The following is taken from the sign above the traveling shrimp boots currently on display at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum in Baton Rouge, LA.
"These artistic shrimp boots were created especially for LASM by the Hurst Middle School Wetland Watchers of Destrehan, LA. The traveling shrimp boot project began as an outreach program to students in the New Orleans area who had been affected by Hurricane Katrina; during this difficult time, they were given the opportunity to share the positive things they love and appreciate about their state.
The Wetland Watchers are a group of articulate, intelligent Louisiana students who are truly making a difference in their community. During the past ten years, they have provided over 60,000 hours of volunteer service, planted more than 2900 trees, collected over 2000 bags of trash, and participated in outreach to over 185,000 people. They have been awarded the prestigious National Youth Leadership State Farm Service Learning Award for their commitment to excellence. The Wetland Watchers have also appeared on a CNN special, People Count: Hot on the Trail and were featured by Diane Sawyer on the ABC Children First Special, Protecting Our Planet. Barry Guillot, the energetic leader of this industrious group, was also honored with a Blue Cross Angel Award in 2007. He could be described as a cross between the Crocodile Hunter and Bill Nye the Science Guy with a New Orleans accent, of course! His passion for education and the environment is contagious and most evident as he proudly describes the accomplishments of his young students. Their concern for the wetland and its inhabitants can be summed up in a quote by a seventh grader, "If the animals and plants could talk, I think they would say we are their heroes, because that is the way I feel when we do our work in the wetlands.""
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