turner-Neal
PERSPECTIVES Brandon Ballangée’s art of the Anthropocene by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Cover Artist
Katie Barnes
Advertising
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Sales Team
Heather Gammill & Heather Gibbons
Custom Content Coordinator
Lauren Heffker
Advertising Coordinator
Laci Felker
President
Dorcas Woods Brown
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