About Recycled Christmas
In 2003, we started work on a feature
length documentary on coastal
erosion and the recycling of Christmas trees in Louisiana called
Recycled Christmas. We followed coastal restoration efforts in
Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Calcasieu parishes. We spoke with
scientists from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and from
LSU. We talked to fisherman, oil workers, teachers, and children. It was rather erie in those interviews when everyone
from fishermen to scientists to local government officials predicted the
storm that would later be known as Hurricane Katrina.
On Valentine's day in 2005, John Goodman laid down the audio narration tracks for us. We expected our documentary to release soon after but a 20 second animation clip (on how the Christmas tree brush fences worked) delayed the release of the project. Ironically, the clip arrived weeks before Katrina hit.The project, although completed in August of 2005, had to be shelved; the destruction and damage to the people and the coast could not be ignored. As difficult as it was to set the project aside, we (the filmmakers) also needed to recover from the storm. Losing both our house and our businesses, we relocated to another state to deal with the financial, emotional, and educational challenges that faced our family. Perhaps the biggest untold story of Katrina and Rita is how it effected children with special needs but that is another documentary that hopefully someone else will tackle.
We did some filming in 2008, but many of the projects we captured in 2004 still were not up and running. We decided to wait a bit longer.
In January of 2010, we revisited many of the restoration efforts from 2004. Comparing wetlands footage side by side, the devastation in just 5 years was simply unimaginable. Perhaps more shocking was the news that the Christmas tree recycling/restoration project was losing funding after 2010. The need to get the message out now has never been so urgent!.
August 29, 2010 marks the 5 year anniversary of Katrina. Our goal is to have this documentary released by then. The metro New Orleans area continues to be at great risk as Louisiana continues to lose more than a football field of wetlands every 30 minutes. The initial focus of the documentary was individual empowerment - how each of us could help stop coastal erosion through local restoration efforts while also highlighting the need for larger, faster solutions such as water diversions and sediment moving that required big budgets. The biggest obstacle to coastal restoration was much needed financial help from the federal government. It's ironic that despite such a devastating disaster, we're still needing and waiting on that much promised help. Now with the oil spill, erosion will accelerate.
We hope the documentary will shed some light on the problems in Louisiana and be an impetus for change. But the rest of the nation needs to understand that erosion is not just Louisiana's problem. Recall how the prices of gas and food spiked after Katrina. Those spikes could eventually be permanent if the wetlands that protect the Port of New Orleans can't be saved. The time to act is now!
If there's one thing, we have learned especially after Hurricane Katrina is that one person can make a difference. Find out how you can make a difference. Check out the "Donate" and "Get Involved" pages on this site.
On Valentine's day in 2005, John Goodman laid down the audio narration tracks for us. We expected our documentary to release soon after but a 20 second animation clip (on how the Christmas tree brush fences worked) delayed the release of the project. Ironically, the clip arrived weeks before Katrina hit.The project, although completed in August of 2005, had to be shelved; the destruction and damage to the people and the coast could not be ignored. As difficult as it was to set the project aside, we (the filmmakers) also needed to recover from the storm. Losing both our house and our businesses, we relocated to another state to deal with the financial, emotional, and educational challenges that faced our family. Perhaps the biggest untold story of Katrina and Rita is how it effected children with special needs but that is another documentary that hopefully someone else will tackle.
We did some filming in 2008, but many of the projects we captured in 2004 still were not up and running. We decided to wait a bit longer.
In January of 2010, we revisited many of the restoration efforts from 2004. Comparing wetlands footage side by side, the devastation in just 5 years was simply unimaginable. Perhaps more shocking was the news that the Christmas tree recycling/restoration project was losing funding after 2010. The need to get the message out now has never been so urgent!.
August 29, 2010 marks the 5 year anniversary of Katrina. Our goal is to have this documentary released by then. The metro New Orleans area continues to be at great risk as Louisiana continues to lose more than a football field of wetlands every 30 minutes. The initial focus of the documentary was individual empowerment - how each of us could help stop coastal erosion through local restoration efforts while also highlighting the need for larger, faster solutions such as water diversions and sediment moving that required big budgets. The biggest obstacle to coastal restoration was much needed financial help from the federal government. It's ironic that despite such a devastating disaster, we're still needing and waiting on that much promised help. Now with the oil spill, erosion will accelerate.
We hope the documentary will shed some light on the problems in Louisiana and be an impetus for change. But the rest of the nation needs to understand that erosion is not just Louisiana's problem. Recall how the prices of gas and food spiked after Katrina. Those spikes could eventually be permanent if the wetlands that protect the Port of New Orleans can't be saved. The time to act is now!
If there's one thing, we have learned especially after Hurricane Katrina is that one person can make a difference. Find out how you can make a difference. Check out the "Donate" and "Get Involved" pages on this site.
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