The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), with the support of the State of Louisiana, awarded an Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Grant to the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center to support efforts to mitigate previous impacts from emergency events and prepare for future threats. 

Natural disasters, like hurricanes and floods, and a range of other types of emergency events, pose serious threats to Louisiana’s critical cultural infrastructure. The Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Grants are helping organizations better prepare for and respond to potential threats, reducing vulnerability and putting in place clear and current strategies for mitigating the effects of future emergencies.

Since the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center (SLWDC) has already created an emergency plan with the help of the LEH, this Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Grant allowed for the implementation of that plan by funding the purchase of supplies, materials, and equipment to mitigate disaster effects at both of the facilities it manages: the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum located at 7910 Park Ave., Houma and the Wetlands Event Center, located at 86 Valhi Blvd., Houma. The grant is also supporting the costs associated with copying and digitizing all existing audio, video and photographs to be stored via the cloud.

“Because the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum holds various artifacts, collections, and displays, having a grant to aid with the purchasing of the necessary tools and items for emergency and disaster carts greatly increases our ability to preserve and secure the collections, items on loan, and the offices of SLWDC. The Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum and the Wetlands Event Center are integral parts of SLWDC’s mission of teaching and learning about Louisiana’s coast. The museum currently contains audio and visual exhibits that encompass great historical and cultural significance to Houma, Terrebonne Parish, and the fragile Louisiana coast. The Wetlands Event Center houses collections that are not on display at the museum along with several chest freezers that can be used to preserve water damaged artifacts until they can be conserved. Through the purchase of the emergency and disaster carts with their contents, the SLWDC will be able to preserve and protect current and future collections, exhibits, artifacts, and assets for the benefit of the public at large,” said Executive Director Jonathan Foret.

Funding for this 2024 Emergency Mitigation and Preparedness Grant has been provided by the State of Louisiana and administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.