Re-landscaping the Gulf Coast
29 Nov, 2006 By: Landscape Management Staff LDB SolutionsA number of landscape design-build firms are helping to rebuild landscapes in neighborhoods that were nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Chackbay Nursery and Landscaping, Thibodaux, LA, is one such firm.
Chackbay partnered with nationally recognized organizations and individuals, including Habitat for Humanity and Jon Bon Jovi, to rebuild Gulf Coast communities. The company installed the landscaping for 48 home sites in a community outside of New Orleans built through a partnership with Bayou Region Habitat for Humanity, Habitat International and individual contributors, including artist Jon Bon Jovi. The new neighborhood has tree-lined streets, sidewalks, landscaping for each new home and a playground for the neighborhood. The project, the first of its kind in the Katrina-ravaged area, was completed in September.
Bon Jovi toured the finished project on the Oprah Winfrey show (watch the segment). Winfrey’s Angel Network and the band Bon Jovi helped fund the overall project.
“We are proud to have been chosen for this project and I think it’s wonderful that outside organizations like Habitat for Humanity have joined to help the people of the Gulf Coast rebuild their homes as well as their lives,” says Benton Foret, co-owner of Chackbay Nursery and Landscaping.
“This has been a very rewarding experience for our company and we are excited to able to provide the landscaping for this new community,” adds Michael Richard, co-owner. “It has been a pleasure to work with everyone here.”
Not stopping with one neighborhood, Chackbay Nursery and Landscaping has again partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge to deliver 15 new homes and a park by year’s end. The community will have tree-lined streets, sidewalks, and a fenced-in park that all homes will have access to through the backyards.
"This is a great opportunity for Chackbay Nursery and Landscaping to help the Baton Rouge chapter of Habitat for Humanity give fifteen deserving families a wonderful Christmas gift," says Foret. "I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of the families when the project is complete and we can turn it over to them to enjoy."
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