Sankofa Wetland Park & Nature Trail

Sankofa Wetland Park is a long-term recovery project to improve protection from hurricanes and flooding in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Sankofa is working to transform an area of blight and illegal dumping to a vast ecological wonder as native flora and fauna are returning in droves to the area. 

Still in its developmental stages, this site has already garnered numerous eBird checklist submissions accounting for a species total of 171, including 13 species of ducks, nine gulls and terns, a dozen wading birds, 11 raptors, seven flycatchers, five swallows, five wrens, nine sparrows, at least two dozen warblers, along with many other songbirds. 

The site's list of vagrants, rarities, and other species of interest is already impressively long, and includes birds such as Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Common Ground Dove, Limpkin, Magnificent Frigatebird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and Black-headed Grosbeak. 

The park offers outdoor recreation, STEM education programs, hiking, biking, natural play, fishing, birding, and canoeing. Schoolchildren learn about wetland conservation and green infrastructure through water quality testing, flora and fauna species identification, removal of invasive vegetation, and planting of native trees. The Wetland Park also hosts workforce development programs with green infrastructure skills training and career development. 

Sankofa plans for full Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility throughout the entire design for equitable public access. Amenities currently include pull-off parking, identification signage, and trails. This site is partially handicapped-accessible.