海角社区

MONTEGUT, LOUISIANA - The coastal community of Montegut is located about two hours south of 海角社区鈥檚 campus in Baton Rouge.

But for the last two years, this small rural community has served as a summer home-away-from home for two 海角社区 graduate students. Kashif Rustamani and Jacopo Aldrighetti spent the last two summers embedded there, as part of a program known as the Rural Scholars.

Headed up by Environmental Sciences Professor Linda Hooper-B霉i, the Rural Scholars program is part of a $6 million, multi-institutional NSF grant called Rural Confluence. The 海角社区 portion of the award went to three Environmental Sciences faculty: Hooper-B霉i, Professor Nina Lam, and Associate Professor Rebeca de Jes煤s Crespo, with funds intended to assist rural areas in three states confront challenges from a changing climate, out-migration, and other issues.

The Rural Scholars play an important part in that effort, as they are intended to bridge the gap that can occur between researchers, policy makers, and rural communities, helping the communities gain access to new resources and give voice to their concerns.

鈥淭he Scholars were incredibly impactful as they arrived in the community with their skills, but they took their cues from the community members for research questions. Scholars co-produced a survey with community members designed to identify community needs. We distilled [more than] 400 pages of interview transcription into a framework and a 50-word cloud. Then, we hosted two community meetings for feedback where we reached [more than] 120 people,鈥� said Hooper-B霉i.

Montegut suffers from the same problems plaguing many rural coastal communities in the state - increased flooding, extreme weather, coastal erosion. They are under-resourced 鈥� their library never re-opened after Hurricane Ida 鈥� and the combination of these issues can lead to out-migration, which compounds many of the challenges.

Aldrighetti, who graduated recently, discussed the community and their challenges in his thesis on rural resiliency. 鈥淭he key takeaway from my thesis is the central role that infrastructure plays in shaping the complex dynamics that make a community what it is. In the Five-Finger Bayous (south of Houma), grocery stores and churches stand alongside bridges and levees as vital anchors of social and cultural identity. Yet many residents feel voiceless in local decision-making and helpless when millions are invested in recreational fishing docks to attract tourists, while essential environmental infrastructure is left to deteriorate and bridges鈥攃rucial for connecting bayou communities鈥攔emain under repair for years, sometimes even longer. These conditions have fueled out-migration and disrupted the intergenerational sense of place that once defined the region. Our research underscores the urgent need to engage directly with communities and to collaboratively develop frameworks for meaningful knowledge exchange.鈥�

Community Immersion

Throughout the last year, Rustamani and Aldrighetti integrated themselves into the fabric of the community, attending everything from fishing rodeos and 4th of July celebrations to community and family reunions, and church services. They also met with local officials, business leaders and teachers.

鈥淥ne moment that stood out to us was being invited to Sunday church service鈥攁 place where community members of Smithridge gather weekly for worship,鈥� Rustamani said. 鈥淚t showed us how community members stand together in times of need. It also allowed us to conduct our research more comfortably, as we were no longer strangers.鈥�

Aldrighetti said the day-to-day experiences gave him insights he never otherwise would have gotten. 鈥淔rom being driven around the bayou by community members in what felt like an informal lecture worthy of college credit, to being invited to Sunday service at the local church in Smithridge; from being welcomed into a much-beloved grocery store鈥搈useum, to listening to a retired fisherman and entrepreneur share his life story in the hard-rolled r鈥檚 and drawling nasals of his beautifully preserved Cajun French; from spending six hours with a preacher who guided us tirelessly through his community, to being invited to dinner and served crabs caught the night before鈥攅ach encounter carried its own kind of generosity, grace, and learning. Together, they offer just a glimpse of the months I spent among one of the kindest group of people I鈥檝e ever had the privilege to know.鈥�

These activities built the trust needed to conduct research 鈥� gathering residents鈥� opinions on all the issues their communities face, and the potential solutions they perceive, and facilitate discussions between community members.

At the community meeting in August, Rustamani and Hooper-B霉i presented their framework for understanding issues surrounding out-migration in the area and received resident feedback. 鈥淲e received a positive response and deep appreciation from the community for visiting their area and listening to their stories,鈥� he said. Attendee also had the chance to hear about related 海角社区 research, including that of de Jes煤s Crespo.

The data gathered by Rural Scholars can be used in a few different ways 鈥� it can be presented to state and federal decision makers, giving the small rural area a louder voice, or it can be used to apply for grants that may help the area address a need directly. Hooper-B霉i has recently incorporated what she learned into the National Academies of Sciences Gulf Futures Challenge finalists鈥� entry.

Rustamani said he is also working directly with community leaders on presenting ideas to the state for the next Coastal Master Plan and has submitted two of three plans co-produced with the community members.

Hooper-B霉i and Rustamani paid another visit to Montegut in October, and plan to continue their work there, working on project ranging from a photo-voice project to energy resiliency. 鈥淲e will continue making plans with those communities for solar microgrids and other resilience projects that will also raise local land values,鈥� she said.

In fact, she said the work of the Rural Scholars program is expanding. 鈥淲e are beginning work co-producing community-driven, student-led projects in Plaquemines Parish. Dr. de Jesus-Crespo has a student who has been working on models in Barataria Bay already.鈥�