Events
News and Upcoming Events:
Recent and Upcoming Events:
Annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program:
Southeastern’s Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station provides for the annual
recycling of the region’s Christmas Trees to help our coastal environment. We partner
with the City of Hammond, City of Ponchatoula, Middendorf’s Restauarant, and since
2015 Southeastern’s Sustainability Center. See below for locations and dates/times for dropping off your Christmas Tree after
the holidays to help make our coast a more sustainable one.
Christmas Tree Drop Off Sites for January 2023
CITY OF HAMMOND/CITY OF PONCHATOULA: Trees can be dropped off beginning Jan. 6 through Mardi Gras from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at the Hammond Maintenance facility, 18104 Hwy. 190, next to Piggly Wiggly Super Market.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA UNIVERSITY: The Southeastern Sustainability Center, 2101 North Oak Street, will collect trees
beginning Jan. 6 through the end of the month from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through
Thursday and 8 to 10 a.m. on Friday;
MIDDENDORF’S RESTAURANT: a Turtle Cove trailer drop off site will also be maintained at Middendorf’s Restaurant
beginning Jan 6.
Please make sure your tree is not flocked and is free of any lights, ornaments, metal
stands, or other un-natural materials. We cannot accept trees that have any of those
artificial elements on them. Stands are especially problematic as we have limited
volunteer staff to remove them. Trees will be picked up in February by City of Hammond
trucks and brought to Turtle Cove’s boatshed site in Manchac where the trees will
be loaded onto the station’s Pontoon Boat and deployed in the marsh during the early
spring. University students and volunteers from the surrounding community will do
the work. Over the past 26 years, Turtle Cove have been involved in the deployment
of approximately 45,000 Christmas Trees into the Manchac marsh in various areas. Benefits
of recycling Christmas Trees into the marsh include: erosion protection; marsh building
and habitat creation for wildlife and fisheries; keeping trees out of landfills; and
providing hands-on environmental education activities for our students and citizens
in real-world wetland restoration activities.
Our Second-EverTurtle Cove Fundraiser 2017– Come Pass a Roasting Good Time on the Pass!, was a huge success for us with over 80
people attending on what was a bit of a cold day. The event was held on Saturday, October 28th, 11am-3pm and had Live Cajun Music, Roast Pig, Chicken and
Sausage Gumbo, Middendorf’s Bread Pudding, Champagne Boat Ride, Silent Auction, Wine,
Beer and Worm Buckets! The theme of the event included the first ever showing of
the new “Manchac/Turtle Cove Artifacts Exhibit” that is now housed in two places (identical
exhibits): (1) at Turtle Cove on the second floor—-you can visit it if on an arranged
education/outreach group trip, scheduled as one of our field trips, or (2) visit the
3rd Floor of the Sims Memorial Library on the Southeastern Campus.