orn in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Common Ground Relief is a grassroots organization committed to supporting the needs of southern Louisiana. Currently Common Ground Relief empowers environmental and community stewardship by mobilizing volunteers for coastal restoration projects, providing environmental education to learners of all ages, building relationships among stakeholders, and facilitating direct need-responsive aid via the Free Pantry and other community projects.

We are a small but tight-knit organization with a deep history. CGR is a place to foster connections, pursue visions, and most importantly, take care of one another. CGR is NOT a place to tolerate discrimination, intimidation, bullying, or bigotry. If you are a passionate and committed resident of Southeast Louisiana that wants to work toward a more equitable and livable future, then this might be the right place for you.

Here's a little about us in numbers:

CGR has been in operation for 19 years.

Annually, Common Ground Relief engages over 1,000 volunteers, students, and local residents across our programs.

At our Native Plant Nursery, we house between 3-7,000 native trees and grasses at a time. We also host community events and give educational talks to interested groups.

At our Volunteer House, we can host groups of up to 22 people at a time, who travel from across the country and around the world to contribute to our mission.

At our Main Office, we host communal dinners with other traveling volunteers.

We plant an average of 5,000 trees and 20,000 plugs of marsh grass, plus 5,000 native irises each year between the months of November-June.

We work with dozens of non-profits, neighborhood organizations, government agencies, local farmers and landowners, residents, students, and senior citizens to advocate for the health of our wetlands and communities.

We serve fresh produce, baked items, and dry goods to over 4,000 individuals each year out of our Free Pantry each Saturday.