The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is partnering with DOTD, The University of Louisiana at Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana University to help improve our state roads and facilities by planting some native wildflowers.
Coming up on Tuesday, June 12th, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held for the opening of the new Wildflower Seed Bank at UL-Lafayette’s Experimental Farm in St. Martinville.
The 10,000 square foot facility will provide DOTD native wildflower seeds to plant along highways, interstates, state parks and welcome centers.
It’s part of a DOTD initiative to beautify state roadways and will also reducing how often the state has to mow grass, which cuts costs on fuel and emissions.
In 2005, UL-Lafayette partnered with UL-Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana University to secure a $1.7 million federal highway beautification grant administered by LaDOTD.
About $940,000 funded the dairy barn’s renovation and the purchase of equipment for seed cultivation, processing and storage.
The seed bank includes seed processing, storage and distribution spaces with specialized equipment, research labs, and dehumidified walk-in storage units.
The ribbon-cutting happens at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday.
