Students participating in an alternative winter break at the University at Buffalo placed Terrebonne parish’s spare Christmas Trees in the Intracoastal Waterway as part of coastal restoration efforts.

Placing the trees in the wooden cribs is intended to catch silt in the water, hopefully allowing it to build and let organic materials grow in new marshland. Parish President Michelle Claudet says about it, “This is an actual way in which our citizens can participate to prevent the degradation of our coast and our environment.”

I’ve met plenty of locals who are skeptical of the process.

“Hey, I’ll save you some time and let you photograph me setting a bag of money on fire,” said a co worker, “Because that’s all that Christmas Tree stuff is doing, burning money.”

The results were visually underwhelming, but according to LSU studies cited in this article, the process can build a half inch of sediment every year.

In related news, the first draft of the 2012 Master Plan for Louisiana Wetlands was released, with time allotted for public commentary.