BATON ROUGE - Over 60 volunteers will gather at the Bluebonnet Swamp this weekend to help the ecosystem thrive with native species. With over 120 native plants being added to the park, they'll also work on removing invasive species that threaten the wetlands. 

"We are doing a volunteer project that will restore native species back into the forest, after we have removed invasive species from the park," said Amanda Takacs, the assistant director of Natural Resource Management for BREC parks. 

Bluebonnet Swamp is a particularly targeted location due to its popularity in the community. 

"We want people to be able to experience native habitats as they're supposed to be, and non-native species, are a threat to that, so we've targeted certain species we know we can get rid of. And we're looking to increase native species so people can come here and experience a Louisiana ecosystem like it should be," Takacs said. 

The Bluebonnet Swamp was once an agricultural field. Over the past 80 years, the development of the park has created the opportunity for non-native species to move in. 

Now, tomorrow's Bluebonnet's Forest Planting Volunteer Project will add to the continued efforts of restoring the land with native species. 

With excavating non-native and planting native, tons of volunteers will join BREC's project crew Saturday starting at 9 a.m. For more details on this event and others, click here. 

Here's a list of upcoming initiatives that also aim at educating the community on the importance of native species and helping to ensure the preservation of our parks: 

Flower Fest Volunteer Project

Howell Community Park

April 1 from 9 a.m. - noon

Come help us maintain our beautiful pollinator garden at Howell Community Park. This workshop/project will include weeding, re-mulching, and learning about native plants. Come out and give your green thumb some use while learning something new!

BioBlitz

Frenchtown Road Conservation Area

April 21-22

Grab your field guides and boots and join BREC naturalists and local scientists as we explore and document the diversity of life, or “biodiversity,” of Frenchtown Conservation Area. You can participate by attending a scheduled hike, helping to document species with local scientists around the park, meet local groups and organization that work to protect the natural spaces of Louisiana, practice hands on sampling, participate in live animal encounters, and more!